Starting new social media platforms

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It is important to have a clear idea of what you aim to accomplish when starting a new social media platform. This page outlines a rudimentary checklist:

  1. Have a community that requires your platform.
  2. Have clear reasons why existing platforms do not suffice.
  3. Have clear requirements for new platforms.
  4. Have clear intentions outlined in a charter, constitution, founding documents, goals, mission statement, purpose, or whatever term you wish to call it.
  5. Have a clear structure outlining the expectations, behavioral priorities, goals, authority, conflict resolutions, and disciplinary consequences.
  6. Have a clear roadmap of where things may develop. Include the realistic as well as your ambitious dreams.
  7. Have a short list of hard rules that are black and white and crystal clear that must be followed.
  8. Have a longer list of grey area guidelines with as many examples as necessary for clarity.


Community

1) Have a community that requires your platform.

If you don't already have a community it will be nearly impossible to just grow one.

If you intend to recruit from existing communities, make sure you're offering superior services, solutions, and reasons to migrate - and consider the community distraction, division, damage, fallout, and unexpected consequences. Is it really worth the risks?

You may have to present the case for migrating. You should be clear and open about the pros and cons.

Reasons

2) Have clear reasons why existing platforms do not suffice.

Valid example reasons:

  • we need alternatives to the evil technocracy
    • we should not depend on the technocracy
    • we should not support the technocracy
    • we should not provide our metadata to the technocracy
    • we should not be exploited by the technocracy
  • we need autonomy
    • more control over our own data
    • more control over our platform
    • more control over our rules/guidelines
    • more freedom
    • more privacy
    • more security
    • self-management
    • self-regulation
  • we need security from censorship and harms
    • Including defamation, hacks, lies, maliciousness, misinformation, sealioning, shills, slander, spam, trolls, etc.
  • we need FOEPATCHISM
    • Fair, Open, Ethical, Peaceful, Accountable, Transparent, Consistent, Honest, Inclusive (everyone gets a say in how things are run), Social Management' - for collaborators, communities, families, governments, groups, homes, organizations, social media, societies, teams, workplaces, etc. "Foe" = enemy; "patch" = correction.
  • we need technical solutions
    • we need open-source software (transparent & verifiably safe)
    • we need to decentralize
      • spread out and distribute away from a single/central point of failure
    • we need to develop and support alternatives
    • we need to know who controls our platform

"We" = community. The community must take priority over individuals' egos.

Questionable example reasons:

  • I can be a better leader
  • I know better
  • I must censor "wrongthink"

Requirements

3) Have clear requirements for your new platforms.

In addition to the reasons above...

Functional requirements

May include:

  • chat (open and/or private)
  • forum
  • groups
  • media
  • organized content (rank, tag, vote)
  • private chats and/or private messages
  • sharing
  • wiki

Technical requirements

May include:

  • backup and/or download
  • compatible (Windows/Mac/Linux, PC/mobile, etc.)
  • customize (CSS, dark/light, preferences, settings, themes, etc.)
  • expandable (addons, bridging, decentralizations, extensions, modular, etc.)
  • organized content (categories, classifications, meta-tags, ranks, subjects, topics, votes)
  • tech support (open-source development community)

Intentions

4) Have clear intentions outlined in a charter, constitution, founding documents, goals, mission statement, purpose, or whatever term you wish to call it.

More soon.

Structure

5) Have a clear structure outlining the expectations, behavioral priorities, goals, authority, conflict resolutions, and disciplinary consequences.

More soon.

Roadmap

6) Have a clear roadmap of where things may develop. Include the realistic as well as your ambitious dreams.

More soon.

Rules

7) Have a short list of hard rules that are black and white and crystal clear that must be followed.

More soon.

Guidelines

8) Have a longer list of grey area guidelines with as many examples as necessary for clarity.

More soon.

See also