iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Our latest newsletter takes on one of the most persistent myths in social media: that everything could be fixed w/ a reverse chronological feed. 🔄⌛https://newpublic.substack.com/p/meet-the-algorithm-you-can-actually

Engagement is a key signal for every recommender system used by a Big Tech company today. Systems that relentlessly optimize for engagement can amplify outrage, clickbait, and falsehoods. Yet purely chronological feeds are not an ideal solution either: whoever posts most often gets to be the loudest, it’s difficult to discover interesting people outside of your network, and experiments with Facebook and Instagram actually found that chronological feeds increased the amount of untrustworthy content.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 28/09/2026

A surprising stat from Murmuration’s new report, “Life in the Digital Age”: 57% of Americans use social media daily, and more say it usually leaves them feeling drained (18%) than happy (17%). murmuration.org/research/how...

A grouped horizontal bar chart from Murmuration (source: 7,449 Americans surveyed July–August 2026) titled "Social media's hold on people is deeply ambivalent: they keep coming back even though many don't like how it makes them feel." It shows reasons people return to social media, broken out by age group (18–30, 31–45, 46–60, 61+). Top reasons vary by age: entertainment and habit skew younger, while keeping up with friends and family rises sharply with age (54% for 18–45, up to 65% for 61+). Other categories include staying informed, shopping, work, following public figures, and activism.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 25/09/2026

New_ Public’s @joshpkramer.bsky.social shows what it looks like to manually control your social media algorithm with @mysky.social, a new experimental feed project. Just like the 🍔👑 says… Have it your way!

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 24/09/2026

We often think of AI as fueling online polarization, but new research suggests that — with the right rules in place — AI-powered tools might be able to help build healthier, more thoughtful conversations at scale. Emphasis on having the right rules in place! 👇 dl.acm.org/doi/epdf/10....

A Jigsaw diagram titled "Where AI could improve Deliberations / Collective Dialogue Systems," noting it is illustrative and may not reflect every permutation of a CDS or deliberation. Steps are labeled with "HU" (Human) or "AI" icons to indicate who performs each task. The visible steps in a numbered sequence are: 01 — Train Facilitators: Human trains facilitators on CDS design, recruitment, moderation, results analysis, and communication; AI extends human trainer capacities through LLM Assistants and retrieval augmented generation (RAG). 02 — Recruit Participants: Human decides on best approach and selects participants. 03 — Educate Participants: Human curates educational content and diverse perspectives; AI customizes educational materials based on preexisting knowledge, uses generative social choice to convey diversity of expert opinions, and offers a fine-tuned LLM Assistant for interactive Q&A. Arrows indicate the sequence continues to steps 04 and 05, which are partially visible at the bottom.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 23/09/2026

@josephcox.bsky.social of @404media.co has had a front row seat to the various ways personal AI agents are being set loose on the internet, including: 🤖 joining video calls for no reason 🤖 releasing albums of AI music 🤖 wasting money 🤖 sending emails and posting online

404media.co

There’s a 100% Chance AI Agents Are Already Ruining the Internet

“AI agents” now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying online.

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Blaine @blaine.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This is so exciting. I say that as someone building what would have historically been seen as a "competitive" product. Instead, we're building on shared foundations. Our shared goals are measured in terms of our communities' collective well-being. 💖

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Roundabout @roundabout.town · 23/09/2026

How did Roundabout go from a well-researched idea to an app piloting in communities across the US? It all starts with @newpublic.org Co-Director @eli.bsky.social sharing how we realized that reliable local info is a real need for many people and communities: newpublic.substack.com/p/your-towns...

newpublic.substack.com

🏘️ 🌐 Your town’s online group matters more than you think

New_ Public Co-Director, Eli Pariser, on our new Local Lab

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 22/09/2026

Recipe for a fantastic dinner party vibe: ✉️ send the invites 🎵 curate tunes 🍝🍹provide vittles and libations 💡 set an intention for the evening 🚪 make sure no one overstays their welcome Doing this every day is what separates great online community stewards from simply “moderators”.

