Decentralized Social Is The Best Way... But... Funding

I love the decentralized web. I'm very active on Mastodon and Pixelfed, and even though Bluesky isn't decentralized... yet, I'm active there as well.

As many of us on the Fediverse and the decentralized web in general have seen funding these outposts are EXPENSIVE. Donations help fund most of it and keep most of it sustained. But some bigger projects need more like from institutions.

IFTAS.org is an attempt at doing trust and safety in the Fediverse. They are taking on a big task of keeping all the horrible stuff off the decentralized web. But they are running out of money. Recently one of the organizers Jaz (@jaz@mastodon.iftas.org) posted that they can't even pay their bills for the month and need to reevaluate where their money is going.

IFTAS is a non-profit and accepts donations, but in the tread, Jaz said that donations from the Fediverse isn't enough, they need institutional investment – big dollars.

This is disheartening, because IFTAS does so much for the Fediverse.

This is why Web 2.0 was mostly run by big corporations, Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. Because they got funding and kept things centralized. But as we saw with Twitter/X, centralized is susceptible to billionaires whims and money. And that's not a good thing, even if they aren't schmucks like Elon Musk.

So what do we do? We open our wallets, as best we can, and donate to support the decentralized web.

Do what you can. Support that instance you're on. Support IFTAS if you can. Help Jaz find an institutional investor. Because the decentralized web is the future, but only if we can fund it.

The Latest From The Entrepreneur's Enigma Podcast

Web Jawn

Woo Unveils Brand Refresh

Woo rolled out a brand refresh this week, unveiling a modernized look, updated colors, and new logo that are winning over WooCommerce developers.

The RepositoryRae Morey

Woo (the ecommerce end of WordPress) did a design refresh. It looks like they're taking direct aim at Shopify.

Sé Reed Accuses Matt Mullenweg of Retaliation After WordPress.org Ban

Sé Reed, a former WordPress Marketing Team rep and president of the newly incorporated WP Community Collective, claims she’s been the target “extreme retaliation” in a new WordPress code of conduct complaint against co-founder Matt Mullenweg.

The RepositoryRae Morey

This isn't really news. Matt Mullenweg and Se Reed have had their issues for a while now. But this does highlight how Matt really isn't the benevolent dictator for life of the WordPress open source project that he wants people to think he is. He's kind has a nasty side to him.

Matt Mullenweg’s Troubling Shift: Impact on the Community

Explore how Matt Mullenweg’s recent actions are affecting the WordPress community and its future. The latest drama!

SethGoldstein.meSeth Goldstein

My take on the latest drama with Matt Mullenweg. Now with a side of Joost De Valk.

Google starts testing new Search ‘AI Mode’ internally – Here’s an early look at it

Google Search is working on a new “AI Mode” that offers a “persistent place” to ask more “open-ended / exploratory questions” and get…

9to5GoogleAbner Li

Just remember this is the same model that said glue on pizza was a good idea.

DeepMind claims its AI performs better than International Mathematical Olympiad gold medalists | TechCrunch

An AI system developed by Google DeepMind, Google’s premiere AI research lab, has surpassed the average gold medalist in solving geometry problems in an international mathematics competition.

TechCrunchKyle Wiggers

Again... glue on pizza... anyone?

Building Trust In The AI Era: Content Marketing Ethics And Transparency

Find out how to navigate the content overload era ethically. Focus on quality, trust, and audience connection for successful content marketing.

Search Engine JournalChelsea Alves

A good article that brings up some interesting points about ethics and transparency in this AI era.

❌ You were wrong. Building a LOVE brand can make you an average

Being rebellious can differentiate you more than trying to please everyone.

Business & Marketing with NikaNika Kotláriková

A must read. Nika knows here stuff.

Why you can deep-six the DeepSeek hype

A fast, cheap open-source LLM-based AI chatbot has emerged from China. Here’s what’s bugging me about all the hype.

Machine SocietyMike Elgan

I love Mike Elgan's take on tech. His take on all the hype surrounding DeepSeek, the Chinese AI model that was recently released, is spot on.

Death of the keyword

Keyword data hasn’t been actionable for a long time and is not reflective of how SEO works anymore. To adapt, we have to optimize for search with aggregate data, which also translates better to LLM optimization.

Growth MemoKevin Indig

The keyword/phrase is in fact dead. Google is looking more at intent and entities. AI is taking the world by storm. Rank tracking alone, or at all, isn't going to cut it. 😒😵‍💫

Bluesky will soon let you limit replies to ‘followers only’ | TechCrunch

Social network Bluesky will soon give its users more control over who can reply to their posts. Confirmed by Bluesky developer Paul Frazee, Bluesky will

TechCrunchSarah Perez

People forget that Bluesky is still pretty new on the scene compared to Mastodon, which is circa 2016. This is going to be a good move for the service.

Learn How To Create A Podcast Intro Your Listeners Will Love

Start your podcast off with an exceptional podcast intro. This guide has lot of examples, recommendations, and a free script to help you create your own!

BuzzsproutBuzzsprout

Intros matter in podcasting. You only have a few seconds to capture your listener's attention.

‘Meta Torrented over 81 TB of Data Through Anna’s Archive, Despite Few Seeders’ * TorrentFreak

Freshly unsealed court documents reveal that Meta downloaded significant amounts of data from shadow libraries through Anna’s Archive.

Ernesto Van der Sar

Apparently the rules don't apply to Meta. Jerks!

These apps are building Instagram alternatives on open protocols | TechCrunch

Consumer demand for alternatives to Big Tech’s social apps is heating up. Alternative social networks like Bluesky and Mastodon are gaining traction with

TechCrunchSarah Perez

This is good to see. I'm partial to Pixelfed. My particular instance is Pixy.org.

🎙️Podcast Coaching 🎙️

I've been podcasting since 2010. During those 12+ years I've learned a thing or two about the ins and outs of the industry and approaching it the right way.

I've decided to offer podcast coaching as a service to share the knowledge that I've accumulated over the decade-plus in the industry.

More information click here.

Web Find

Yunohost is a program/control panel for servers (local or in the cloud) that allow you to have one click access to some of the most popular Open Source programs out there. It makes having a VPS so much easier to manage.

Great Podcast To Check Out

That's It For This Week! Keep Rocking It!

-Seth

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