Discord CEO Jason Citron makes the case for a smaller, more private internet

2024-04-22

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Today, I’m talking to Jason Citron, the co-founder and CEO of Discord, the gaming-focused voice and chat app. You might think Discord is just something Slack for gamers, but over time, it has become much more important than that. For a growing mix of mostly young, very online users steeped in gaming culture, fandom, and other niche communities, Discord is fast becoming the hub to their entire online lives. A lot of what we think of as internet culture is happening on Discord.In many ways Discord represents a significant shift away from what w...

In many ways Discord represents a significant shift away from what we now consider traditional social platforms. As you’ll hear Jason describe it, Discord is a place where you talk and hangout with your friends over shared common interests, whether that’s video games, the AI bot Midjourney, or maybe your favorite anime series. It is a very different kind of interface for the internet, but that comes with serious challenges, especially around child safety and moderation.

Links:

Discord opens up to games and apps embedded in its chat app — The Verge
Discord is nuking Nintendo Switch emulator devs and their entire servers — The Verge
Inside Discord’s reform movement for banned users — The Verge
Discord ends deal talks with Microsoft — WSJ
Discord cuts 17% of workers in latest tech layoffs — NYT
Discord to start showing ads for gamers to boost revenue — WSJ
Discord says it intentionally does not encrypt user messages — CNN
How Discord became a social hub for young people — NYT
‘Problematic pockets’: How Discord became a home for extremists — WashPo
Discord CEO Jason Citron on AI, Midjourney — Bloomberg