Brundrett sees community stewards as more than just moderators — almost like a “really great dinner party host,” he explained, whose role is more proactive than reactive. “It’s somebody who is thinking about, ‘hey, what do I want this to be?’ And they’re inviting people in, they’re setting the tone.”

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 21/09/2026

Social media algorithms don't allow us to understand or control what we see online and why... until now! Top scholars @jonathanstray.com and @noupside.bsky.social are sharing @mysky.social, a tool that allows users to adjust their feed’s priorities and explains why certain posts appear over others.

newpublic.substack.com

🎛️📲 Meet the algorithm you can actually control and understand

Jonathan Stray and Renée DiResta introduce MySky, a feed that shows its work

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Roundabout @roundabout.town · 18/09/2026

An important milestone with Roundabout: Promising signs of civic participation in our North Chattanooga, TN, Roundabout community, where the most-clicked link in a recent newsletter was a local voter lookup tool 🗳️ This is a great example of @newpublic.org’s Civic Signals 👇

newpublic.org

Our Civic Signals research | New_ Public

The Civic Signals are 14 indicators of healthy online spaces, based on years of research into what makes online communities work.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 18/09/2026

As a rule, calico kittens love public-spirited digital public spaces

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 17/09/2026

The toothpaste is out of the tube: the internet is no longer 100% human, but we should lift up the people who are putting in the time, effort, and care to keep our digital spaces alive and meaningful. www.techpolicy.press/millions-of-...

“Why are Reddit and Wikipedia so much more human than LinkedIn? One reason is that they rely on the work of volunteer caretakers, known as moderators, who curate content and protect community members. The launch of ChatGPT and other generative AI models added a new job for moderators: keeping their communities human—a job that’s as grueling as it is fraught.”

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 16/09/2026

Social media is often full-scale rhetorical warfare, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be online conflict. Priya Parker says there's another way: “healthy heat: the willingness to hold tension, with care, long enough for it to become clarifying.” theisolationjournals.substack.com/cp/215506446

“In twenty-five years as a conflict dialogue facilitator, I’ve learned something deeply counterintuitive: long-term communities need love, and they also need conflict. The relationships that last aren’t the ones that never fight. They’re the ones that learn how to fight well.

And yet, when disagreement enters the room, many groups reach for one of two options. We ricochet between unhealthy peace: ghosting, avoiding, quiet resentment, smoothing over with a breezy “No worries!” while privately seething. Or unhealthy conflict: humiliation, domination, takedowns, cancellation, sabotage, public shaming.”

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 15/09/2026

@anildash.com warns that “cancer capitalism” is what happens when venture capitalism, meant to only be a small portion of an investment portfolio, grows uncontrollably, to the detriment of the entire economy. www.anildash.com/2026/09/02/c...

“Many of the trends in society and politics that people are most angry about, from data centers being forced down everyone’s throats, to all of our favorite apps and services being enshittified, to politicians being paid to ignore the will of the people, are all being supercharged by these cancer capitalists.”

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 14/09/2026

We do not need to “accept all cookies” when it comes to tech innovation for the sake of innovation 😤 Atlantic writer @cwarzel.bsky.social and @hasanminhaj.com discuss how people are rejecting AI and pushing back — unlike the initial widespread acceptance of social media. youtu.be/z7lQdkiQfo4?...

"We're not just going to consent — we're not going to accept all cookies on your vision of society and the way that humanity goes."

"Couldn't agree more, brother. Reject all."

