More people should read this 2019 Essay by Mike Masnick-and then they should read it again. It is a fantastic write-up that tells us why, in large part, we got to where we are here in 2025-with Bluesky surging, and social media is undergoing major shifts. The other reasons social media is in flux-I'll leave to history to figure out. For me, the fascination is about how Masnick created a burst of technological innovation from this single article.

found these two passages extremely prescient from Masnick's article:

"While there is no silver bullet, a system of protocols could serve to do a better job of protecting both user privacy and free speech, while at the same time minimizing the impact of abusive behavior online and creating new and compelling business models that are more aligned with user interests."

"The key to making this work is that while there would be specific protocols for the various types of platforms we see today, there would then be many competing interface implementations of that protocol. The competition would come from those implementations..."

Fast-forward a short time later, and Bluesky was born inside Twitter before the end of 2019. It became an independent company in 2021. That's a lot of mileage gained from one single think-piece!

So Mike's essay provided this great conceptual blueprint which created conditions for Bluesky to exist and, later, grow rapidly. I want to briefly explain why this happened, ummarizing the key take-aways from Mike's great write-up. But I do recommend people taking the time to read it for themselves.

So What Are “Protocols” / “Platforms” in Social Media?

  • Platforms – These are centralized online services like Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. A platform is run by a single company or organization that controls how people interact, what content is allowed, how it’s displayed, and so forth. Since platforms are centralized, they can set and enforce rules from the top down.

  • Protocols – These are agreed-upon rules or standards that let different computer systems talk to each other. Think of it like the “language” the Internet uses behind the scenes. For example basic protocols move data from one place to another (TCP/IP) allowing anyone to exchange information across the Internet—no single company owns or controls those protocols (there may be Terms of Service, and DNS/BGP peering handled by ISPs, but they all run atop TCP). Email (SMTP) is another protocol that ensures messages can flow freely across different email providers—again, no single gatekeeper is in charge (and, again, for sake of argument we'll leave out RBLs and spam filters). With social media the AT Protocol, which Bluesky runs on, is a standardized open protocol that works much the same way: no one owns it or can impact its function.

Why Protocols May Enhance Freedom of Expression

According to Masnick's fantastic article, protocols give you the potential of decentralized control, innovation, and resilience.

• Decentralized Control: Because protocols are open standards rather than closed services, no one person (ahem, Elon...ahem Zuck) or company can easily block or censor entire communities (or networks). If you don’t like the rules on one email or social media service, you can switch to another that still “speaks” the same protocol. And so you remain part of the broader network no matter which community you might like.

• Encouraging Innovation: When you have an open standard, anyone can create a new tool or service that uses the protocol. Think about how countless email clients or web browsers exist, each with different features—yet all speak the same basic “language.” This flexibility spurs competition and new ideas.

• Resilience: Because protocols are shared across many servers and operators (rather than concentrated in a single platform’s data centers), there’s no single point of failure or control. The Internet remains more durable and less prone to shutdowns.

So it comes down to where we are now:

Platform Approach:

• Centralized.
• Company sets the rules (like content moderation policies).
• Innovation often comes from that one company, at its pace, in its custome / owned ecosystem.

Protocol Approach:

• Distributed.
• Many independent services and communities connect through a shared technical standard or "language".
• People can build new services on top of the same protocol, allowing for more choice and experimentation.

The Key Takeaways

Mike Masnick really started something, and created a spark that led Jay Graber and team kick-off a revolution, when he published his article in 2019. Mike and Jay (and, to some extent, an earlier forbear at Mastodon) are part of the story behind the exciting potential for the much-needed disruption that social media may undergo in the years ahead.

I personally think the shockwave is yet to come, but the rumble is well-underway. And we have a [fascinating conceptual blueprint(https://knightcolumbia.org/content/protocols-not-platforms-a-technological-approach-to-free-speech) that laid it all out: <br / >

  1. Choice & Control: Protocols grant you more choices about who you trust or which service you use. You’re not locked into a single entity’s decisions.
  2. Free Speech Concerns: Under a protocol system, it’s harder for one big company to go and decide what billions of people can say or read.
  3. Easier to Innovate: Anyone can build new tools and services on top of an open protocol, spurring creativity and fresh ideas.
  4. Real-World Example: Email is a widely used protocol; you can have a Gmail address or a Yahoo address, or run your own email server, and still send messages back and forth with anyone else who uses email—no single company “owns” or “controls” all of email.

If we rely on open protocols rather than single, centralized platforms, in the next-era of social media-we encourage a healthier, more vibrant online ecosystem where people have greater autonomy, control, and freedom of speech. Protocols lower barriers to entry, foster competition, and help protect against any one singular commercial entity deciding "what is acceptable" online.

If you're a non-technical person, the tl;dr (quick-takeway) is simply: open, decentralized systems can naturally preserve more freedom and choice than closed, centralized platforms.

More great reads on the AT Protocol HERE and HERE.