New social platform @gandersocial.bsky.social is not only using Bluesky’s ATProtocol to build a feed without ads, they’re also keeping user data within in Canada and operating under Canadian law.

This is next-level, unprecedented data sovereignty.

Ahem.

We give you Gander. The app. On a phone.

Not public yet… but it’s real, in our hands, and soon in beta.

The timing is a bit nuts… given we just opened investment to all Canadians (at frontfundr.com/gandersocial) but we’re over the moon.

Amazing what can get done with community.

“It’s one thing to say ‘let’s do this in a sovereign way.’ It’s another to actually do it.”

^Ben spoke to @trondizzle.bsky.social from @betakit.com about being children of CanCon, giving people control of their feeds, and why sovereignty doesn’t mean isolation.

More👉 betakit.com/canada-gande...

Have you heard of @gandersocial.bsky.social? Founder Ben Waldman explains how the homegrown social media platform is built to promote our country's values, economy and democracy.

Check out his session at Elevate. Use our promo code MARSELEVATE.

See you at Elevate in October!

Jennifer and Alison (our COO and Head of Community respectively) will be running a workshop on building a tech stack that runs on Canadian values (and servers).

They'll be joined by @vassb.bsky.social from the The Canadian SHIELD Institute.

Canadians log on to platforms built under American rules where hate speech is protected.

In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and another school shooting in Colorado, days before a nationalist 'Canada First' rally in Toronto, it’s time to enforce our Charter and laws online.

We can learn so much from the indigenous people. They were stewards of this land for millennia and didn't destroy it in less than 2 centuries, as we are on pace to do.

At the @gandersocial.bsky.social Creator Jam, we asked participants: which part of Canada most shapes your perspective?

Canada can feel so divided, in so many ways. I’m excited to build tools that break down barriers, and connect over shared experiences.

#canadiantech #techforgood #buildinpublic

It’s not lost on us that a new social platform isn’t exactly top of mind. Tech execs joining the U.S. military. More war.

And here we are, grateful for everyone with us in this moment. A social platform isn’t all that social without good people supporting it.

92% of the time, if somebody says “we’re too in the weeds” in a meeting, it’s me. I’m in the weeds. It’s cozy here. I AM ONE with the weeds.

Hear from Jennifer, our COO, about crying through Come From Away (as you do), finding kinship in Canada and why she joined the Gander team.

#GetToKnowGander #HinterlandWhosWho

Big moment for Canada.

There’s energy behind us to create new and exciting things: AI, space infra—and yes, social platforms too. If you’ve got a bold idea go for it.

Hear from Ben on Canadian resilience and responsibility: https://startupcan.pulse.ly/olymjcqedy