Welcome to the public, collective build of PeepleTalk: a decentralized and collectively owned social media platform. The list got so big so quickly (close to 15,000 now), that Substack denied us and all the traditional email solutions would have gotten us marked as spam.

So expect all communication to be coming from beehiiv!

• Welcome

• The General Vision

• Culture & Expectation-Setting

• How We’ll Build This

• Quickstart (get involved NOW)

• Key Conversations in Reddit This Week

Welcome to the Tribe

10,000+ of you signed up in less than 48 hours.

That’s the power of TikTok. Before this app, no one could have filmed a 2-minute elevator pitch in their grandmother’s basement, posted it online, and gotten a thumbs up from so many humans from all walks of life.

And we can’t ever lose that. Because that same, powerful mechanism of connectivity is what has made TikTok a place where:

• Small businesses generated leads and sustained themselves;

• Musicians broke free from greedy record labels;

• Indie authors bypassed the indentured servitude of traditional publishing;

• Everyday people found positive, supportive community;

• Storytellers and entertainers made a living by being themselves; and

• Information traveled too far and too fast for our corrupt media to control.

We all know the attempt to ban TikTok has nothing to do with protecting our data; otherwise our government would have passed sweeping data protections that applied to all apps.

Especially Meta, who’s infamous for its data leaks…and has now shattered US lobbying records in an effort to ban TikTok.

#FvckZuck.

None of these entities have our best interests in mind.

Which is why it’s time for a revolution…

And this time, the revolution doesn’t look like guillotines or Boston tea parties. It’s people pulling in the same direction—together.

Because our power has been, and always will be, in numbers.

The General Vision

We may not be able to save TikTok, but it left us with something invaluable: a business model. In 2023, TikTok made $16 billion in the U.S., transforming livelihoods.

Imagine something similar but different:

• No billionaires made or served.

• An app owned by its users, circulating wealth within communities.

• Micro and trade economies supporting small, local businesses.

• Built with Web3 in mind, for total transparency and eventually becoming somewhat self-governing.

This app could help:

• Reduce reliance on monopolistic corporations.

• Small businesses thrive.

• Restore the dying middle class.

TikTok proved our power lies in connection, creativity, and community. Now, we have the chance to build something even better—together. Next gen, people-first social media.

They always told us the revolution wouldn’t be televised. But it sure as hell will be on our phones.

Culture & Expectation-Setting

Before we get into it, there are a couple of things I want to establish from the very beginning.

1. There is room for everyone at our table. Regardless of any political affiliation, age, religion, skin color, or nationality.

It does not matter who you voted for or what meatsuit you’re in.

This is Team Human vs. all that seeks to keep us divided. 

We won’t all agree on everything all the time, but all are welcome here. 💜

2. SPITRS won’t make the cut.

Everyone is welcome, but we also want to be sure to create a psychologically healthy and supportive culture. One attitude that is absolute poison to team dynamics is “smartest person in the room syndrome,” or as I like to call them, SPITRS.

If you want to be part of the team working directly on PeepleTalk, absolutely come join the Reddit and show us your expertise by engaging and discussing respectfully.

Disagreement is fine.

Heated debate is fine.

But there are many ways to do that without being a SPITR, and a key characteristic we’re looking for in team members is a spirit of collaboration.

Because at the end of the day, interpersonal skills are just as important as the hard skills in a space like this. No one wants to work in a room full of brilliant a-holes. I’ve done that. It’s miserable.

3. You do not need a particular skillset to participate.

There have been a lot of people saying they aren’t sure how they can contribute but they want to be a part of this.

You have the most important job! 

We are building this app unconventionally; in service to the collective. Which means your voice is key. Learn more about how you can be involved here.

4. I’m here to be a steward.

While I have a a general vision for what this app should look like, I do not have all the answers.

Yes, I have the professional background to guide this initiative, but I do not have the deep technical knowledge necessary to bring it to life. I do not have the answers regarding the most optimal way to build this.

But our collective does.

What we’re talking about is a massive undertaking. And the way we’re going to get this right (when others don’t and haven’t) is by pooling the knowledge, creativity, and brainpower of our whole collective.

So, my commitment to you is:

• to create the space where ideas can be shared;

• to fairly facilitate conversations and debate;

• to help tease out the right answers from our range of experts;

• to have the community vote when we come to a real crossroads; and

• to share all developments with our community in a way that is easy to understand and follow along.

Our north star here is to build a fun-but-empowering TikTok-inspired social media app that cannot be sold to a billionaire with an agenda; something that is truly by the people, for the people, with the people; meaning it must always remain in the hands of the people it is designed to serve (you).

My role is to keep us on track.

How We’ll Build This

This is a huge lift, particularly on the technical side. But with enough brainpower and hands-on-deck, I believe it can be done. Here’s how:

The Systems

Startups are usually built behind closed doors by a small team. Not this time.

In the spirit of fvcking the system, we’re going to do this publicly and collectively.

• Reddit for ideation, broader problem-solving, and voting.

  • The threaded conversations and upvoting/downvoting will allow the best ideas to rise to the top, while staying organized. The fact that it is a public forum also allows everyone to join. 
    
    

• Discord & GitHub for breaking out into specialized task teams.

  • Discord tends to get chaotic and disorganized when there are large groups of people, which is why it typically doesn’t work well for ideating. Github is for our technical crew.
    
    

• Beehiiv & YouTube for synthesized updates and walkthroughs, ensuring everyone stays on the same page.

In short: Reddit is our sandbox, Discord is our toolkit, and Beehiiv/YT is our compass. 

Best of This Week’s Subreddit

Join the /clearlightstudios subreddit. 

We’re starting loose, with minimal rules: Be respectful, constructive, and on-topic.

The anarchy won’t last forever though ;p We’ll find our stride and get more polished as we go; moderators will emerge and we’ll figure out an appropriate tagging system for the subreddit.

In the meantime, here are the key threads from this week that you may want to read through. I’ve categorized them here according to interest and specialty. Come share your ideas:

• What do we need to get right with this app? (general)

• What name ideas/suggestions do you have? (general)

• What’s our tech stack? (devs & techies)

• Is it safe to headquarter in the US? (businesspeople, tech & strategists)

• How should we structure ownership? (businesspeople, strategists)

In Summary

Looking forward to hearing from you on Reddit, and it is an honor to have you on board.

In service,
Chiara Scuro