A new nonprofit organization, A New Social, has been announced to bring together developers, researchers, startups, and industry leaders focused on building infrastructure for the open social web. The organization, founded by Ryan Barrett and Anuj Ahooja, aims to provide a collaborative environment for projects like Bridgy Fed, which is working to connect the social network Bluesky with the wider fediverse.

Bridgy Fed, initially a personal side project, has gained significant attention and sparked debates about its technology. As the project grew, Barrett realized the need for a more established infrastructure, which led to the formation of A New Social. The nonprofit will provide a structure for Bridgy Fed and other open social projects, enabling them to receive funding and guidance from a board of directors.

Ahooja, who has been involved in various fediverse-related projects, including advising a service that aimed to fund the fediverse via paid subscriptions, will serve as A New Social's CEO and executive director. The organization will initially focus on Bridgy Fed and explore alternative funding sources, such as crowdfunding, grants, and investments from industry partners.

A New Social's long-term goal is to identify and support other open social projects that are working to build or connect separate open ecosystems. This may include projects utilizing different protocols like Farcaster, nostr, and others. The organization will collaborate with existing leaders in the space, including Bluesky, Flipboard, Meta, and Mastodon, to facilitate these connections.

Ahooja emphasized the importance of working with these platforms, stating, "Before we even started this, we made sure that the platforms are on board, because if they're not on board, then our existence doesn't even matter." A New Social plans to work with other organizations focused on the open social web, such as The Social Web Foundation (SWF) and the Independent Federated Trust & Safety (IFTAS).

The emergence of A New Social and SWF signals a growing interest in the open social web and its potential to transform the way we interact online. As the organization grows, it will be interesting to see how it contributes to the development of this ecosystem and the implications it may have for the future of social media.

In a time where social media platforms are facing increased scrutiny, the open social web movement offers a promising alternative. A New Social's efforts to unite developers, researchers, and startups working on this infrastructure could be a crucial step towards creating a more decentralized, user-friendly, and open online environment.