Data Backup Digest

Open source software is quickly gaining popularity as an alternative to the mainstream programs and apps that have dominated our devices for years. At the same time, cryptocurrency markets like Bitcoin are being praised for their decentralized design. When coupled together, these two breakthroughs hold significant potential for the future of computing in the 21st century – and Twitter wants to be amongst the first to capitalize.

Their intentions were first made clear in a Twitter post, where CEO Jack Dorsey stated: "Twitter is funding a small independent team of up to five open source architects, engineers, and designers to develop an open and decentralized standard for social media. The goal is for Twitter to ultimately be a client of this standard."

But where are their recent plans coming from? Why is Twitter so quick to embrace open source design and decentralization? For starters, many people believe that a decentralized format would put an end to some of the biggest problems with social media today – including issues surrounding moderation of posts.

Dorsey touched on this subject in another post, where he stated: "Centralized enforcement of global policy to address abuse and misleading information is unlikely to scale over the long-term without placing far too much burden on people."

However, it's important to note that Twitter would not be the first decentralized social network in existence. In fact, several communities already exist that fit the bill. According to Twitter's current CEO, they'd rather capitalize on a platform that is already in existence.

"For social media, we’d like this team to either find an existing decentralized standard they can help move forward, or failing that, create one from scratch." Dorsey wrote.

It's also important to note that Twitter's newest endeavor could take years to come to fruition. Known as Bluesky, there hasn't been much progress thus far. Twitter's current chief technical officer, Parag Agrawal, has the responsibility of securing a project leader for the initiative. According to a recent tweet, Agrawal is looking for someone who has experience "in the open on the blockchain."

For now, Bluesky's official Twitter account has been relegated to re-tweeting the posts of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Moreover, it's no coincidence that all of these re-posts begin with the letters "lo," which is a direct callback to the very first message that was ever sent on the Internet. Not only does it forecast the potential impact of Twitter's Bluesky project in the coming months and years, but it gives the impression that their latest efforts are a result of tried and true technology rather than some new, untested app.

But it's difficult to say how modern social media users will view a decentralized network. As the current offerings aren't nearly as popular as their mainstream counterparts, it will be interesting to see how everything pans out over the course of the next few years.

To find out more information on Twitter's latest events and happenings, or to join the popular social media network for yourself, please visit their official website at www.twitter.com.