tags:

• protocol

Web publishers are facing challenges on multiple fronts, which are in turn changing culture as a whole.

• Search engines have broken the social contract with end users, where low quality sites float to the top, and that’s before we look at the integration of AI summaries or generated results (Google)
• Social platforms control algorithmic reach, gated by paid boosts and ads (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
• People are turning to answer engines in the form of LLM chat bots, with unknown bias, or reformulated content that often times doesn’t link to the original, published source (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini)
• The pivot to video has just lead to new platform owners where publishers are forced to be participants to access reach (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram)

Things are shifting, and the question is not of keeping up, but rather of working together to chart a path for publishers and share learnings together.

Protocols for Publishers Summer Workshop#

July - August 2025 • Virtual & In person NYC

• Invited Web Publishers
• Select Protocol Partners

Virtual hackathon#

The virtual hackathon will run July 14th → August 8th. We’ll have a private chat server where participants will have access to resources, peer check ins, and direct support for protocol questions and troubleshooting.

We’ll start with an overview and briefing of major trends and protocols, and share knowledge and challenges.

We’ll focus on three emerging protocols:

• MCP (Anthropic)
• Web Applets (Unternet + Mozilla)
• AT Protocol (Bluesky + Graze)

Each week we’ll start with a deep dive and example of the protocol, and live discussion. Each web publisher team will work on one or more self guided learning exercises or experimental project. You can check in with your peers,

Protocols for Publishers Summit in New York @ Betaworks#

After the virtual hackathon, we’ll plan to meet in New York for an in person summit, plus a few select guests. We’ll recap what we learned during the virtual hackathon, and share challenges and opportunities as publishers exploring protocols.

An evening demo day will include a wider group of public demos and explorations of protocols, all hosted at Betaworks.

Publisher teams are welcome to present publicly if they would like to share, otherwise we will showcase an inspiring selection of makers and builders on what they’re up to with protocols.