articles Archives - Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure

Keyword: Accidental Infrastructure

An IRL example of accidental infrastructure: at the height of the COVID pandemic, parking spaces on city streets were converted into outdoor restaurant seating. Image via Wikimedia Commons user Eden, Janine and Jim.

This is an entry in our Keyword series, where we try to define the terms you’ll often hear when people talk about building a better Internet and put those keywords in their current context. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, people and organizations needed a new virtual space to host all kinds of… Continue reading Keyword: Accidental Infrastructure

Should You Leave Twitter for Mastodon?

What follows is the text of a tweet thread Ethan Zuckerman issued last week. Below it are some additional tweets embedded focusing on the case for leaving Twitter Long thread – buckle up. TL:DR; yes, you should join Mastodon. But you should stay on Twitter as well. What we need are more and different online… Continue reading Should You Leave Twitter for Mastodon?

We Love Music, So Why Is Joe Rogan Getting Rich?

"Now That's What I Call Music" was series that collected all the music you could hear on the radio for free. It used to cost about $20.

We’re Doing What We Love So Joe Rogan Can Get Paid Seven Figures Say the N-Word, Denigrate Trans People, and Undermine Vaccines

Prospect (UK): “How Wikipedia Gets to Define What’s True Online”

Ethan Zuckerman talks about what Wikipedia gets right, and references recent Reimagining the Internet guest Heather Ford.

Prospect (UK): “How to Fix the Internet”

Ethan Zuckerman kicks off his editorial series for the new British magazine Prospect with an intro to digital public infrastructure.

The Atlantic: “Facebook Is Hiding the Most Important Misinformation Data”

Ethan Zuckerman published this article in The Atlantic and The Conversation on November 3rd, 2021. “Billions of people have apparently encountered vaccine lies on the platform, but that number means nothing without a denominator.”

The Atlantic: “Hey Facebook, I Made a Metaverse 27 Years Ago”

This article by Ethan Zuckerman was published in the Atlantic on October 29th, 2021.

The Atlantic: “Facebook Cares About Your Privacy — But Only If You’re an Advertiser”

This article by Ethan Zuckerman was published in the Atlantic on August 26, 2021. Per their website: “The social giant kicked off researchers studying how political ads can encourage targeted voter suppression, leaving citizens with little insight into how they’re manipulated on the platform.”

Prospect (UK): “How to make better algorithms: start with the people who train machines”

Ethan Zuckerman rights for Prospect about algorithmic justice.