“We are about to see the biggest reshuffling of power on the internet in 25 years,” writes Anil Dash, “in a way that most of the internet’s current users have never seen before.”

That power, Dash believes, is a shift from big companies like Meta and Google back to individual users. Among the trends that have Dash believing this pivot is imminent are the nascent fediverse, the failure of X (formerly Twitter), court rulings that will open up alternative app stores, the rise of new networks (like Threads and Bluesky), and the rise of AI as a search alternative.

What could a reshaped internet look like, and how can businesses continue to take advantage of it when traditional means of customer connection become less and less effective? Neville and Shel consider the possibilities in this short midweek episode.

Links from this episode:

• The Internet Is About to Get Weird Again
• Internet and social media users in the world 2023 | Statista
• Facts and Figures 2023 – Internet use

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The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, January 29.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat most Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. You can catch up with both co-hosts on Neville’s blog and Shel’s blog. Neville’s Asides blog is also available.

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