What's the Vibe of the Social Web?

The all-important 'vibe' shapes the message others receive when they come into contact with the Open Social Web.

Vibe. What a word. What a concept. The idea that every space has its own energy which reflects the experience. It's all very witchy.

If you haven't come across the term before, it's important to understand that 'vibe' is Gen Z lingo and everything has one, even you. "I don't like their vibe," said in reference to a dude with an AK47 t-shirt or, "The vibe was off," said in response to a bad first date.

Vibe is everywhere.

So, what's the vibe of the Social Web? Well, that depends.

Like mystical auras, 'vibe' is something which is unique to the viewer (feeler - if that's even a word - in this case). You and your buddy Hamish might both agree that your other friend, Abtisam, was giving off 'bad vibes' because she's holding a grudge against the two of you for getting ice cream without her. But Hamish and Abtisam might love the vibe of the old lady dressed in full leopard print, whilst you're getting a Cruella De Vil vibe from her.

I can't dictate for you what the vibe of the Social Web is. That's unique. But, I can put on my sweeping generalisation hat to do the vibe reading for you (trust me, I'm trained in semiotics, semantics, and I have a somewhat accurately tuned gaydar).

I think the best way to communicate 'vibe' is visually. So, please prepare yourself for a visual vibe journey of the Social Web surface to an outsider...

It's messy, techy, and not at all welcoming.

Everyone there knows more than you. You should be better. You don't fit in.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but the initial vibe of the Social Web kind of sucks.

I think there are multiple reasons for that. Some of it is the platforms we use, some of it is the culture of the space. And, don't get me wrong, some people like that vibe. That's fine too. But it's not going to help us move forward and help the Social Web fulfil its potential.

It's important to know that the vibe changes if you push past the surface.

Once you get to know the Social Web, go beneath the surface level vibe, you'll find so much more. Little pockets which have their own vibe, separate to the main event.

Some of the deeper vibes of the Social Web are worse. There are pockets of bad content. But, the majority of corners are filled with love, learning, and community.

I hope that this 'vibe reading' of the Social Web demonstrates plainly the issues with the image of the Social Web to an outsider.

Most of that image is unfair. The side effect of being something different, built by techies not billionaires. A reflection of the leading platforms across the Social Web, most of which feel elitist rather than like a welcoming community away from Big Tech.

But, realistically, we have to work on changing it if we ever expect to be seen as something different. Most people don't have the time, energy, or desire to dig around a social space that doesn't instantly feel welcoming. Let's be honest, if you walked into a room with a bad 'vibe', you'd leave. Same goes here, for social media.

This is now my call to action. We must change the vibe of the Social Web!

We can't let the distorted images of a badly explained idea put people off this. Not if we want it to succeed. Not if we want society to have the option and ability to explore democratic social media.

It's time to improve the image of the Social Web by improving its vibe. Make it more welcoming. Make it more wholesome. Make it feel like a place you want to be in instead of a neverending test.

How do we do that? We have to pull of the seemingly impossible. We have to... work together.

We need to be nicer to one another. Encourage more diverse groups to use the Open Social Web and, when they do, lets not attack them. Create spaces for people to talk about the things they like (I heard this little charity called the Newsmast Foundation made custom feeds called Channels). Perhaps most radically, I think we might need to do a restructure of power in the Open Social Web.

I know, it's decentralised which means of course there isn't a centralisation of power in the space. Sadly, this just isn't true and, if we're being honest, the vibe of a space comes from the top down.

Vibe is steered by personality.

It's perhaps one of the reasons Bluesky have had more visual success than other Social Web platforms. It's why the surface vibe of Bluesky is a little brighter than elsewhere. And no, not everyone likes Jay Graber and team, that's okay. But for the average social media user, young people, the initial vibe that Bluesky gives off is a lot more welcoming and relatable than most Social Web projects (it also probably helps that they have somewhat distanced themselves from the Social Web image).

At the end of the day, no matter how good and ethical something is, it has to feel right to the user. Unfortunately, for the majority of the Social Web, the vibe isn't good enough for new users to trust and try the tech. But, if we know that, we can work to change it.

Here's to better vibes!