PODCAST

What's Next For Social Media?

Revolution.Social is a podcast about the future of social media built on permissionless open protocols. It's hosted by Twitter's first employee, Rabble a.k.a. Evan Henshaw-Plath.

The first episode is an exclusive interview with former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey — whom Rabble hired.

Hear what's possible when social platforms and content are no longer owned by corporations.

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About the Podcast

Building on the foundation of a new Social Media Bill of Rights, this podcast will explore how permissionless open protocols can replace corporate platforms to create a truly democratic digital commons.

We'll feature conversations with activists, technologists, and community leaders, including Jack Dorsey, Kara Swisher, Yoel Roth, Renee DiResta, and Cory Doctorow to seek their input on protocol-based social networks that would enable collective action and social transformation without requiring permission from centralized authorities.

The right to:

  • 1
    Privacy and security
  • 2
    Own and control your identity
  • 3
    Choose and understand algorithms
  • 4
    Community self-governance
  • 5
    Full portability

Episode 9: Cory Doctorow on Escaping Big Tech, Privacy Battles & “Enshittification”

Cory Doctorow on Escaping Big Tech, Privacy Battles & “Enshittification”

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Sci-fi isn’t about hypothetical technologies, but rather about challenging the social impact of that tech, says author and activist Cory Doctorow. And in the real world, we must be just as conscious of the societal impact of the tech products we use. “Apologists for Big Tech would like you to think that all of the properties of their platforms are ... inevitably coterminal,” he says. “You cannot have a conversation with your friends without someone like Mark Zuckerberg spying on you from asshol

Guest: Cory Doctorow

Episode 8: Taylor Lorenz on Moral Panics, Tech Villains & Protecting Free Expression

Taylor Lorenz on Moral Panics, Tech Villains & Protecting Free Expression

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Journalist and Power User host Taylor Lorenz has reported on the fall of Vine, influencers who accept "dark money," and the proliferation of far-right content on Substack, just to name a few. Today on Revolution.Social, she joins Rabble to talk about why governments, including the U.S., are advancing laws to restrict free speech online; the misleading moral panics that have led to apps being banned; and the challenges of monetizing online communities as platforms become gatekeepers. They also

Guest: Taylor Lorenz

Episode 7: Chris Messina on Hashtags, Google+ & the Unintended Consequences of Building Social Media

Chris Messina on Hashtags, Google+ & the Unintended Consequences of Building Social Media

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Chris Messina is best known for co-founding BarCamp and giving Web 2.0 the hashtag. Now on Revolution.Social, he joins Rabble to talk about the bigger picture of what has gone right, and wrong, with social media. In this episode, he and Rabble unpack why Google+ failed, the unintended consequences of hashtags, and how algorithms have reshaped our digital lives. They also discuss why defending authentic human connection may be the most urgent challenge for the next generation on the internet.

Guest: Chris Messina

Episode 6: Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine on AI Slop, Quality Content & Social Media Fragmentation

Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine on AI Slop, Quality Content & Social Media Fragmentation

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After the introduction of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, the blogging platform Medium got ten times busier, says CEO Tony Stubblebine — and that was not a good thing. "Most of it was slop," he says. "Our job got a little bit harder on the filtering side. Actually, a lot harder on the filtering side." Luckily, Medium had already built human-run systems to combat spam, and began deploying them to filter out AI slop. Under Tony, the company has worked to focus on high-quality writing for hu

Guest: Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine

Episode 5: "Invisible Rulers" author Renee DiResta on Propaganda, Disinformation, & Online Abuse

"Invisible Rulers" author Renee DiResta on Propaganda, Disinformation, & Online Abuse

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Renee DiResta has spent a decade tracking how small groups can hijack global conversations — and why the same tactics still work today. The author of "Invisible Rulers" and a leading academic researcher on online influence, she joins Rabble on Revolution.Social to unpack the hidden forces shaping what we see — and believe — on social media. Drawing on years of work investigating the history of propaganda, election interference, and networked movements, Renee shares how fringe ideas can be made

Guest: "Invisible Rulers" author Renee DiResta

Episode 4: Substack CEO Chris Best on Democratizing Media, Content Moderation & Freedom of Speech

Substack CEO Chris Best on Democratizing Media, Content Moderation & Freedom of Speech

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"If you''re a consistent advocate for freedom of the press, you will unfortunately have occasion to quarrel with every party and every side of the political spectrum," says Substack CEO Chris Best. As one of the most important platforms for independent writing online, and one of the only ones not reliant on advertising, Substack has sometimes attracted controversy for its content moderation policies. Today on Revolution.Social, Chris and Rabble talk about the "Nazi bar" problem, the democrati

