Most people who write things on the internet want you to find them, and even talk to them! And I do too!
But you know what isn’t cool to me at all? Making you the product. I’m the one making a product. I shouldn’t require you to give up your precious data to see it.
So you won’t find me on traditional social media. This is kind of a weird decision to make, but I’m at least going to start this way and see if it works. I might reserve a couple handles or something, but they’re going to point people to platforms I actually want to use–platforms where YOU are in control of what you do and what anyone else knows about what you do. I don’t want to support the mass collection of data.
If you’re already there, I don’t mind if you share things I make with other people who are. I would, however, encourage you to check out my series on how to extract yourself from the major social media companies and build a community with people you’ve actually chosen, rather than those who have bought your eyes. (It’s coming soon! Honest!)
The first icon you see is for Element. Element is the simplest, easiest-to-use Matrix client. Matrix is an open network for secure, decentralized communication. The platform is open source. It uses end-to-end encryption whenever you choose. You don’t have to use Element to access it, but if you’re new to Matrix, it’s an easy place to start.
LBRY is a blockchain-based video platform. Kind of like Matrix, there are a variety of platforms you can use to access its content, but you get to pick. There can be competition. And competition is a beautiful thing. LBRY producers can earn LBRY credits, which can be spent on the platform or traded for other cryptocurrencies on exchanges.
This is kind of a rough-and-ready intro to those platforms, because I don’t even actually have a presence set up on them yet, but I wanted to make this easy to find, and adding a question mark to the Simple Social Icons felt like a reasonable draft.