DEV Community

Daniel Ioni
Daniel Ioni

Posted on

From Social Networks to an Open Network: What We Are Building with MyZubster

From Social Networks to an Open Network: What We Are Building with MyZubster

Over the last few days, we have been doing something important with MyZubster.

Not simply advertising a website.

We started taking the architecture and philosophy of the project outside GitHub and explaining it directly to communities through social networks.

In particular, we opened a conversation around free-party culture, underground communities, DIY infrastructure, open source, GitHub, Docker, the Metaverse, circular economy and digital independence.

And something became increasingly clear:

MyZubster is evolving from a collection of projects into a connected ecosystem.


Why talk about MyZubster in underground communities?

Free-party and underground cultures have historically understood something that is extremely relevant to technology today:

If the infrastructure you need does not exist, build it.

People built sound systems.

Vehicles became workshops.

Temporary spaces became cultural spaces.

Artists, technicians, makers and communities created networks without waiting for a centralized institution to create them first.

Information moved through flyers, telephone numbers, word of mouth, forums, mailing lists and eventually social media and messaging platforms.

In many ways, these communities were already distributed networks.

With MyZubster, we are asking a new question:

Can the same DIY philosophy be applied to digital infrastructure?


From DIY Culture to Open Source

This is the connection we started explaining publicly:

DIY CULTURE
     ↓
OPEN SOURCE
     ↓
GITHUB
     ↓
SELF-HOSTING
     ↓
DOCKER
     ↓
INDEPENDENT NODES
     ↓
MYZUBSTER NETWORK
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Instead of asking people only to become users of another platform, we want to explore whether communities can gradually become operators of their own digital infrastructure.

GitHub is therefore not just where the code is stored.

It is part of the architecture.

People can inspect the project, understand its evolution, report problems, propose changes, fork code and contribute through pull requests.

MyZubster repository:

https://github.com/MyZubster-Ecosystem/myzubster


Social Networks Are Channels, Not the Network

This was one of the central ideas we shared.

Facebook, Telegram, Instagram and other platforms are extremely useful for reaching people.

We are using them too.

But a community should not necessarily have to place its entire identity, history and infrastructure inside a single commercial platform.

Our model is closer to this:

                 COMMUNITY
                     │
                     ↓
                  MYZUBSTER
                     │
       ┌─────────────┼─────────────┐
       ↓             ↓             ↓
     GITHUB       METAVERSE     INFOPOINT
       │             │             │
       └─────────────┼─────────────┘
                     ↓
               SOCIAL CHANNELS
                     │
        ┌────────────┼────────────┐
        ↓            ↓            ↓
     Facebook     Telegram     other channels
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The social network becomes a distribution channel.

The community remains the actual network.


What Does the MyZubster Metaverse Do?

We also explained that our idea of a Metaverse is not about replacing physical culture.

A free party, workshop, cultural gathering or community project happens in the real world.

That matters.

The Metaverse can instead become a persistent digital map connecting what exists around those experiences.

For example:

PHYSICAL EVENT
      ↓
ARTISTS
      ↓
CULTURAL DOCUMENTATION
      ↓
WORKSHOPS
      ↓
MATERIALS
      ↓
INFOPOINT
      ↓
METAVERSE
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The physical event may last one night.

The knowledge generated around it does not have to disappear the next morning.

Documentation, artist profiles, visual material, technical knowledge, projects and connections can remain accessible.

That is the role we are exploring for the MyZubster Metaverse.


Events Become Structured Information

Another part of the system is the event layer.

Instead of treating an event as only a flyer containing a date and location, we can represent it as structured information:

EVENT
├── artists
├── sound
├── visual / flyer
├── public information
├── Telegram
├── location state
├── welfare
├── hospitality
├── workshops
└── materials
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Once information has been validated and authorized, different interfaces can use the same source.

                 EVENT DATA
                     ↓
                  MYZUBSTER
                     ↓
       ┌─────────────┼─────────────┐
       ↓             ↓             ↓
     WEBSITE      METAVERSE     INFOPOINT
       ↓             ↓             ↓
     SOCIAL       TELEGRAM        BOT
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

This reduces duplicated work.

More importantly, it creates a common information layer.


The Infopoint

Imagine arriving at a cultural event and scanning a QR code.

Instead of finding only a promotional page, the MyZubster Infopoint could eventually connect you to:

  • artists;
  • timetable;
  • workshops;
  • cultural documentation;
  • welfare information;
  • public transport information;
  • recycling instructions;
  • Marketplace resources;
  • Telegram;
  • Metaverse spaces;
  • contributor pages.

