ZuSocial

Hacker House

for

Decentralized

Social Infra

Istanbul,

Nov 5 - Nov 19

2023

Solving the biggest challenges in Decentralized Social Media

Social networks are the information fabric of both our personal life and social consensus, a public infra calling for a multi-discipline approach. As part of ZuConnect, this hacker house brings together the experiences from DWeb, the experiments from Web3, and the lessons from physical public spaces, to ask the right questions and challenge the status quo.

Hosting Teams:
Matters Lab, Mask Network, Social Layer

Start date and end date:
Nov 5 - Nov 19

In the early days of Ethereum, two other protocols, Swarm the content-addressed storage layer and Whisper the messaging protocol, were proposed to form a “world computer” together with Ethereum the blockchain. In the following years, DeFi took off, Ethereum bloomed into a vibrant ecosystem, while Swarm and Whisper faded into obscurity. Yet the fundamental remains unchanged: storage and messaging are still prerequisites for any decentralized application beyond finance.

Meanwhile, the digital world we live in is quickly fractalizing. In some counties, social media tightens up censorship, and civic journalism is eliminated. In the open societies, Elon Musk bought Twitter, creating an exodus searching for alternatives. What if we still have a chance? What if instead of building everything from scratch, we connect the dots, enhance battle-tested applications, and enable the huge pools of existing users?

Swarm and Whisper might be forgotten, but IPFS has become the de facto standard for content addressing, while ActivityPub is now the preferred social messaging protocol for companies from Cloudflare to Meta. Ethereum has already become a comprehensive ecosystem for decentralized identity management and digital assets, where on-chain games and attestation are becoming new forms of social interaction. Can we arrive at a decentralized, unstoppable, and usable infrastructure for social interactions, and will we be fast enough in front of the expansion of the centralized world?

These are the questions we try to answer together in this hacker house. By bringing together the experience of DWeb social and the power of Web3, we will try to find how to address the real-world need for decentralized social networks and lock the web open.

About

14

Days

4

Tracks

Open Talks

On-Chain Identity and Reputation

How do we integrate the growing blockchain identity ecosystem into existing decentralized networks? Interested in designing the best solution for proof-of-humanhood?

Take Web3 Social Networks to Users and Markets

In Web2, advertisement and subscription emerged as two major models, both with problems. With smart contract, how do we redesign them, or invent alternatives?

Autonomous Social

What is the social landscape look like when AI copilots and LLMs level up our digital experience? What’s the role of human creators when contents are mostly generated by AIs?

All About Social Graph

Social graph can be stored in p2p networks, federated networks or blockchain networks. What are their most suitable use cases, and can we combine them together?

ZuSocial is the
Intersection of
ZuConnect, Dweb and
DevConnect

Zuzalu

Dweb

DevConnect

Speakers

Vitalik Buterin

Ethereum co-founder

Rabble

Nos.social

Matt Prewitt

RadicalXChange

Kevin Owocki

Founder, Gitcoin

How to
Join and Share

Decentralized Social Infra Hackerhouse is an event we co-create, encouraging everyone to share their talents.

Maybe you want to:

Deliver a presentation.
Conduct a technology workshop.
Offer your assistance in the hackerhouse.
Serve as a Space Coordinator and take care of an event area.
Act as a Facilitator and guide a small group.

Additionally, you can:

Deliver a presentation.
Arrange a concert or poetry recital.
Lead a policy discussion.
Host a game evening.

…

Venue

https://maps.app.goo.gl/cuaF8nr2RjR9vmVM6

Q&A

What is this hacker house about?

This is a hacker house that focuses on decentralized social networks that are good for individuals and societies. We light up the spark of inspiration through panel discussions and workshops and plant the seed of collaboration through team formation and hackathons.

Who should apply to the hacker house?

Anyone who is passionate about technology, collaboration, and the development of decentralized social networks should apply.

Does it cost anything to attend the hacker house?

It does not cost any money, but it costs your time and effort in application and interviews. If you are accepted, it will also cost you the commitment of hacker house residency, as well as an open mind.

What is Zuzalu and ZuConnect?

Zuzalu is a pop-up city started by Vitalik B. Zuzalu on a mission to foster a global network of communities to advance humanity by creating playgrounds at the intersection of free and open technology, health, science, and social innovation.

ZuConnect is a pop-up village in Istanbul before DevConnect. It’s a bridging event for Zuzalu and broader communities, and a buildathon and continuation for the next big Zuzalu.

What’s the relationship between ZuSocial hacker house and ZuConnect?

ZuSocial sits at the center of ZuConnect pop-up village and is also the curator of DeSocial track at ZuConnect. ZuSocial residents are also able to participate in HackZuzalu, the hackathon that takes place in ZuConnect. So expect cross-pollination discussions with other participants of ZuConnect.

However, ZuConnect does have tickets, while ZuSocial is for free. We are working on plans to ensure ZuSocial residents have tickets to ZuConnect at a minimal cost.

What activities should I expect in the hacker house?

A 14-day hacker house where participants from both Web3 and DWeb backgrounds collaborate.
Keynote talks and round table discussions on topics related to the intersection of Web3 and DWeb social.
Hackathons in various tracks, such as On-Chain Identity and Reputation, Autonomous Social, Take Web3 Social Networks to Users and Markets. We will also have discussions span across SSB, Nostr, Dat, ActivityPub, Mastodon, AT Protocol, and Ocap.

Can I participate in other hackathons during my hacker residency?

Yes! This hacker house is designed to support builders and their projects, which includes participating in any hackathon you choose. In addition to the in-house hackathon and demo-day, there are Hacker Zuzalu happening during the 1st week, and ETH Global Hackathon during the 2nd week. You are encouraged to bring your projects to these hackathons.