Tired of Being the Product: Why People Are Leaving Social Media

LAS VEGAS, NV— People are tired of social media that treats them like a product. They’r tired of algorithmic feeds they can’t control, profiles that all look the same, and platforms that
can revoke their account at any time. A growing wave of internet nostalgia reflects a deeper hunger: people want the creative, personal web back.

Today at Bitcoin 2026, Soapbox announced the public launch of Ditto: a fully customizable, open source social platform that brings that era roaring back. Ditto isn’t just another alternative to X or Bluesky. It’s a hub for the open web, connecting users across Nostr, Bluesky, and Mastodon in one place, with Bitcoin Lightning payments built in. Available now on the App Store, Google Play, Zapstore, and the web at ditto.pub.

“Ditto is a place of creation. An endless garden where thousands of flowers can bloom. People can use Shakespeare.diy to create their own apps, then share them on a social network with Ditto. I want to prove that making software is a form of art. Especially with AI.”

— Alex Gleason, Founder of Soapbox

What Makes Ditto Different

• Full personalization. Custom themes with colors, backgrounds, fonts, and layouts. Browse community-created themes or build your own. The era of personal, expressive profiles is back.
• A hub, not a silo. Follow and interact with users on Bluesky and Mastodon without leaving Ditto. Your feed, your rules, across multiple networks.
• Bitcoin-native payments. Creators receive Lightning tips (“zaps”) directly on posts and profiles. Peer to peer, instant, borderless. No payment processor takes a cut.
• Virtual pets. Blobbis are Tamagotchi-style companions that live in your feed. Hatch an egg, raise it through 16 forms, and watch it follow you around the app.
• Encrypted letters. Decorated, personal messages with custom stationery, stickers, and 3D animated envelopes.
• You own your account. Built on Nostr, users hold their own cryptographic keys. No company can suspend your identity, and you can take your social graph to any compatible app at any time.
• Build and launch your own microapps. With Shakespeare, anyone can create lightweight apps and publish them directly to the Ditto network. Software as a creative act, powered by AI.

Open Source and Decentralized

Ditto applies the same principles that made Bitcoin unstoppable to social communication. Just as Bitcoin removed trusted intermediaries from money, Nostr removes them from speech. Your key is yours. No platform can revoke it.

Ditto is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and the full source code is available on GitLab. Anyone can read, copy, improve, or self-host their own instance. Documentation is at about.ditto.pub.

See Ditto Live at NosVegas

Want to see Ditto in action and hear directly from the team? Join us at NosVegas, the official Nostr community event during Bitcoin 2026 week. Soapbox will be presenting Ditto live, walking through the features, and answering questions. Whether you’re a developer, a creator, or just curious about the future of social media, come by and say hello.

NosVegas Event Details
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM – 1:00 AM
Venue: WE ALL SCREAM Nightclub, 517 Fremont St., Las Vegas, NV 89101

About Soapbox

Soapbox was founded by Alex Gleason, former Head of Engineering at Truth Social. The company builds open source tools for the decentralized web, funded by grants and donations from organizations including OpenSats and the Human Rights Foundation. No ads, no investors, no data sales. Learn more at soapbox.pub or view our media kit.

Interview requests: Derek Ross (Developer Relations) is available for interviews at Bitcoin 2026. Contact [email protected] to schedule.