If you've been visiting our website in recent weeks, you may have noticed some changes in the header and footer on our pages. We have removed the X logo and are no longer providing a link to our account on the X (formerly Twitter) social media platform. Given the past couple years of changes in leadership, community policies, and community makeup on X; socPub has decided to suspend posting on our X account. Admittedly, we always had a low following on this account so the statement we're making here is less significant than when other online publications take a similar action. Still, we believe no longer posting on X is a step in the right direction for socPub.

Earlier this year we established an account on the social media platform Bluesky. Bluesky now has over 10 million users which is three time more users than when we joined the social network earlier this year. We plan to send more time during the months ahead on Bluesky. New social networks like Bluesky, Mastodon, and even Threads, promise to do things differently by allowing their networks to be decentralized much in the same way as your email accounts allow you to send and receive emails from different email servers. We believe decentralized social networks are the future and we want to be a part of that future.  

Traditional social media platforms that are centralized (like Facebook and X) have often been criticized for their lack of transparency, lack of user control, algorithmic bias, and making decisions that aren't always in the best interest of their users. Decentralization is hoping to address all this by giving you more ownership of your own data and letting you take that data with you in the same manner you would with your email, personal websites, and contacts. If you don't like how one company or entity is running their server, you can move on to another server that has the community and governance policies more to your liking.

One of the most significant advantages of Bluesky is its implementation of the AT Protocol, which is expected to enable seamless account portability between different social networks. This means that users can easily migrate their accounts and followers to another Bluesky compatible platform without losing their data or connections. This contrasts with traditional social media platforms, where users are often locked into a single ecosystem, making it difficult to switch without sacrificing their established online presence.

Furthermore, Bluesky emphasizes user ownership of data. Users have the right to access, control, and export their data, ensuring transparency and accountability in how their information is handled. This contrasts with traditional social media platforms where user data is often monetized without explicit consent or clear guidelines.

So in conclusion, we do hope you'll follow us on Bluesky and make our posts a part of your conversation. Hope to see you there!