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 11/09/2026

⭐ This year’s Tiny Awards finalists are open to public vote (and to explore)! In the running are: a digital moth that wanders Wikipedia, summer camp for your mouse, train-timed jazz, organic fonts, and more. tinyawards.net/vote/?2026

“Vote for your favorite tiny awards finalist!” written in Kash Lingat’s “nature keyboard,” an online font that uses images of nature that mimics letters of the alphabet.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 10/09/2026

Thanks to AI-powered tools, coding is more accessible than ever, but that doesn’t mean builders have decentralized tech know-how. Grey Area is offering an online course called “Beyond Big Tech” for community builders and designers building alternative tech futures! Apply by September 24th

grayarea.org

Beyond Big Tech: Building Alternative Futures for Personal Data and Infrastructure

Explore data sovereignty, self-hosting, and the decentralized web while gaining hands-on experience with tools for building community networks and alternatives to Big Tech.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 09/09/2026

We love seeing local news organizations playing an active role in building community and conversation 👏 On the 24th, New_ Public Co-Director @eli.bsky.social will be @texastribune.org Festival to discuss the impact of “Democracy in the Age of AI” alongside fellow journalism and tech experts.

festival.texastribune.org

Texas Tribune Festival

The Texas Tribune Festival — three days of politics, policy, and ideas in the heart of Austin.

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Angelica Quicksey @angelquicksey.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The EIR program application deadline is TOMORROW. The details as a reminder👇🏽 Applications due 11:59pm PT on Wed, Sep 9. This is a pilot program! We're selecting two entrepreneurs who want time, space, and mentorship to move from hunch to conviction over three (3) months.

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Roundabout @roundabout.town · 08/09/2026

Imagine if an app was all about getting you to put down your phone and get involved in your community✨ Chicagoans, join us alongside @wbez.org and the @chicago.suntimes.com at chicago.com! Here’s Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell in @niemanlab.org 👀:

This is a digital platform designed to ultimately bring people together at local in-person events. “Our top priority is that people can find what they need and then take that info out into their community,” Bell said. She noted that corporate-owned social media platforms “are typically trying to keep [users] on there as long as possible, in order to show them as many ads as possible. We do not have that incentive for chicago.com.”

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 08/09/2026

Less than 36 hours left to submit your application!!📝

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 04/09/2026

Where there is emerging technology, there are creative technologists playing in the space between art and tech 🌻💻🧑‍🎨 Turns out play and creativity have a long history in tech — thank you, Ioana Adriana Teleanu, for sharing this timeline on creative technologists!

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 04/09/2026

⏰Get your Entrepreneur in Residence applications in by September 9th! This virtual residency is for anyone who has an impactful tech idea to improve social connection and/or local information environments — but needs the resources, community, and organizational support to make it real!

newpublic.org

Enterpreneur in Residence

A virtual residency for founders with bold ideas for the internet

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 03/09/2026

Big Tech has been lying to us: they CAN make their platforms safer — and these rules can be applied globally. Meta Oversight Board member @nighatdad.bsky.social in @techpolicypress.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/meta-owes-th...

But whatever else the settlement settles, it ends one long argument about feasibility. Those of us who work on these harms outside the US have spent years being told that defaults like these would break the product, that the answer lay in parental supervision and digital literacy, that regulators misunderstood the engineering. Meta has now demonstrated that substantial changes to the product are possible. Which makes the limits of this agreement harder to ignore.

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Daphne Keller @daphnek.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

But don’t worry, every platform that has to do age verification will do it in a really robust, privacy-protective way.

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Rude1 Haunted Badness. ⁂ @rude1.blacksky.team · 02/09/2026

@blackskyweb.xyz is building an interconnected suite of products reshaping how people connect, participate, organize, and transact online. We’re looking for a Head of Design to lead and shape how our products and brands look, feel, and work. please circulate widely. blackskyweb.xyz/about/jobs/h...

blackskyweb.xyz

Head of Design

Product, brand, and visual identity About Blacksky Algorithms Blacksky Algorithms is building an interconnected suite of products reshaping how people connect, participate, organize, and transact onli...

