About:

Erin Kissane is a writer, researcher, and community all-arounder focused on improving networks for human sociability and collective survival.

Website:

Specializations:

Interests:

Human sociability Collective survival Fediverse/Mastodon research Architect Christopher Alexander's thinking Social media structural brokenness Genocide awareness

Incoming Links:

Outgoing Links:

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The text is a reference page for a talk given at the ATmosphere Conference in Seattle. It contains citations and further reading, and may be expanded later with additional material and/or a written version of the talk. The author ...
The text discusses the potential harms of the collapse of governmental institutions and the need for a system to understand and mitigate the damage. It emphasizes the importance of meaningful obstruction and protection by the peop...

0 XOXO

2024-08-24

Erin Kissane discusses her talk at the final XOXO Festival in Portland, focusing on why she left the internet, her work with the Covid Tracking Project, and the need to fix the social internet. She also mentions the paintings and ...
Erin Kissane and Darius Kazemi conducted research on fediverse governance processes, focusing on moderation, server leadership, and federated diplomacy. They found that the fediverse's structure allows for humane moderation but id...

0 Untangling Threads

2023-12-21

Erin Kissane explores the risks and benefits of federating with Threads, a new social network, in light of Meta's controversial history. She discusses the challenges of finding people to follow on Mastodon, the risks of connecting...

0 Root & Branch

2023-12-06

Erin Kissane discusses the complexities of managing social platforms, emphasizing the importance of resources and governance in creating safe and accessible networks. She advocates for prioritizing care and collective survival ove...
The blog series by Erin Kissane explores the role of Meta and Facebook in the genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar. It delves into the warnings given to Meta, the crisis that unfolded, the inside view of what Meta knew, and ...
The blog post discusses the impact of online networks on offline societies, focusing on Meta's role in Myanmar. It highlights the dangers of online harms, the inadequacy of Meta's response to violence, and the need for better plat...
The blog post discusses the disclosures made by Frances Haugen about Meta's content moderation performance, highlighting the deceptive practices used by Meta to mislead the public. It delves into the internal documents that reveal...
The blog post discusses the role of Facebook in fueling violence against the Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar. It highlights how Facebook, through its widespread presence in the country, distributed hatred and disinformation th...
The blog post discusses the role of Meta (formerly Facebook) in the genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar. It explores the impact of online communication and hate speech on the crisis, detailing the involvement of key figures...

0 Meta Meta

2023-09-28

Erin Kissane's blog post series delves into Meta's role in the genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar, aiming to inform English-speaking readers about the company's actions. The series provides a synthesis of events before and...
The blog post discusses the challenges faced by users on Mastodon, focusing on feeling unwelcome, difficulty in finding people and topics to follow, confusion in getting started, and the seriousness of the platform. The author gat...
Erin Kissane shares her experience and insights on migrating servers on Mastodon, highlighting what can and cannot be moved, the challenges of choosing the right server, and the importance of improving account portability. She emp...
The blog post discusses the concept of affordances, focusing on how they shape user experiences in both physical and digital environments. It explores the impact of affordances on social platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky, highli...

0 Qualities of Life

2023-06-19

The blog post discusses the impact of tools on human behavior and the design of networks, focusing on the importance of creating systems that resolve conflicting desires, are self-sustaining, and do not worsen the world. The autho...
Erin Kissane reflects on her journey in tech and the impact of the internet on society. She discusses the lack of experimentation with social forms at scale, the limitations of current social networks, and the need for new, humane...
The text discusses the influence of built environments on human behavior, drawing parallels between haunted spaces and online platforms. It explores the idea that the structures we create shape our actions, and how repeated behavi...
Erin Kissane shares a list of books she is reading to understand the current state of online communities and ways to collaborate. The list includes books on social design, community building, governance, technology, and activism.
Erin Kissane discusses the concepts of interlocking patterns and relationships in architecture and community work, drawing from Christopher Alexander's work on patterns and adrienne maree brown's Emergent Strategy. She emphasizes ...
Erin Kissane discusses her exploration of communication and community online, focusing on books by Christopher Alexander and adrienne maree brown. She delves into the contrasting tones and forms of their work, highlighting the the...
The blog post discusses the comparison between Mastodon and Bluesky, two decentralized social networks, focusing on user-friendliness, moderation, and community dynamics. The author reflects on the challenges faced by Mastodon in ...
Erin Kissane reflects on her experience working on the COVID Tracking Project during the pandemic, the challenges faced, the sense of purpose it provided, and the impact it had on her. She discusses grief, the stark mathematics of...