Jack Dorsey's Ideal: Liberation from Algorithmic Control
American entrepreneur Jack Dorsey is widely known as the co-founder of the social media service "Twitter" (now X) and later as the person who launched "Block" (formerly Square), a technology company centered on payment services. This article explains Dorsey's journey, as well as his thoughts on social media, entrepreneurship, and Bitcoin, based on a conversation with Nicolai Tangen, CEO of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund. While the content includes technical topics, it is structured with specific episodes and quotes to make it easier for readers to understand.
1. Background and Growth of Twitter
1-1. The Origin of the Idea
It is said that the background to Jack Dorsey's idea for "Twitter" lies in his childhood interest in "maps." While building a "dispatch system" to track the real-time location of taxis and ambulances on a map, his desire to visualize "where people in the city are and what they are doing right now" grew.
"When you look at the movement of a city, you can grasp the buildings and vehicles, but you can't directly see people's actions and thoughts. The desire to know that was the starting point for Twitter." (Jack Dorsey)
1-2. Evolution through Co-creation with Users
Twitter launched in 2006 and initially spread as a service that allowed people to easily share their status via mobile phone SMS. However, as the number of users grew rapidly, users themselves began to create functions emergently. For example, methods such as replying with "@username" to visually connect conversations, the mechanism of classifying topics with "#hashtags," and even the concept of "RT (retweet)" for reposting were almost all born spontaneously by users.
"At first, it was just a tool to 'share your status,' but through the 'inventions of use' by users, it evolved into a town square for conversation at a speed we never expected." (Jack Dorsey)
2. Impact on Social Media, Politics, and Society
2-1. Triggered by President Obama's Inaugural Address
Dorsey cites the moment when then-President Barack Obama gave his memorable early speech at the White House, and a senator "tweeted in real-time" about it, as the moment Twitter gained a significant social presence. In addition to live television broadcasts, the "live voices" that popped up on smartphones at the same time narrowed the distance between citizens and politicians at once.
"When I was watching the speech on TV, my phone buzzed at the same time, and a senator was posting about the speech. It was a moment when politics, which tends to be abstract, suddenly felt close." (Jack Dorsey)
2-2. The State of Content Moderation
As social media became a stage for political discourse around the world, issues such as the authenticity of information and extremist posts surfaced. Dorsey says, "The tug-of-war between 'free posting' and the 'spread of harmful information' is difficult to solve just by companies controlling it centrally." He suggests that a mechanism where users can choose their own filtering rules (algorithms) is important, and that the idea of "liberating social media itself as a 'protocol'" rather than having companies manage everything collectively is essential.
3. Monetization Models and the Dilemma of Corporate Management
3-1. Devotion to the Advertising Model and Its Challenges
Twitter grew rapidly in its early days, and through venture capital funding and an IPO, it became dependent on a large-scale "advertising model." According to Dorsey, internet services at the time considered "free access + advertising revenue" to be the gold standard, so Twitter chose that path without exception. However, he reflects that there were aspects where this had a negative impact on user experience and platform growth.
"By introducing an advertising model, the algorithm inevitably tended to prioritize 'maximizing ad impressions' over 'user experience'." (Jack Dorsey)
3-2. Attempts to View Social Media as a "Protocol"
Dorsey points out, "If Twitter existed as a 'common protocol' like email (SMTP) or the web (HTTP) rather than being fully owned by a company, we could have built a more flexible and open ecosystem." In fact, this ideal is strongly reflected in the decentralized social media "BlueSky" that he himself supports, and the protocol "Nostr" that is being built by a completely open community.
"By not having a single company control the protocol layer, it becomes harder for advertisers and government agencies to exert pressure. Decentralization is the key." (Jack Dorsey)
4. Block (formerly Square) and Bitcoin
4-1. Overview of Block
After Twitter, Mr. Dorsey founded the payment service Square . Now, having changed the company name to "Block," it offers a wide range of financial services, including payment terminals for merchants and the peer-to-peer money transfer app "Cash App."