Guest: Substack CEO Chris Best

Episode 3: Yoel Roth on Banning Trump, Battling Bots & the Difficult Job of Trust & Safety

Yoel Roth on Banning Trump, Battling Bots & the Difficult Job of Trust & Safety

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"Content moderation decisions are like assholes," says Yoel Roth, the former head of trust & safety for Twitter. "Everybody''s got one." The underrated challenge of working in trust and safety is that every decision could affect millions of users, and the reasons for those decisions are often opaque. Today on Revolution.Social, Yoel and Rabble talk about what goes on behind the scenes when a platform like Twitter wants to do something like ban President Donald Trump; how moderation best pra

Guest: Yoel Roth

Episode 2: Kara Swisher on Tech Founders'' Flaws & Why Social Apps Are the New Cigarettes

Kara Swisher on Tech Founders'' Flaws & Why Social Apps Are the New Cigarettes

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The founders of social media companies like Facebook and Twitter never cared about the lofty ideals they claimed, says longtime tech journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher. "I never thought they were idealistic. I thought they were there to make money," she says. Swisher, who co-hosts Pivot and also hosts On With Kara Swisher, likens tech giants to the Borg from Star Trek, constantly absorbing smaller companies to fuel their growth. But she sees potential for better user experiences and modera

Guest: Kara Swisher

Watch Short Clips

Kara Swisher: Tech founders never cared about ideals

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Kara Swisher on Elon Musk's Twitter takeover

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Why phones should be banned in schools

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The problem with social media algorithms

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Episode 1: Jack Dorsey on Selling Twitter, Leaving Bluesky & What He''s Building Next

Jack Dorsey on Selling Twitter, Leaving Bluesky & What He''s Building Next

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Twitter never should have been a traditional tech company, says Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. Instead, it should have been designed as a protocol — like email, or podcasting. “That was the pure expression of it from day one,” Dorsey says. “And it was never really allowed to be that because it was on this fast track to becoming a public company.” Today on Revolution.Social, Dorsey explains why it’s still possible to build a successful business on top of open protocols and decen

Guest: Jack Dorsey

Watch Short Clips

Jack Dorsey on why he hired Rabble

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Twitter should have been a protocol like email

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Jack Dorsey explains why he left Bluesky

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Does Jack Dorsey regret selling Twitter to Elon?

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Jack Dorsey on the problem with centralized AI

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Jack Dorsey's biggest Twitter regret

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Jack Dorsey on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency

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Episode 0: The Internet Doesn’t Have to Be Like This

Revolution.Social is a podcast about the future of social media and reclaiming our digital communities, hosted by technologist and community advocate Rabble, a.k.a. Evan Henshaw-Plath — who was Twitter’s first employee. Guests will include Twitter''s former CEO Jack Dorsey, journalist & podcaster Kara Swisher, science fiction author Cory Doctorow, and many more.

About the Host

Evan Henshaw-Plath (rabble) - Twitter's first employee and advocate for decentralized social media.

Rabble's Talks & Appearances

Beyond Revolution.Social, Rabble speaks at conferences, appears on other podcasts, and participates in panels about decentralized social media, open protocols, and the future of the internet.

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Conference Talk

Building Decentralized Social Networks

Web Summit 2024 • November 2024

A deep dive into the technical and social challenges of building truly decentralized social media platforms.

Watch 45:00
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Podcast

The Future of Social Media Protocols

Tech Talks Daily • October 2024

Discussion about Nostr, ActivityPub, and the ecosystem of decentralized social protocols.

Listen 1:12:00
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Panel

Twitter's Early Days & Lessons Learned

Startup Grind • September 2024

Panel discussion about the early days of Twitter and what we can learn for building future platforms.

Watch 58:30

Want to have Rabble speak at your event or appear on your podcast?

Topics We'll Explore

The podcast will dive into these key areas that are essential for building a permissionless, protocol-based digital commons that empowers people and communities.

Reimagining Social Media

Reimagining Social Media

Why we need to start over with permissionless protocol-based social media and how it can enable revolutionary change.

Privacy & Security

Privacy & Security

How open protocols can provide better privacy and security than centralized corporate platforms.

Self-Sovereign Identity

Self-Sovereign Identity

The power of controlling your digital identity in protocol-based networks and its role in authentic connection.

Transparent Algorithms

Transparent Algorithms

Why open-source recommendation algorithms are essential for democratic information sharing.

Community Governance

Community Governance

How permissionless protocol-based systems enable true democratic governance of digital spaces.

Data Portability

Data Portability

The technical foundations of data portability in open protocols and why it matters for user freedom.

Building the Future

Building the Future

Practical steps toward building protocol-based social networks that can make revolution possible without gatekeepers.

Listen to the Podcast

The podcast will be available on these platforms when it launches.

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