We’re signing off for the rest of the year. From the whole team at New_ Public, hoping the holidays bring you rest, peace, joy, and light.

A year ago, Meta announced they were introducing a new Local tab on Facebook. So where is it? Your guess is as good as ours, but this fits a pattern: the only features that succeed on Facebook are the ones that boost metrics like “time spent on the app” and increase ad revenue.

We can’t let the frontier AI labs double down on the business incentives that have ruled social media. New_ Public Co-Director @deeptidoshi.bsky.social writes that AI companions have the potential to trap us in a “synthetic intimacy” doom loop. However:

The Resonant Computing Manifesto authors, including @komorama.bsky.social and @mmasnick.bsky.social, want to encourage technology that brings out the best in us, feels human, and resonates with our deeper values. resonantcomputing.org

Is this an inflection point for algorithmic choice on social media? Threads, TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky are all experimenting with features that allow users to fine tune their feeds, based on interests. Experts and users are demanding “good defaults, visible controls, and meaningful choices”

Let’s talk about one of the most fundamental aspects of social media: ad incentives. Nothing on social media is by accident. Everything from the “someone liked your post” notification to the algorithms pushing polarizing posts is there to juice engagement, growth, and profit. Here’s how it works:

CME's @taliastroud.bsky.social discusses new research in collaboration with @newpublic.org that looks at which local digital spaces people use, how they use and view them, and how they feel about their community. Check out the discussion:

If you’re interested in the future of the internet, you need to know about MCP — the protocol that may become the way AI agents interface with apps, tools, and information. Donating MCP to Linux and building a neutral foundation around it, could lead to widespread adoption. archive.is/WNyFG

With Roundabout, our new local community app, we’re reimagining a lot of familiar surfaces and features of “social media.” Here’s how Roundabout is different: Let’s dive in! 🧵

Doesn’t it always come down to this? There are good people working at Big Tech social media companies, and they mean well. But because of the underlying incentives, nothing is ever allowed to get in the way of profit and growth. time.com/7336204/meta...

New_ Public Co-Director @deeptidoshi.bsky.social writes about the underlying incentives that have warped social media towards the twin evils of extraction and surveillance. To have any hope of building a more prosocial and public-spirited internet, we need new business models.

Amazing to see New_Public roll out the first look at their new app. Thoughtful design for healthier digital public spaces isn’t just an idea, they're actually building it!. Big moment, and excited to see what this unlocks next!

What would it look like to move on from Meta? Comedian Maddy Kelly explains that leaving Instagram won’t be easy, but just like when younger people left Facebook, it IS possible. (hint: read the comments for real-life examples of people who made the switch!) youtube.com/shorts/jzvuC...

It’s not just social media apps that can suck you into an addictive doom loop — many modern dating apps have similar features and incentives. Candice Lim writes for @mozilla.org: mozilla.substack.com/p/the-issue-...

New_ Public advisor Catherine Tait how public media can double down on its advantage with local reporting and build closer to digital-first audiences. “I think there's an enormous opportunity right now to be the morels that grow from the roots of the scorched earth." youtu.be/zbnzbSXxcS8?...

Cambridge Dictionary’s 2025 word of the year is “parasocial.” It describes one-sided relationships with people we don’t know but feel like we do from watching them. While parasocial relationships can bring much-needed kinship and empathy, we might be due for less “para” and more “social” in 2026…

We’re about to see what happens when an English-speaking developed nation completely cuts off its 5M+ kids 16 and under from social media. The world is watching with great interest: Malaysia, Denmark, Norway, and the European Parliament are already following in their footsteps.

Imagine if librarians could only issue fines. That’s what many online platforms have reduced the job of “moderator” to: punishment. We think community stewards (as we like to call them) are capable of a ton if they’re supported and empowered — curating info, forging connections, and much more!

RESEARCH: Can our social media feeds politically polarize us? Researchers used a browser extension to change users’ exposure to polarizing content, and found significant effects on polarization. However, we don’t know the long term effects. www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....

Have not had the time to read this yet but the alive/dead question came up in a very similar way yesterday: what are key differences between “old” internet and the “new” internet? That discussion settled around human v robot (acknowledging that line is hard to draw!).

@spencer.place’s “alive internet theory” rejects the inevitability of a “dead internet” and boldly proclaims that “we will never let the open internet die.” Instead he asks… “How can we make the open internet more resilient, vibrant, and collaborative than ever?”

Can’t stop thinking about this quote: “At first it was amazing to be able to find people like you anywhere in the world. Then we got so wrapped up in the internet that we lost touch with our neighbors. Now, it’s time to build technology that connects us where our feet are.”

@pewresearch.org just updated their report on social media use 👀 TikTok, WhatsApp and Reddit have grown, but are still used far less than Facebook and Instagram. See more of Pew’s extensive breakdown of the social media landscape across key demographics. www.pewresearch.org/internet/202...

@amandahoover.bsky.social in @businessinsider.com: “Getting offline is the new social currency.” Able to ditch email, switch to a flip phone, and log off the apps? Must be nice 💅 It shouldn’t be a luxury to have meaningful connection and peace of mind.

Social media feeds amplify stuff that’s “engaging” (i.e. controversial, polarizing). On Roundabout, our new local community app, we’re experimenting with Highlights, a feature where trusted stewards curate relevant posts for the community. Let’s see if they’re better recommenders than algorithms!