"We were originally named Square, but as our business area expanded, we redefined ourselves as 'Block' to represent a three-dimensional evolution." (Jack Dorsey)
4-2. The Potential Brought by Bitcoin
For Block, Bitcoin is not just an investment target; its potential as an "open money transfer protocol" is highly valued. The ability to move value instantly and at low cost, transcending borders and the limitations of existing financial systems, is considered to bring innovation to internet services in general, such as social media and e-commerce.
"Bitcoin provides an 'open foundation' that anyone can use, like the internet, rather than being controlled by companies or nations. This will contribute significantly to the future of finance." (Jack Dorsey)
5. The Philosophy of Entrepreneur Jack Dorsey
5-1. Observation and Action
Mr. Dorsey says that he has learned all the necessary skills for management, fundraising, and human resources—not just "giving shape to ideas," but also "sustaining and expanding them"—after the fact. At the root of this is a simple attitude: "First, observe thoroughly, and then act when necessary."
"People tend to act quickly, but it is actually important to take enough time to 'observe.' Only by fully absorbing the surrounding situation can you begin to act on intuition." (Jack Dorsey)
5-2. Daily Habits: Meditation and One Meal a Day
He is also famous for practicing meditation and a one-meal-a-day diet as ways to use his time effectively and discipline himself.
Meditation: He had a period where he participated in a 10-day silent retreat every year, and he says, "It cultivates the ability to objectively view pain, anxiety, and noise from the outside world."
One meal a day: By rethinking the custom of eating three meals a day and actually reducing it to one, he states, "I minimized the time spent on meals and increased my concentration. It feels like I've regained my sense of taste."
5-3. "Learning How to Learn"
Furthermore, in recent years, Mr. Dorsey says he has been working to systematize "how I can learn efficiently" while simultaneously studying languages, physics (especially quantum mechanics), and programming. By pursuing multiple learning paths at the same time, he aims to find common patterns in each, reflect them, and achieve further mastery.
"It's interesting to build a methodology for learning. By trying extreme methods, there are realizations that can only be found beyond that point." (Jack Dorsey)
6. The Future of SNS and Technology
6-1. Algorithmic Selection and Agentification
As a key concept for the development of social media, Mr. Dorsey emphasizes a system where "users themselves can select or customize algorithms." As posts proliferate and a vast amount of information—including generative AI (chatbots and automated response programs)—becomes intermingled, he argues that a mechanism for acquiring only the information one truly seeks will become essential. He envisions a future where autonomous programs known as "agents" will cooperate and negotiate with each other on the internet, gathering information on behalf of the user.
6-2. The Spread of Decentralized Protocols
The ideal is not a massive platform managed by a single company like Twitter, but rather a form where multiple services coexist on a common protocol accessible to everyone. The current efforts of BlueSky, Nostr, and other decentralized social media projects to embody this vision are worth watching in the future.
"As regulations in each country become fragmented and overall control by companies becomes more difficult, the significance of decentralized models based on open protocols should increase." (Jack Dorsey)
Jack Dorsey is an entrepreneur who pioneered the world of social media based on his childhood interests, and in the process, turned his attention to the potential of the decentralized internet and Bitcoin. His thinking is consistently supported by elements of "openness," "user agency," and a "lifelong learning attitude." Based on the lessons he learned through Twitter, his ongoing efforts to support Block and decentralized social media, as well as his search for future technological infrastructure, suggest a new direction for innovation for all of us.
"I believe that fostering services through people's ingenuity, centered on open protocols that are not controlled by corporations, is the path to unlocking the true potential of social media and finance." (Jack Dorsey)
Moving forward, even more attention will be focused on how open protocols like decentralization and Bitcoin will permeate society and change our lives, communication, and business. Mr. Dorsey's trajectory and philosophy can be considered valuable clues that play a part in that major transformation.
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