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Roundabout @roundabout.town · 02/09/2026

For thriving online groups, finding the right community stewards is everything. These aren’t just moderators — they’re unicorns 🦄 Stewards need to be entrepreneurial, emotionally intelligent, and discerning. @clockwerks.bsky.social, leading Roundabout @newpublic.org, lays it out in @niemanlab.org:

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 01/09/2026

Friend of New_ Public Darryl Holliday argues for civic media stewardship, invoking both New_ Public’s work with Roundabout and suggesting a broader meaning: www.amacad.org/daedalus/civ...

In the digital context, as organizations like New_ Public define it, stewards are volunteers and community leaders working to make online spaces inclusive and public-spirited, setting guidelines, navigating conflict, and deepening social trust. In the civic media context, information stewards are the documenters at public meetings, the community correspondents gathering neighborhood news, the information organizers who help residents access what they need to participate in local decision-making.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 01/09/2026

Our new virtual residency: 💸 Competitive stipend 🤝 Hands-on product and strategy support 📚 Access to 5 years of original research 🌐 A world-class network Application and FAQs at the link below. Deadline: Sept 9, 12pm PST newpublic.org/eir

newpublic.org

Enterpreneur in Residence

A virtual residency for founders with bold ideas for the internet

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Luis Villa @lu.is · 31/08/2026

This from @newpublic.org does a good job synthesizing some very, very important observations about how we can continue to be human online post-LLM. It deserves a long thread, but I don't have time for that today so just go read it. newpublic.org/afterthefeed

newpublic.org

New_ Public | After the Feed

What happens after the social media feed? A presentation on the future of conversation, community, and social connection, and how AI will affect the everyday lives of billions.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 31/08/2026

Dead internet theory, the idea that AI will completely replace human internet content and activity, is wrong, or at least incomplete. 👇 Our analysis of why people use social media shows that humans aren’t immediately replaceable, especially in connection, belonging, and storytelling work.

Light blue background with teal "Connection Survives" label. Left side states "The human 'advantage' lies in the areas of connection, belonging, and creative expression." Right side shows chart with gradient bar from "HUMAN ADVANTAGE" to "AI ADVANTAGE." Six categories listed: Connecting & Belonging (26 jobs, LOW AI replacement), Expressing & Creating (17 jobs, LOW), Coordinating (19 jobs, MEDIUM), Influencing & Earning (24 jobs, MEDIUM), Enjoying & Escaping (22 jobs, HIGH), Learning & Deciding (26 jobs, HIGHEST). Each category includes example tasks.

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Roundabout @roundabout.town · 28/08/2026

For 50 years, we’ve had public media as a non-commercial alternative to what Newton Minow called the “vast wasteland” of for-profit media. Look at social media: slop, lies, fighting. The internet is also a vast wasteland. Once again, we need public media. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHSj...

youtube.com

Newton Minow, who saw television's "vast wasteland"

YouTube video by CBS Sunday Morning

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 27/08/2026

Do you want three months to bring an idea to life? Managing Director at New_ Public, @angelquicksey.bsky.social, on the ideal candidate for our new Entrepreneur in Residence pilot. Deadline: Sept 9, 11:59pm PST newpublic.org/eir

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 27/08/2026

"The money is to be paid out annually over 10 years, to fund youth online safety initiatives" Smart money is on the states that use some of the hundreds of millions coming their way to invest in prosocial, healthy digital public spaces for kids and teens. www.pbs.org/newshour/nat...

pbs.org

Meta reaches $17 billion settlement with states in landmark trial over teen social media addiction

Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47...

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 26/08/2026

Our words create our reality — and our future. Here are a few terms that came out of our research on AI’s impact on social media and connection. We hope these help us discuss, debate, and imagine a healthier future together.

Agentic interfaces: An AI interface built for an audience of one to provide information and connection. Able to provide a personalized briefing of your own context.

