Jack Dorsey invests $10M to build open-source, ad-free social media

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Jack Dorsey has invested $10 million into a new nonprofit group called “and Other Stuff”, which is focused on building experimental open-source social media tools. 

Instead of creating another company, the group acts like a “community of hackers” aiming to rethink how social platforms should work.

The group includes early Twitter employee Evan Henshaw-Plath, the creator of digital cash tool Cashu, and former engineers from Truth Social and Intercom. 

They originally came together while working on Nostr, a decentralized and open protocol for social networking, which Dorsey has heavily supported since selling Twitter and stepping away from the Bluesky project.

Dorsey and the team believe that today’s social platforms have become too corporate and dependent on advertisers, losing sight of user freedom and openness. 

Dorsey says that Twitter should have been built as a public protocol, not a company, since platforms tied to business models must often compromise with advertisers, governments, and investors. (Via: TechCrunch)

Instead, Dorsey wants to focus on open systems like Bitcoin, where no one controls the network. 

That’s why he’s betting on Nostr and other tools, which allow people to build their own apps freely and without centralized control.

The group has already released a number of tools and apps, including:

• Shakespeare, an AI-powered tool for building social apps on Nostr
• Heynow, a voice note app
• White Noise, a private messaging app
• A Cashu wallet, for private payments
• And several AI-enhanced developer tools

They’re also working on a “Social Media Bill of Rights”, which would outline key principles like privacy, user control, and transparency, guidelines to help future platforms stay user-friendly and independent.

Dorsey and Henshaw-Plath discussed these ideas in the first episode of Henshaw-Plath’s new podcast, “revolution.social”, recorded during a hackathon in Switzerland. 

More interviews with prominent tech voices are planned.

Though much of this is still experimental, the team hopes their work will shape a future where social media is more open, private, and community-driven, not just another tech product chasing ad dollars.

Do you think open-source, ad-free social media platforms can actually compete with existing giants like X and Meta? Or are advertising models too entrenched for alternatives to succeed? Tell us down below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.