A new non-profit organization, A New Social, has been formed to promote the open social web and bridge the gap between different platforms. The organization, founded by Ryan Barrett and Anuj Ahooja, aims to create a healthy ecosystem where services compete on innovative features rather than critical mass.

At the heart of A New Social's mission is the belief that the social web should be centered around people, not platforms, and that artificial walls should not deny users the relationships they've built online. To achieve this, the organization is betting on services built on open protocols like ActivityPub and ATProto, and will work directly with developers to ensure competition in the open social web.

A New Social's first project is Bridgy Fed, a tool developed by Barrett that enables users to share their Bluesky posts on ActivityPub-based platforms like Mastodon, and vice versa. This project is just the beginning, as the organization plans to recruit a Board of Directors, identify cross-protocol projects, and collaborate with developers to build tools and services for cross-protocol community building.

A New Social is already in talks with major players in the open social web, including Bluesky, Flipboard, Mastodon, and Meta. Ahooja emphasized the importance of holding these platforms accountable for their promises to users, citing examples like Threads' promise to federate and Bluesky's goal of decentralization. By sitting at the intersection of these platforms, A New Social aims to advocate for users and ensure that these promises are kept.

One of the concerns surrounding open social web projects is their long-term viability. Ahooja acknowledged this concern, referencing the recent shutdown of sub.club, another promising fediverse project he worked on. However, he believes that by working with platforms and taking a cross-network approach, A New Social can help create a more sustainable ecosystem.

Barrett echoed this sentiment, noting that individual platforms and tools will inevitably grow and shrink, but the overall trend is towards decentralized social media platforms gaining mindshare. If A New Social can help connect and sustain these platforms, it will be a net positive for the ecosystem.

The launch of A New Social marks an exciting development in the pursuit of a more open and interconnected social web. As the organization grows and evolves, it will be interesting to see how its efforts impact the broader social media landscape.