Why Knight Foundation Invested in Bluesky - Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation - "a private foundation with roots in local journalism and civic life" - on why they invested in Bluesky Social PBC "with venture capital firms like Bain Capital Crypto and Bloomberg Beta... [because] we saw a unique opportunity to invest in scaling ideas and values that are core to our mission".

After all, they argue:

• It was the "Knight First Amendment Institute [which] published a paper by technology writer Mike Masnick " - Protocols not Platforms - so there's a "clear line from the institutions and early-stage research we support to the creation of real-world infrastructure that shapes our information world."
• "The internet’s original architecture grew largely out of public investment, academic research and collaboration among nonprofit standards bodies."
• But the way the social layer was built on top by "companies optimizing for engagement and advertising revenue" has led to "decay of critical democratic institutions like local journalism; algorithmic manipulation of public attention and the erosion of trust in shared facts."

They then give a pretty nice rundown of the benefits of atproto, where they see:

• "a social web where your identity, posts and network are not locked inside any one company’s walled garden.
• Developers can build new services on a shared, open data layer
• you can take your data and social networks with you to any app built on it.
• Publishers, journalists and creators can form direct relationships with audiences ...
• Independent researchers can study public discourse"

In turn, this:

• "reduces the risk of censorship and overreach ...
• spurs competition by creating a market for new social apps...
• clears paths for news organizations to build durable new revenue streams...
• restores the possibility of serious, independent research on how information moves online...
• gives users and communities more choice and leverage".

While they claim to not be betting "on a single app to “win.”", they are financing one company, not an ecosystem. Interesting choice.