Check out a new report on “Social Media & Tech Solidarity” from @ajescoffery.blacksky.app & The Media and Data Equity (MADE) Lab. With wisdom from our own @deeptidoshi.bsky.social & Jeremy Knight! “Community leaders are critical infrastructure for guiding and shaping norms, but they need support.”

@slaby.bsky.social interviews New_ Public Co-Director @eli.bsky.social in his new interview newsletter series, The Exchange. Eli and Michael go deep on Roundabout, local media, the new pope, and much more! Worth subscribing! insightsbymurmuration.substack.com/p/building-d...

@jerusalem.bsky.social tries to find a balance between her optimism for tech progress and her concerns about its harms. "I worry that in the frenzy of trying to manage the negative side effects of social media, we’ll throw the tech-progress baby out with the short-form-video-slop bathwater."

We’re building Roundabout, an app and website for neighbors to connect. As we build, we’re grounded in research about what people actually want, and we’re working hard to deliver that. But what DO people actually want? newpublic.substack.com/p/introducin...

Our team at @newpublic.org has spent the last couple of months co-designing & building Roundabout — a new platform to help local communities share information & support, without the chaos and toxicity common elsewhere. This week, we’re moving into a closed beta in 5 towns/cities across the US 👀

Stoked to share this news from New_ Public: Our local work has come a long way from hunch to product—a new social platform for local communities!

friends >>>> followers Any day of the week. www.newyorker.com/culture/infi...

Anthropologist @eselster.bsky.social argues parents have tried so hard to insulate their kids from offline harms, that they're forced to seek unstructured independence in online spaces. But Big Tech often puts profits over child safety, leaving kids without safe places to play online or off.

Six months ago, I joined New_ Public to help build a new social platform for local communities. Today, I could't be more excited and proud to share what our amazing little team has cooked up, and is launching in closed beta this week. Learn more at joinroundabout.com

In communities across the country, we’re hearing from everyday people that they are hungry for a new way to connect with neighbors online. Our team at New_ Public, a nonprofit focused on building digital public spaces, is creating Roundabout, a new social app and website, now in closed beta. 🧵

This is the stuff @blaine.bsky.social has been working on.

At PDN we focus on designs that improve outcomes on any online platform, but for digital spaces to truly serve communities prosocial design needs to be part of a platform's core. That's why it's so exciting to see this new platform from @newpublic.org go public and enter beta! joinroundabout.com

Introducing Roundabout: a local community web app built to help people live a flourishing life in their local town or neighborhood. Based on rigorous research and optimized for trust. Built by a nonprofit, for the public. Find resources, connect with neighbors, celebrate your community.

As part of preparing for #ATmosphereConf in Vancouver March 2026, we're republishing the videos from Seattle March 2025, along with transcripts. Here's @blaine.bsky.social, Network Punk, Welcome to the Jungle.

This is one of the best deliberative democracy projects we’ve seen in a while: @engaged-california.bsky.social asked Californians affected by the LA wildfires to weigh in on the recovery process. Now they’ve synthesized that data, and they’re presenting an action plan to elected officials.

With social media, Big Tech “turned the dial” to make its products as engaging (and profitable) as possible — while ignoring or downplaying safety. Now we’re seeing the consequences of that attitude in AI.

Social media researcher @taliastroud.bsky.social (New_ Public and @engagingnews.bsky.social) presents our new nationwide poll results on how Americans really connect with their neighbors online — and the surprising gaps that deserve more attention. Watch here 📹

“The business model of these companies is to extract human attention from our brains like gold from a mine, and to convert it into ad revenue. They call these feeds ‘for you,’ but it’s not for you. It’s for them.” jackconte.bsky.social summing it up in a nutshell 💥

The For You Page has cannibalized the feed, and what’s left are big viral moments, your private DMs, and the hollow middle. A social media manager’s perspective on how the social internet works now, and to think about getting attention online, from @milkkarten.bsky.social.

According to @benjaminwaldman.bsky.social, its perfect time to build a Canadian social media app. With tensions high, Canadians want their voices and values to be represented online, and not be drowned out or ignored by American algorithms. They've raised more than 1.3M CAD to make that happen.

RESEARCH: What happens when teens steward their own digital spaces? A study of Discord servers run by and for teens found that moderators not only gained valuable skills, but were better at maintaining engaging, healthy spaces for their peers. The kids will be alright 🥹 dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...

New social platform @gandersocial.bsky.social is not only using Bluesky’s ATProtocol to build a feed without ads, they’re also keeping user data within in Canada and operating under Canadian law. This is next-level, unprecedented data sovereignty.

We are thrilled to be a small part of a much larger movement for designing and building digital spaces that feel like the parks, neighborhoods, and libraries we love. Check out our revised and expanded Healthy Digital Spaces Starter Pack, and let us know who we’re missing! bsky.app/starter-pack...

Meta has been putting profit over people for a long time. Last year they planned to collect $16 BILLION in revenue from fraudulent, scammy ads. “Meta’s own research suggests its products have become a pillar of the global fraud economy,” writes @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social.

“Are you sure?” “Still scrolling?” Maybe building in pauses and prompts can supply much needed friction, but is it enough to fully counteract Big Tech’s engagement machine? These solutions are certainly a good first step. techandsocialcohesion.substack.com/p/the-intern...