Housepartys founder launches Towns, an open source group chat app that comes with a blueprint

News Summary

  • Image Credits: TownsFor users less interested in the wonkier crypto aspects but still intrigued by the promise of decentralization, Towns will also manifest as a set of apps, starting with an invite-only alpha web app that’s live today.
  • After launching a pair of well-loved but ultimately star-crossed social apps, Ben Rubin is going all-in on decentralization.Rubin previously founded Meerkat and Houseparty — apps that pioneered mobile livestreaming and group video chat, respectively — shaping massive social trends in their earliest stages.
  • After working on Slashtalk, an “anti-meeting tool” for the workplace, Rubin is now back to working on consumer apps, albeit in a roundabout way.These days, Rubin’s vision for social media bears little resemblance with the colorful, user-friendly apps he’s known for popularizing.
  • Here Not There Labs says Towns’ smart contracts that are “extensible, composable, and upgradeable” and will ultimately empower communities to draft their own rules for who gets to participate, what is allowed and how and if they’ll monetize.
  • The Towns backend will run on a relatively centralized proof-of-authority algorithm initially while the team builds out the protocol and will then move to a proof-of-stake system à la Ethereum 2.0 in time.If the interface looks familiar, it’s not just you.
  • Towns might be inspired by Discord’s design and utility, but if you ask Rubin, Discord isn’t a community model that should inspire its users.
After launching a pair of wellloved but ultimately starcrossed social apps, Ben Rubin is going allin on decentralization.Rubin previously founded Meerkat and Houseparty apps that pioneered mobil [+6094 chars]