A poster for Source Code, a London meetup for journalists and technologists. Tuesday 31st March from 6 p.m. The Sir Christopher Hatton, EC1N 7RA. With Kevin Anderson, Digital Revenue Network Director at WAN-IFRA. Natalie McEvoy, Head of Content Clearance at ClearDraft. Harriet Meyer, Founder of AI for Media. Saskia Welch, Head of Community at The Newsmast Foundation. Steven Wilson-Beales, SEO consultant.

If you're in London on the 31st of March, head to The Sir Christopher Hatton for an evening of tech and journalism.

Our very own @saskiakezia.com will be there talking about our work with @thebristolcable.bsky.social which was recently featured in The Local Media Action Plan.

Three Years at the Newsmast Foundation and on the Social Web A short reflection on what I've learnt about myself and about the Social Web. Three years. It really doesn't feel like that long until I start thinking about everything we've done in that time. Then ...

Three years of the Social Web 😱

forbetter.ghost.io/three-years-...

“Newsrooms are not just delivering news, they are delivering communities.”

@saskiakezia.com

Protocols for Publishers London

Platforms as the Preface to Community The bricks and mortar aren't enough, for a home, you need love. Social platforms teach us a lot about community building. They are, after all, a big empty room in digital space, with fairground-esque...

To become more than an empty room, platforms have to try.

Just think about early Bluesky, the people posting here 24/7 were the staff!

forbetter.ghost.io/platforms-as...

Looking to 26 2026 is nearly here. Here are my hopes for the year ahead. 2025 - What. A. Year. When a certain Trump took control of the U.S. in the start of the year (on my birthday, I might add), things felt pre...

I'm no LinkedIn prophet, but I have hope for the year ahead.

forbetter.ghost.io/looking-to-26/

#SocialMedia #Blog #YearAhead

An image of Freddie smiling into the camera with text reading: "Thank you Freddie!"

As Freddie, @playawfulthings.bsky.social, comes to the end of his time with the Newsmast Foundation team, we'd like to take a moment to celebrate all he's achieved.

Freddie has been with us since the start, from the original idea and through the many evolutions that have grown Newsmast.

The Bristol Cable/Newsmast Foundation: deepening community for a UK news coop — Good Commons We use cookies to understand how this site is used, so we can improve it for everyone. You can choose what you\u2019re comfortable with.

A new case study looking at how we're building for good, with information sharing and news at the heart, has been published by Good Commons today!

Check it out here: goodcommons.world/casestudies/...

#SocialMedia #Journalism

🎉 We've launched The Bristol Cable app – a world first!

Independent investigative journalism meets open social networking.

**What makes it different:**
• No algorithms – you control what you see
• No data harvesting
• No advertising
• Connects to Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads & beyond

Really looking forward to this today! #SFSCon

There's a lot to look forward to at the #Fediverse track at #SFSCon but @saskiakezia.com and @michaelfoster.bsky.social talk on growing the open social web, in the context of liberalism's crisis.

An image of a British Airways plane on the ground against a cloudy sky.

#SFSCon and #Bolzano - here we come!

The end of liberalism and the beginnings of resistance I was at the Thompson Reuters Trust Conference last week. A good place to see where the philanthropic arm of the liberal elite is heading.* Short answer: it's lost. Blinded by AI and blindsided by…

"There’s a clear imperative for those of us working on the Social Web to act in this emergency."

@michaelfoster.bsky.social breaks down the threats we face in the digital landscape and thinks about how we can channel our inner badass and fight back 💪

www.blog-pat.ch/the-end-of-l...

#SocialMedia

Hopefully! I don't get asked for ID that often anymore so I was hoping I was losing the baby face 😓

a close up of an older man 's face with gray hair Alt: a close up of an older man 's face with gray hair

Me when I do my monthly check to see if I've aged enough to get access to my DMs again

Defining a new kind of social app As we prepare to launch a world-first app we've run into a problem. What is it? Apps are similar to books or music. They have genres. Strict rules that define who they are for, helping us, the…

"It would be simple to say that we have built a social media app. We have. But we've also built something more."

@saskiakezia.com looks at how we define our latest step-forward before the first launch 👀

Check it out 👇

forbetter.ghost.io/defining-a-n...

#SocialMedia #LocalNews

Defining a new kind of social app As we prepare to launch a world-first app we've run into a problem. What is it? Apps are similar to books or music. They have genres. Strict rules that define who they are for, helping us, the consum...

What do you call a news AND social app?

Rethinking definitions with @thebristolcable.bsky.social before the launch of their new mobile app 👀

forbetter.ghost.io/defining-a-n...

#SocialMedia #Journalism #Tech

An image of a man (Freddie) in a yellow shirt presenting in front of giant screen. On the screen it reads "The Bristol Cable App" with four screenshots from The Bristol Cable app.

Yesterday, we visited @thebristolcable.bsky.social for their AGM to announce our exciting partnership.

The Bristol Cable is a co-op, 100% locally-owned publication and we're very proud to be developing new ways to help them connect with their community away from Big Tech.

#LocalJournalism

Building apps for social spaces The Newsmast team was in Rome last week, working through our messaging and branding with a non-profit agency. It was hot, hard work, ending up with a lot of mosquito bites, some fabulous memories and ...

Things are coming together at @newsmastfoundation.org. Here’s the big idea we’re working on:

What if every community could have their own social platform, driven by an own-branded mobile app, as easy to build as Facebook Groups?

#Fediverse #SocialMedia #Community

www.blog-pat.ch/building-app...

A screenshot from X with a tweet saying: "Spider Man 2 (2023) had Bluesky writing" with a crying emoji

"Bluesky" is now derogatory.

In the comments, they confirmed that "Bluesky" as an adjective meant woke and performative...

What's the Vibe of the Social Web? The all-important 'vibe' shapes the message others receive when they come into contact with the Open Social Web. Vibe. What a word. What a concept. The idea that every space has its own energy which…

"At the end of the day, no matter how good and ethical something is, it has to feel right to the user."

@saskiakezia.com looks at how the Social Web, including Bluesky, is perceived through 'vibes' by young people.

forbetter.ghost.io/whats-the-vi...

#SocialMedia #Bluesky #SocialWeb

What's the Vibe of the Social Web? The all-important 'vibe' shapes the message others receive when they come into contact with the Open Social Web. Vibe. What a word. What a concept. The idea that every space has its own energy which ...

The vibe of the Social Web is putting young people off.

forbetter.ghost.io/whats-the-vi...

#Blog #SocialMedia

An image of a smashed phone is the background to a quote from Amnesty International's Breaking Up With Big Tech report, which reads: "Big Tech’s dominance can lead to devastating consequences for marginalized communities. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have become primary gateways to news and public discourse. Their algorithmic systems – optimized for engagement and profit – have been shown to amplify harmful content which elicits a stronger reaction from users and keeps us online longer, allowing these companies to collect more data on us and serve us more adverts. In an increasingly polarized context, this can contribute to the rapid spread of discriminatory speech and even incitement to violence – which has had devastating consequences in several crisis and conflict-affected areas." Newsmast Foundation branding can be seen.

A new report by @amnesty.org calls for the dismantling of concentrations of power to make way for rights-respecting digital ecosystems.

Social technology should not be manipulated to keep you scrolling and your time the currency funding Big Tech.

Link below.

#SocialMedia #BigTech #Democracy

Newsmast unplugged: FediCon Part III Travelling nine and a half hours around the world is one way to get a different perspective. Made easier by finding a welcoming Third Space to call home for a few days. FediCon was the perfect place ...

@newsmastfoundation.org has many moving parts, and it hasn’t always been clear how it all fits together.

Now we’re aiming to simplify things. Slow down, become comfortable with what we’re doing, and fit it all together in one #SocialWeb onboarding programme.

www.blog-pat.ch/newsmast-unp...

Third Spaces in the Fediverse: FediCon thoughts Part II The day after FediCon, Vancouver waterfront was overtaken by hundreds of cosplayers at Anirevo - the Anime Revolution convention. Power Rangers, One Piece pirates and classic Japanese anime characters...

The most piratical thought at FediCon was presented by @j12t.org

Stop battling oligarch-owned big-tech walled gardens in their own space, where they have all the power. Move away, to open, unexplored territories. Third Spaces mix this growth with a grassroots vibe.

www.blog-pat.ch/third-spaces...

A greyscale image of a car burning provides the background for the quote which reads, "X’s algorithmic design and policy choices contributed to heightened risks amid a wave of anti-Muslim and anti-migrant violence observed in several locations across the UK last year, and which continues to present a serious human rights risk today." - Pat de Brún, Head of Big Tech Accountability at Amnesty International.

Today, Amnesty International have shared their report into X's part in the UK 'Race Riots' last year.

Unsurprisingly, their findings highlighted a number of failings by the platform.

Please, take a look at the report below and share it with your friends who still, solely, use X.

#LeaveX #Twitter

An illustration showing a number of forest animals sat around a bonfire. Over it, copy reads: Bonfire & Newsmast Foundation. Working together to grow the Open Social Web.

Newsmast × Bonfire

We’re excited to share that Newsmast and @bonfire.indieweb.social.ap.brid.gy
are working together!

#Announcement #SocialWeb #Fediverse

Mastodon Defence Command: The Scam Wave It's not a sci-fi blockbuster, it's a serious issue. The Online Safety Act was passed into UK law in October 2023. Its roll-out is a slow process which has been taking place behind the scenes for a l...

"It's so hard to get a message out across a decentralised network. It's so hard to apply something like the OSA to a decentralised network. But, whether we want to or not, we have to work this out for the future of the Open Social Web."

forbetter.ghost.io/mastodon-def...

#Mastodon #OnlineSafetyAct

A graphic giving details on the Media Revolution campaign. It reads: Media Revolution. Campaign Launch. A true media revolution requires more than any single strategy – be it blocking billionaire ownership, regulating them better or creating shiny new replacements. Each response is vital, yet none are sufficient alone to fix a system this entrenched. It’s time for a massive, coordinated approach.

Media Revolution is a campaign by @media-revolution.bsky.social to transform the global media landscape and we are so proud to be involved 🙌

Launching today, the campaign aims to build coordinated awareness and action for 100 days.

Learn more here: mediarevolution.org

#MediaRevolution

The Women's Euros trophy, wrapped in an England flag, sat in the seat of the England jet.

Aura