#reddittalk

The End of Reddit Talk

Reddit held a town hall meeting today, to announce that it is shutting down Reddit Talk, its live-audio platform.

This is a sad misfortune, beyond the failure of a single product.

Live audio offers social media's redeeming promise: the possibility of virality without polarisation.  People talk to each other instead of posting at each other, favouring mutual understanding over thoughtless confrontation.

It carries the intimacy of a whisper in one's ear, and the authenticity of people expressing themselves in their own voices.

Reddit has effectively abdicated the field to #TwitterSpaces.  We will see how Twitter and Elon Musk exercise their new dominion.

Ten Years on Reddit

I joined Reddit ten years ago, to submit a question to an AMA on the International Space Station.  I quickly became intrigued by the platform's unusual system of self-organisation.

Reddit is a community of subject-matter communities, curated by volunteers, who are responsible for upholding standards developed by community members themselves.

At their best, Reddit communities combine freedom of expression with grassroots mutual accountability.  At their worst, they are forms of digital feudalism and self-perpetuating prejudices.  They are, in effect, online microcosms of real-world societies.

At a time when all social media platforms still struggle to find ways to be both open and responsible, I remain intrigued the Reddit model.

The US Supreme Court and the Future of Social Media

The US Supreme Court is about to hear what may be the most consequential case in the history of social media.

Nohemi Gonzalez was murdered by ISIS.  Her parents are suing YouTube, because the platform’s recommendation system had promoted and monetised terrorist videos that helped radicalise the killers.

If the US Supreme Court agrees with the Gonzalez family, the global social media ecosystem would have to change utterly, or perish altogether.

I will host my first Twitter Space tomorrow — Monday 20 February 2023, at 12h00 EST — to discuss the case with the Legal Counsel for Reddit, Ben Lee, and for Wikimedia, Jacob Rogers.

Please join us, if you can.

Does Japan’s Past Haunt its Hopes for the Future?

I spoke with Carleton University’s Prof Jacob Kovalio, on Japan’s call for a “New World Order” to combat authoritarianism.

In this clip, I asked how Japan might win the support of other Asian states, which have deep memories of Japan’s own history of conquest and occupation.

Japan’s Call for a “New World Order”

Japan's constitution renounces the country's sovereign right to wage war.

But those who embrace pacifism can still find themselves beset by others who are happy to brandish fire and the sword.

I spoke with Carleton University Professor Jacob Kovalio, about Japan's call for an alliance of democracies, to halt the march of tyrannies in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Can Social Media Corporate Leaders Face Justice?

The immense power of social media platforms means that when they have committed acts of misconduct or negligence, they have undermined democracies and precipitated genocide.

During our live-audio conversation, I asked European Commission Executive Vice-President, Margrethe Vestager, if the corporate leaders responsible should face criminal prosecution.

This is her reply.

Democratic Oversight of Social Media Platforms

On Monday 14 November, I will hold a Reddit Talk with European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager.

We will discuss the EU's Digital Services Act.  Amongst other measures, it will compel large online platforms to:

• Promptly remove criminal content • Combat disinformation • Provide algorithmic transparency • Redress those harmed by unjust decisions

Join our live-audio conversation, and bring your questions for her.