Pareto: The portal to the future

This article first appeared in German at Freischwebende Intelligenz. You can find all the articles by Free-floating Intelligence in English here – subscribe now, to get the articles by e-mail! This article has been written with the Pareto client.

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There are days when you feel like a chronicler of decline. You analyze, document, write against the wall. Fort Knox? PR stunt. Elon-Donald? Acting. The Epstein list? Already forgotten. Those who wanted to fight censorship are now silent or censoring themselves. The world is staging its own powerlessness, and we are supposed to watch.

But the only way out of powerlessness is always to go your own way. And no one can walk that path for us.

For several years, I have been writing about the tectonic shifts in our society: decentralization, Bitcoin, freedom of speech, cancel culture, community. Topics that have emerged from the niche and are now taking center stage. Theory has become practice. Writing has become building something new. Synchronicities make it easier to find the way. Now is the moment when the puzzle is coming together.

The Pareto Project was launched two years ago. The fundamental problem was: What is the point of building a free media scene if all content and followers ultimately depend on the mercy of a platform? What would a free space for debate look like in which content and infrastructure belong together? Where ownership of the means of production is not just a footnote, but a practical necessity? Free speech can never be free if we build our publishing houses on someone else’s property.

Pareto: An island of freedom in a sea of censorship

A team of readers, coders, and publicists has worked with me to create a system that is a response to the structural censorship of the digital age: Pareto.

• A censorship-resistant blog and newsletter service based on Nostr. Open source. Privacy-friendly. Extremely data-efficient. Monetizable via Bitcoin/Lightning. The author knows his email contact list. No one else does.
• More than 55 authors now publish via Pareto, onboarded on Nostr. The first uncensorable publication for peace, the Peace Dove, launched in March, reaches over 1,300 people, supported by more than 40 cooperative members and subscribers. Around 100 articles by a good 20 authors have already been published. We can say that it was a good start and the basic framework is in place.
• We are currently working on integrating multilingual versions of our client (you can help with this), testing RSS for easier content migration, and developing additional channels on our portal such as podcasts and videos. A category for images/memes/art has already been set up. You can learn more about how to use it in our wiki. On our homepage you will find all developments, the source code and the latest interviews, e.g. in Nexus magazine.

For the current issue of the magazine “Gegendruck,” I wrote about the power of decentralized systems such as Nostr (article will follow shortly here).

What’s next?

The digital transformation of power is here. We are leaving the age of platforms. What Facebook was for social media and Google was for search is over. The future belongs to protocols such as Bitcoin, Nostr, etc. Open standards instead of closed systems. No more gatekeepers. No algorithmic censorship. No monetization of attention. Instead of user accounts: sovereign identity. Instead of feeds: personal channels. Instead of obedience: digital self-determination.

Pareto combines existing protocols in a unique and innovative way: TCP/IP (Internet), SMTP (mail), Bitcoin/Lightning (payment), Nostr (communication/cryptographic security).

Pareto is a toolbox for free publication. An uncensorable “Substack” without gatekeepers (for the moment). A Mailchimp without censorship and data trading. An infrastructure for what is coming. For what is needed. For what is missing. Something that can set a new standard and introduce a new rhythm. Can you feel the vibes? Pareto is now becoming a Swiss cooperative.

Why?

The cooperative is the prime example of decentralization in action. Since each member of the cooperative has only one vote, regardless of the number of shares they hold, the concentration of power is made more difficult. The same idea that sustains the project at the network level and makes it resilient can also be applied best at the level of legal personality.

The cooperative promotes freedom of speech free from censorship as its ideal purpose and generates the economic basis for the further development of the project with an affiliated business model.

Profits may be made and also paid out as dividends, but the project does not aim to maximize profits, but rather to have a social impact.

You, dear readers, belong to one of the most active communities in Europe for the defense of free speech and open debate. That is why we are bringing you on board first. Five years ago, we called for a free space for debate, and many joined us: the appeal was our manifesto, the wishful manifestation of a state of affairs. Since then, the corridors have only become narrower. By participating in Pareto, you can now help shape the free debate forum of the future yourself.

What does that mean in concrete terms?

• Every member of the cooperative is a co-owner.

• Decisions are made democratically.

• Profits (if any) go to the cooperative’s purpose and the members of the cooperative.

• One share costs 5000 CHF (also payable in Bitcoin).

• The general meeting is planned for September.

• Our first monetizable product, Pareto Pro Mail,
  will be a private, uncensorable, and data-efficient email service for

  journalists, NGOs, companies, law firms, doctors, and anyone who

  wants to offer their newsletter subscribers particularly confidential and discreet

  data handling instead of entrusting their contact list to a

  company such as Mailchimp, Rapidmail, or similar.

Are you a publication, a company, an NGO, etc.? We have launched an

initial test cohort for Pareto Pro Mail. If you would like to test our solution,

please write to us at: team@pareto.space

Anyone who has donated to the “Amici della Verità” association (or via Bitcoin on Geyser et al.) in the past can increase their donation and purchase cooperative shares at a reduced price. If you have any questions, please use this email address: milosz@pareto.space

For payments in Bitcoin/Lightning

Add Email address: xy(at)bluewin.ch and “Pareto Cooperative”

For payments in CHF:

For payments in Euros:

Milosz Matuschek

IBAN DE 53710520500000814137

BYLADEM1TST

Sparkasse Traunstein-Trostberg

Who are we looking for?

Not investors in the first place. But co-creators. People with ideas. With vision. With expertise. With a network. We are also looking for:

• Developers (frontend/backend, containers, servers)
• Translators (especially Italian, French)
• Support for marketing, sales, and relationship management
• Authors and publications who write what needs to be said.
• Get in touch: It’s fun to work with us (team@pareto.space)

Our goal

A vibrant ecosystem of free speech that democratizes the means of production of thought. Anyone can broadcast. Anyone can publish. Without permission. Without censorship.

Pareto is an ikigai project for us. We do what the world needs. What we can do. What fulfills us. What may even sustain us. We have already proven that it works. Without outside capital and dependencies. Without big advertising. Without compromises.

Now we need you.

People who recognize that freedom of expression without technical sovereignty is an

empty promise. That spaces for discourse must be rebuilt. That we should not complain, but act.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.” (African proverb)

I invite you to become part of this journey. Not as a spectator, but as a co-owner. The next public sphere is decentralized. It is communal. It is emerging right now. We have the ideas. We have the tools. What matters now is our network.

Let’s go together. And let’s go far.

Contact: milosz\@pareto.space

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*Join the marketplace of ideas! We are building a publishing ecosystem on Nostr for citizen-journalism, starting with a client for blogging and newsletter distribution. Sound money and sound information should finally be in the hands of the people, right? Want to learn more about the Pareto Project? Zap me, if you want to contribute (all Zaps go to the project).*

Are you a publication or journalist and want to be part of it, test us, migrate your content to Nostr? Write to team@pareto.space

Not yet on Nostr and want the full experience? Easy onboarding via Start.