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Ask HN: How might HN build a social network together?

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Re: Ask HN: How might HN build a social network together?

#81

Post by MattJ100 »

pak9rabid wrote: post #57

I've toyed with the idea of having a standardized and decentralized social network that would work much like how SMTP (or XMPP) does today, in that each domain could have it's own set of social media servers, controlled via SRV records, and data is propagated and cached on-demand between domains that socialize with each other. Obviously, great care would need to be taken to ensure the Internet isn't just flooded with…

For social networking atop XMPP, see https://movim.eu/

Combined with the in-development ActivityPub gateway from Libervia ( https://salut-a-toi.org/blog/view/goffi@goffi.org/@/id/liber... ), interop with Mastodon, Pleroma and others becomes possible too. The decentralized social web space is quite active at the moment.

Re: Ask HN: How might HN build a social network together?

#84

Post by shanebellone »

talkingtab wrote: post #76

I think the key issue is how the circles or groups work. What is the mechanism for interaction as in the sense of machinery? Zeynep Tufecki in "twitter and teargas" raises this issue using the term affordance. What does twitter afford/provide? It provides a mechanism that is good for flash mob, but not for not for creating new things. So Arab Spring turned into nothing. What does HN afford? Comments. Is that how a so…

Interesting points. I also agree that discussion revolves around thought rather than position. Debate is healthy but healthy debates are rare in this context.

I would argue the ideal mechanism for interaction (or affordance) is the ability to communicate, engage, and prosper across boundaries. I believe this concept is what made the early Internet so inspiring. We were hopeful and ambitious.

Re: Ask HN: How might HN build a social network together?

#85

Post by runlaszlorun »

I’m sure at least 75% of you guys in here are stronger technically than me. And 99% of you have probably seen more success in their careers than I have.

But I’ve been building little throwaway code experiments for the last three years and its totally doable.

I haven’t seen a regular paycheck since March 2019 when I was fired from a Director of Engineering role from a firm so shitty and a job so toxic I actually do think I have PTSD from it. Ironic given that my first job out of college was chasing warlords in Bosnia for the US Army in the 90s and helping the UN investigated mass grave sites.

I’m poor enough that when I finally went to the VA to get benefits for my injuries from 20+ years ago, they actually put me in their homeless abatement program and I now live in Section 8 housing in Austin. And it’s actually pretty great.

We’ve had 60 years of Moore’s law. At this point you can totally stuff the entire searchable internet on 4 good size hard drives (75-85 TB compressed) and 1 to 2 Gbps pipes are everywhere. And folks globally are rightly freaked out about a world driving towards totalitarianism and hungry for a change.

I’ve been trying out various approaches over the last three years but have zero attachment to any ideas I have on the topic.

But clearly this won’t get anywhere with just me or others sitting in our living rooms knowing that it’s fixable.

I’m 100% willing to help anyone with ideas in this space however they might need help. Full stop.

I know folks are sheepish about putting their contact info out there but here’s mine:

Alex Ross alex.l.ross@gmail.com +1.213.500.5925

Feel free to drop me a line with: ideas you have, something you need, a word of encouragement, tell me I’m a moron or a drama queen, whatever.

But for god sakes, guys, don’t look the other way. It’s 1939 Germany but this time we have no one to blame but ourselves…

Re: Ask HN: How might HN build a social network together?

#86

Post by stevehawk »

shanebellone wrote: post #43
ctvo wrote: post #28

> I have a concept for a social network that would eliminate many pain points. And what is this concept? Hidden in this question is a strong undercurrent of "I'm an ideas person with a world changing idea. I can't share it because I believe that it's valuable. I just need engineers".

I just added it to the main post in order to help shape the conversation. I have no desire to lead a social media company.

Isn't that idea the same idea that google tried and failed at?

Re: Ask HN: How might HN build a social network together?

#87

Post by shanebellone »

kxrm wrote: post #79

I've been thinking about this for a while as well and feel that it all depends who is the audience of this service. One idea is to define geographical limits to participate. That aligns with your cap idea. The nice thing about this model is it allows participants easy access to get to know others near them. This has real world benefits for strengthening a local community. A second idea I had, especially relevant to H…

I like how you're thinking.

Friction is typically discussed as a universal negative, but intentional friction can have real utility.

I'm going to continue thinking about your learning curve point. The shared knowledge of operation (sometimes) becomes culture.

Re: Ask HN: How might HN build a social network together?

#88

Post by sdwr »

I love the idea and the angle - better to feel out community support than work feverishly by yourself for 6 months and hope for the best.

Small groups feels much more real + human-sized than being thrown into the ocean. That could solve the lurker problem where 90% of people are passive consumers. Would need to balance out with some global content as sugar on top.

I honestly think the safest business plan for a new network coming from HN is a one-time entry fee. Somewhere between $35 and $300, like SA(?) used to do. Maybe fund development through early sales.

To get the most help from community coders, break the project into core and peripheral pieces. Too much "help" leads to drowning in complexity, best to isolate the backbone of the system.

My pet idea is gamified ratings - let people invest in commments or posts (with regenerating energy/play money), and let them spend their earnings on boosting visibility of other posts.

Re: Ask HN: How might HN build a social network together?

#89

Post by shanebellone »

runlaszlorun wrote: post #85

I’m sure at least 75% of you guys in here are stronger technically than me. And 99% of you have probably seen more success in their careers than I have. But I’ve been building little throwaway code experiments for the last three years and its totally doable. I haven’t seen a regular paycheck since March 2019 when I was fired from a Director of Engineering role from a firm so shitty and a job so toxic I actually do th…

I'm an Army Veteran too. Afghanistan though as Bosnia was before my time. I'll shoot you an email, it would be nice to discuss technology with (presumably) another self-taught developer with similar life experiences.

I also think we're on the precipice of something previously unthinkable. I'm undecided whether that outcome is authoritarianism or the country's implosion.

On a less grim note, I do believe nuclear fusion has the potential to save us from ourselves. Indirectly, of course.

Re: Ask HN: How might HN build a social network together?

#90

Post by mistermann »

soliton4 wrote: post #36

what is the point of creating yet another social network unless you have a key feature to make it distinct and valuable? if you just make a twitter / facebook clone for tech people all you are doing is dividing yourself from other people. that might be desireable for some people but i dont think its worth persueing in the long term. i propose we create something that addresses existing problems and adds new features.…

Blockchain would make it distinct, but would it provide unique value to users?

I certainly agree that we need some innovation in the space.

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