The same Infopoint can have a digital counterpart inside the Metaverse.

REAL WORLD
    ↕
INFOPOINT
    ↕
MYZUBSTER
    ↕
METAVERSE
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

One information architecture connecting two environments.


Then Comes the Circular Marketplace

This is where another part of MyZubster starts connecting to cultural infrastructure.

Events consume physical resources.

Timber.

Metal.

Electronics.

Lighting.

Cables.

Furniture.

Decoration.

Fabric.

Construction elements.

Many DIY communities already have a strong tradition of recovering, repairing and transforming materials.

Why not connect that process digitally?

RECOVERED MATERIAL
       ↓
CIRCULAR MARKETPLACE
       ↓
MAKER / ARTIST / COMMUNITY
       ↓
CULTURAL PROJECT
       ↓
EVENT
       ↓
RECOVERY
       ↓
NEXT PROJECT
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Instead of treating an object as disposable, we can start thinking about its lifecycle.

Where did it come from?

Was it repaired?

Where was it used?

Can it be reused?

Can its provenance be documented?

That creates a bridge between culture and circular economy.


GitHub Becomes Public Memory

There is another reason GitHub is important.

It creates a trace.

A change can become:

IDEA
 ↓
BRANCH
 ↓
COMMIT
 ↓
PULL REQUEST
 ↓
REVIEW
 ↓
MERGE
 ↓
PUBLIC HISTORY
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

We have been using exactly this workflow while expanding MyZubster.

A recent small example was the contributor profile work around Yassen Mainardi.

We generated a dedicated visual, added it to the main MyZubster repository, created a pull request, cleaned the branch when we found an unrelated asset inside it, merged the corrected contribution and then connected the visual to Yassen's identity documentation.

That may sound like a small operation.

Architecturally, however, it demonstrates an important principle:

identity changes should leave a trace.


Consent Matters

The Yassen workflow also exposed another important distinction.

Human authorization and technical authorization are not the same thing.

Yassen explicitly communicated that he approved automatic compilation/work by Zorgax.

But his personal GitHub repository still does not currently expose write access through the GitHub connection we are using.

That means:

HUMAN CONSENT
      ≠
TECHNICAL PERMISSION
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Both are necessary.

We therefore contacted him with instructions for granting the required repository permission.

And we deliberately did not ask him to send passwords, personal access tokens or 2FA codes.

This is part of the governance model we want:

AI CAN PREPARE
AI CAN ORGANIZE
AI CAN PROPOSE
AI CAN AUTOMATE

BUT

IDENTITY
CONSENT
PERMISSIONS
PUBLICATION
SENSITIVE ACTIONS

REMAIN HUMAN-GOVERNED
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Where Zorgax Fits

Zorgax is becoming the coordination layer between these components.

Not an autonomous ruler of the ecosystem.

A tool for helping humans manage complexity.

For example:

                  ZORGAX
                     │
       ┌─────────────┼─────────────┐
       ↓             ↓             ↓
   DOCUMENTATION   GITHUB        EVENTS
       ↓             ↓             ↓
   EVIDENCE       PROFILES       INFOPOINT
       │             │             │
       └─────────────┼─────────────┘
                     ↓
                 MYZUBSTER
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The AI can help classify information, prepare documentation, detect missing elements, organize contributions and connect different parts of the ecosystem.

Humans retain authority over consequential actions.


Docker and Digital Independence

We also introduced another idea to the community:

you should eventually be able to run infrastructure yourself.

This is where Docker becomes interesting.

The conceptual model is:

YOUR COMPUTER
      ↓
    DOCKER
      ↓
OPEN-SOURCE SERVICES
      ↓
YOUR NODE
      ↓
OPTIONAL CONNECTION
      ↓
MYZUBSTER ECOSYSTEM
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Digital independence does not mean disconnecting from everyone.

It means having more choices.

Being able to inspect your software.

Being able to run it.

Being able to back it up.

Being able to modify it.

Being able to move it.

And being able to decide what you connect to the wider network.

The long-term idea is therefore not:

ONE PLATFORM
     ↓
EVERY COMMUNITY
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

but potentially:

COMMUNITY A ── NODE A ──┐
                        │
COMMUNITY B ── NODE B ──┼── OPEN NETWORK
                        │
MAKERSPACE ─── NODE C ──┤
                        │
PROJECT D ──── NODE D ──┘
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Independent nodes.

