Maintaining an online presence is work
On people turning against social media and moving into the dark forests
This week research firm Incogni published a report on how people are increasingly retreating from public social media. The results are striking.
More than half are posting less and becoming more selective about what they share.
More than half the respondents agree that “maintaining an online presence feels like work.”
The leading reasons people delete their accounts are privacy and security concerns, harassment, excessive use, and mental health.
What happens when people step away? They feel peace, relaxation, and relief. As well as anxiety that this peace and relaxation are coming at a cost (FOMO).
These were the feelings we described in 2019 in "The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet." Now they’re mainstream.
The dark forests are growing.
The internet is moving toward smaller, more private, more intentional spaces.
Most of today’s dark forests are still built inside products owned and governed by Google, Meta, Salesforce, and other large platforms. They may feel private, but their infrastructure, rules, and long-term existence remain outside your control.
DFOS is different. Your DFOS space is yours: customizable, portable, and under your control. A new network of scenes and private internets.
You are welcome here.
DFOS updates
The pace of improvement to DFOS keeps accelerating. This week marks several more new features.
Spacerunner Dashboard
How many people are in your space? How many views did the last post get? The new Spacerunner dashboard gives you a place to take the pulse on what’s happening in your DFOS, with analytics available only to admins.
Spacerunner Studio
DFOS gives you the ability to build and design your own world, with virtually every facet of your space customizable. The new Spacerunner Studio lets you easily navigate between all your settings, from privacy to posts to products.
Media explorer
Last week we shipped the new navigation bar within DFOS spaces. Today we're adding a new tab: Media. This button takes you to all videos, audio files, and images posted within a space. The clip above from the DFOS Home space gives a sense of how much there already is to explore.
DFOS Shop 1.1
The shop app also gets a few important updates. Digital releases can now be free or pay what you want. Space Keys — how people purchase memberships to private areas of a DFOS — also now appear in the space's shop, creating a unified area for commerce and exchange.
200+ recommended books and articles
Over in the newly rechristened DFOS Home, we’ve pulled together a list of 200+ books and articles that members of DFOS have recommended in our space so far. It’s an eclectic list covering everything from art books to politics to economics and radical texts. Give it a read.
People love the calendar app
Last week we shipped the calendar app. One week later and it's already changed how people use DFOS — making it more alive, better setting expectations, and creating more opportunities to come together IRL and around shared values. The feedback has been excellent. We love building with and for you.
This is a shared new world. And it's just the beginning.
— DFOS
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