TIKI Talk Ep. 40! Pete Zaborszky of Retalk!

TIKI Talk Episode #40 is LIVE!

Yes, that’s right, we’re double-dipping on this wonderful winter afternoon.

In this episode, Shane is joined by Pete Zaborszky, a serial entrepreneur and free speech advocate who has been innovating and building for two decades.

His latest project is Retalk, an alternative social media network, blogging platform, and discussion forum akin to Reddit that allows for open discussion on a variety of topics and encourages following topics rather than people or profiles.

Join Shane and Pete as they discuss Pete’s origins in privacy, his desire to take on Big Tech and the catalysts that led him to do so, what went wrong in Silicon Valley, why Big Tech CEOs didn’t really stand a chance, the dangers of censorship, how moderation and censorship differ, the birth of Retalk and how it’s being used right now, predictions for what the internet will look like in 10+ years, establishing user trust, finding purpose and higher callings in life, how Retalk can utilize data to grow, the future of social media, why users should check out Retalk, and more!

Enjoy!

0:00-1:28 Shane intro
1:28-1:47 Pete intro
1:47-3:37 Pete’s privacy company / standing up to Big Tech / Snowden / a shift toward censorship
3:37-7:58 Big Tech forecasting / what happened to Silicon Valley? / government’s role in Big Tech / Trump influence on social media / Julian Assange + WikiLeaks
7:58-13:20 Big Tech CEOs didn’t stand a chance / what happens after 1 billion users / political power games / tools of influence / TIKI doesn’t have user data / informed data consent
13:20-18:00 Censorship/ the birth of Retalk / better internet conversations / community + discussion board influences / Reddit
18:00-24:42 How people use Retalk / Retalk growth / free political discussion / Gen X users / Facebook bans / roadblocks / 3.5% rule / 1 million users / keeping people’s attention
24:42-28:15 The internet will look totally different in 10+ years / market corrections / importance of moderation / fragmentation
28:15-36:00 Establishing user trust / moderation vs censorship / “moderation is for individuals, censorship is for topics” / decentralization + DAOs / decentralized social media skepticism / Linux vs Apple / democracy vs dictatorship
36:00-42:12 Born in Soviet Hungary / lack of freedom + importance of freedom / trouble for English-speaking countries? / Hungarian ambition
42:12-46:16 Purpose and higher callings / money ain’t everything / freedom of speech
46:16-50:50 How Retalk can utilize data to optimize / user choice the newest form of social media?
50:50-51:48 Why people should use Retalk / where to find Pete + Retalk / Outro