Shared protocols.

Voluntary interconnection.


Why the Free-Party Connection Matters

This is why the conversation with underground and free-party communities is interesting.

There is a cultural similarity between:

building your own sound system

and

running your own server.

Between:

creating an independent event infrastructure

and

creating an independent digital node.

Between:

sharing technical knowledge inside a DIY community

and

sharing code through open source.

The technologies are different.

The principle is surprisingly similar.


A Note About Spiral Tribe and Other Historical Communities

We have also discussed cultural references connected to Spiral Tribe/SP23 and the wider underground/free-party history.

It is important to be precise here.

MyZubster is not claiming an official partnership, endorsement, representation or membership relationship with Spiral Tribe/SP23, Mutoid Waste, Bedlam or other historical collectives unless such a relationship is explicitly established and verifiable.

We are documenting and exploring cultural connections, personal testimony, DIY principles and historical influences.

That distinction matters.

Open infrastructure also requires accurate provenance.

Culture deserves the same standard.


What Did We Actually Do on Social Media?

So what happened when we started sharing all of this?

We did not "connect the entire rave community to MyZubster."

That would be an unsupported claim.

What we actually did was much more concrete:

we introduced the architecture to the community and opened the possibility of participation.

The sequence is now:

SOCIAL POST
     ↓
COMMUNITY DISCOVERY
     ↓
INTEREST
     ↓
MYZUBSTER
     ↓
GITHUB
     ↓
CONTRIBUTION
     ↓
OPTIONAL LOCAL NODE
     ↓
INTERCONNECTION
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The next evidence we need is adoption.

Someone reading the post.

Someone visiting the project.

Someone opening the repository.

Someone contributing.

Someone running the software.

Someone creating an independent node.

Someone connecting a real cultural or circular project.

That is when communication becomes infrastructure.


MyZubster Is Becoming a System of Systems

The architecture now looks increasingly like this:

                         MYZUBSTER
                             │
              ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
              ↓              ↓              ↓
           PEOPLE         CULTURE        PROJECTS
              │              │              │
              └──────────────┼──────────────┘
                             ↓
                     DIGITAL IDENTITY
                             ↓
                          ZORGAX
                             ↓
        ┌────────────────────┼────────────────────┐
        ↓                    ↓                    ↓
      GITHUB              METAVERSE          MARKETPLACE
        │                    │                    │
   OPEN SOURCE           INFOPOINT         CIRCULARITY
        │                    │                    │
        └────────────────────┼────────────────────┘
                             ↓
                       SOCIAL / BOTS
                             ↓
                       PHYSICAL WORLD
                             ↓
                  EVENTS / MATERIALS / PILOTS
                             ↓
                          EVIDENCE
                             │
                             └──────────→ MYZUBSTER
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

This is why MyZubster is becoming difficult to describe as simply a website.

It is moving toward an open coordination infrastructure connecting digital identity, communities, culture, circular materials, AI, GitHub and the physical world.


What Comes Next?

The challenge now is not adding endless new concepts.

The challenge is making the existing pieces work together.

A meaningful test would look like this:

PERSON
  ↓
MYZUBSTER IDENTITY
  ↓
COMMUNITY
  ↓
EVENT / PROJECT
  ↓
METAVERSE + INFOPOINT
  ↓
CIRCULAR MATERIAL
  ↓
REAL-WORLD USE
  ↓
DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE
  ↓
PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

And another important test would be:

COMMUNITY
   ↓
CLONE GITHUB
   ↓
DOCKER
   ↓
RUN LOCALLY
   ↓
CREATE OWN NODE
   ↓
CONNECT VOLUNTARILY
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

If external people can complete those flows without depending on the original developers for every step, we will have moved from an ambitious ecosystem toward something much more important:

replicable infrastructure.


Social networks helped us start the conversation.

GitHub gives the conversation a technical home.

Docker can give communities operational independence.

The Metaverse can give the network a spatial interface.

The Circular Marketplace can connect physical resources.

Zorgax can help coordinate information.

And humans remain responsible for identity, consent and real-world decisions.

Build locally.
Connect globally.
Document everything.
Keep humans in control.

🌍 MyZubster
https://myzubster.com

💻 GitHub
https://github.com/MyZubster-Ecosystem/myzubster

🌐 MyZubster Comic Universe
https://myzubster.com/fumetto.html

opensource #github #docker #metaverse #selfhosting #diy #freeparty #soundsystem #circulareconomy #community #ai #myzubster

Top comments (0)