Let's build healthier social media!
Sparkable is the first social media platform aiming to bridge divides. It boosts podcasts, articles, and videos that are appreciated by people who usually disagree.
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Designed to create new understanding.
We believe a more insightful and peaceful online environment is possible with conscious design choices starting at the root level: The business model.
The advertisement business model leads social media platforms to rank and amplify content primarily based on engagement metrics 1 2. This can fuel radicalization, polarization, and hate 3 4. In the worst case, it can contribute to physical violence 5 6. We urgently need to avoid that and find better ways.
Amplifying the best in humanity.
If social media platforms designed to keep us hooked can spread hate and divide communities, it must be possible to design the opposite: a platform that brings us together and sparks empathy and joy.
💡 How it works
Sparkable is a platform to amplify videos, articles, and podcasts that spark new insights in people across the spectrum.
On Sparkable, content is not boosted when it gets a lot of clicks but when it's rated highly by people from different perspectives.
This approach is called bridging-based ranking, and it helps boost constructive content that bridges divides.
But how does the platform measure different perspectives? The simple answer is to look at how people have rated content in the past. If people who previously haven't agreed in their ratings agree and rate a content highly, it's a strong indicator that this content is valuable to people from different points of view.
The beauty of measuring the diversity of perspectives this way is that it does not need personal information about people and fully encompasses any type of diversity instead of measuring only the traditional spectrums (for example, location, gender, or political affiliation).
Twitter popularized bridging-based ranking with what is now called Community Notes. Unfortunately, they only applied it to the fact-checking notes and not the tweets themselves. Also, the program is accessible only to users who have separately signed up to become contributors. At Sparkable, we want to use bridging-based ranking on all content and with all users involved by default.
We aim to bring communities together and foster mutual understanding.
Join Sparkable now and help us create a healthier social platform!
🧑🏾🤝🧑🏻 Community
Meet the community behind Sparkable.
Community Spotlight
From time to time, we interview and spotlight members of our community. See the featured community members here:
Who should we feature next?
Join us on Slack!
Be the first to hear when we're looking for design feedback or specific expertise in trust and safety, digital peacebuilding, or other areas.
Help us build a platform that sparks empathy and understanding.
In our Slack channel, you'll find 150+ changemakers who share the same interest in a healthier online environment. We'd love to welcome you there!
🚀 Team
Meet the people who have been building Sparkable.
Some of the people who have helped build Sparkable (from top left to bottom right): Amelia, Felix, Mia, Oma, Tony, and Vardon.
We've had the privilege of working with amazing folks, some of whom are shown above. The people who have helped Sparkable so far are curious minds from different walks of life, united by a shared vision of a healthier online environment.
Our long-term goal is to build a team of talented people with diverse backgrounds and experience who align deeply with our values.
Join our team!
Currently, we offer volunteering opportunities in different capacities ranging from UX design and software engineering to content moderation.
We'd love to hear from you if you want to help create healthier social media!
Partners
About Migros Pioneer Fund
The Migros Pioneer Fund looks for and supports ideas with social potential. It enables pioneering projects that break new ground and seek out forward-looking solutions. Its impact-oriented funding approach combines financial support with coaching services. The Migros Pioneer Fund is part of the Migros Group's social commitment and is enabled by the Migros Group with around CHF 15 million annually. For further information: www.migros-pionierfonds.ch/en
Open Source License
Except for the trademark (c) Sparkable, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (cc).
Sustainability
At Sparkable, we contribute 1% of our revenue to carbon removal:
