Zenna / zelf

In this talk @zelf invites to the world of Scuttlebutt, the decentralized P2P gossiping protocol, and how it can be transformative for society through decentralization of data and enabling local community development.

Scuttlebutt is a fast growing decentralized social network. As an alternative to the large corporate social networks it enables autonomy for the users and a free zone from big data harvesting. It’s based on a protocol (referred to as SSB) which connects the users via a blockchain styled base with each user functioning as a node. Since the information is collected via a 2 or 3 step social connection it’s completely usable while offline and syncs when connected to a local network, a friend or wifi. Scuttlebutt has a large community of users who together develop the protocol and platforms. Completely open-source there are many initiatives of projects, maintenance and explorations as part of the Scuttlebutt ecosystem. Some of these projects range from local community on-boarding by @luandro in Quilombola - Brazil, git-ssb by @cel, and even a chess interface! As the Scuttlebutt interface is interchangeable, with the one most widely used being Patchwork, there is a possibility to utilize the same network with multiple applications. Perfect for local communities in rural areas or for environments which require offline workability or simply for user with integrity, the potentials are grand. As of today the estimate is that the user base is beyond 8000 individuals, yet there's no way to surely know. We will explore the Scuttleverse and beyond. What is Scuttlebutt now, and and importantly, what can it enable society to become?