AI-supported stewardship: Using AI-powered tools to nurture and maintain a healthy digital community space. Stewards can sometimes benefit from AI support as a community grows.

Hybrid public square: An internet that supports both humans and AI agents. Similar to a physical public square, this is a space designed around democratic participation, accessibility, and communal experiences.

Software abundance: Describing the phenomenon of widespread digital software creation with AI-powered coding tools. More digital products and platforms are entering the market. Builders can now create bespoke, smaller digital experiences that match specific community needs.

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Blaine @blaine.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I started to write an essay in this text box about the tensions of technology, understanding, economics, and social value – but I have so much (meaningful) work to do that I've managed to stop myself. If the above sounds interesting (esp. the "meaningful work" bit), come hang out with us!

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 25/08/2026

We are JUST scratching the surface of what’s possible with social technology. Do you have a form-breaking idea for an app or digital platform that connects or informs people? We’re offering you three months to organize your thoughts: newpublic.substack.com/p/what-if-yo...

If you have a wild idea that looks nothing like what’s come before, but is still about humans connecting to humans or local and civic information environments, that's awesome. If you're trying to reimagine how people communicate with one another using technology, great! Everything shouldn't be Facebook-shaped.

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Roundabout @roundabout.town · 21/08/2026

Roundabout, our local community app, is going to power chicago.org, allowing millions of Chicagoans to connect and share with each other. Here’s more about what we’re up to, including what sets this apart from messy, noisy, profit-driven social media apps: newpublic.org/chicago

newpublic.org

Chicago Public Media and Roundabout partner on chicago.com

One of the country's largest public media organizations is teaming up with a nonprofit digital platform to host online communities in Chicago.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 20/08/2026

Neighbors in Sedona, AZ, share about the disconnect between the Mad Max, vitriolic version of their community they see on Nextdoor, and the real Sedona they see with their own eyeballs 👀 It’s possible to have healthy digital public spaces for our communities, not this sedona.biz/nextdoor-doe...

“Yet anyone reading the platform regularly could easily conclude that Sedona is collapsing, that the city government is hopelessly corrupt, that every public decision is a disaster, and that neighbors are permanently at war. That is not the Sedona most of us experience. It is the Sedona manufactured by an algorithm that rewards conflict."

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Angelica Quicksey @angelquicksey.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Really excited to share this application with the world today. I'm designing this program for this moment specifically. The dominant social platforms suck. There are a lot of bright spots with people experimenting and building new things. But also, tech and AI is moving so fast!

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Blaine @blaine.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I'm pretty excited about this: we're launching a ヽ(^O^)ノ paid ⎝(^O^)ヽ virtual residency at New_ Public for folks with big ideas for making the internet a better place. Got a big idea? 💡✅ Care about people and communities? 💖✅ Please apply and share! newpublic.org/eir

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Atmosphere Community @atmosphere.community · 19/08/2026

@newpublic.org are offering a virtual residency with paid stipend: “Are you the kind of person who is excited to jump in to build something? To experiment? Do you feel like you can actually bring an idea to life in 3 months? Then this virtual residency is for you.” Apply by Sept 9th

Screenshot of residency landing page - the two things they are looking for.

Humans connecting to humans: products that bring people into meaningful contact online, including forums, messaging apps, groups, microblogging, and in-person meetups. This includes new AI-powered platforms and tools, as long as they connect people to people rather than people to bots.

Local and civic information environments: tools for distributing local news, building community knowledge, and facilitating collecting sensemaking — new ways for people to get trustworthy information about their communities.

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New_ Public @newpublic.org · 19/08/2026

NEW: We are piloting a three month virtual residency, for two entrepreneurs with bold ideas for making the internet more human and healthy. This is a paid opportunity to spend time exploring and building, and go from early hunch to conviction and clarity. Apply here by Sept 9: newpublic.org/eir

newpublic.org

Enterpreneur in Residence

A virtual residency for founders with bold ideas for the internet

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