Steal This Show

In this episode we meet Zenna, Andre and Zack from Scuttlebutt (https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss) , a P2P-based social ‘network of networks’ based around a BitTorrent-like distribution technology.  After figuring out what Scuttlebutt is (and is not) we discuss: the roots of Scuttlebutt in New Zealand, the system’s politically anarchist/libertarian ethos, how Scuttlebutt survived (or shrugged off) a right-wing deluge; and how SSB’s technical architecture eliminates the need for moderators. With social networks like Facebook, Twitter and 4Chan increasingly becoming propagation tanks for viciously partisan net cultures, we talk about what makes Scuttlebutt different: it’s a network that resists aggregation, massification,  and centralisation. Scuttlebutt is succeeding where Diaspora (https://diasporafoundation.org/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss) failed precisely because it doesn’t seek to replace the social media behemoths: Scuttlebutt is tiny by design, happy to be human, and based arou