I’ve spent the past 10 years involved in a project called Matrix, an open standard for secure, decentralised communication. Starting out as a community member, I’ve worked professionally in the Matrix eco-system since ~2017.
Initially, Element (my employer) was founded to hire the Matrix core team to further the protocol. As Matrix has matured and given rise to a thriving ecosystem, it has gradually been building a governance system independent of Element in the form of the Matrix Foundation.
With Josh Simmons joining as full-time managing director of the foundation in 2023, Matrix is now at the point where it can appoint a governing board. This is a crucial step in ensuring the long-term resilience and durability of the project, independent of any specific supporting organisation.
You can read more about the governing board here.
I am a nominee for the governing board as the Element representative under the Platinum Member constituency.
I thought it would be good to share my nominee application so that folks have some idea of what I hope to bring to the board.
“Element wants to see Matrix have the same impact on the world in the next 50 years as email has had on the previous 50.
In the early days, out of pragmatism, there was a high level of overlap between Matrix and Element. Element was formed from the Matrix founding team, and even today 90%+ of github.com/matrix-org is attributable to Element staff. However, in the long run, it is essential for Matrix to have a strong Foundation independent of any specific organisation. Which is why the Governing Board is so important.
To achieve the long-term goals of Matrix, we need not only a strong Foundation, a vibrant ecosystem, and a protocol that continues to evolve and innovate but also for Matrix to become a mainstream technology for the benefit of all.
Element should continue to try to help make Matrix the best it can be, contributing to its evolution from promising but niche technology to something truly mainstream.
Speaking personally, my experience at Element has given me first-hand practical insight into delivering large-scale Matrix projects benefiting millions of people, essential for the broader adoption of Matrix in the wild.
I have dedicated my professional life to furthering Matrix, and it would be an honour to serve on the governing board.”
Additionally, I am personally interested in finding ways to make it easier for members of the community to contribute to the core of Matrix. Would a working group model seen by projects such as Python or Rust work for Matrix? Relatedly, what would it take to make it easy and rewarding to contribute to enabling projects that help improve Matrix implementations across the board? I’m thinking specifically about things like Complement or Traffic Light, but it could apply to a range of projects.
If anyone from the Matrix community would like to ask me questions about the above, please feel free to ping me in the Platinum Nominee room or via DM.
Basically, the questions that cause me concern and almost stress:
What can we do to improve the adoption of the ecosystem?
Why aren’t there ways of involving the non-developer user, such as mozzilians, app ambassadors, etcetera?
Is there any possibility of the Foundation developing OR stimulating the emergence of solid clients?
Why doesn’t communication about the ecosystem go beyond the tech niche and reach the masses?
What happened to interoperability with WhatsApp?
When will we have an ecosystem with documentation and websites that are friendly to exclusively non-Anglophone speakers?
Success, we will win!
Thanks for the reply, there is a lot to cover here, so answering each briefly in turn.
What can we do to improve the adoption of the ecosystem?
It’s a mix really. We need quality client and server implementations, we need examples of real uses of Matrix in the wild to build credibility and we need to get the word out.
Why aren’t there ways of involving the non-developer user, such as mozzilians, app ambassadors, etcetera?
I don’t see any particular impediment, other than the necessary bandwidth to kick start such programmes. I would see the role of the governing board to identify projects that will have the most impact and then make progress through various working groups.
Is there any possibility of the Foundation developing OR stimulating the emergence of solid clients?
There are already plenty of client projects in flight. With my Element hat on, I’m biased but I think that Element X is game changing, however any client that implements the collection of features outlined in Matrix 2.0 is well on the way to providing a high quality experience.
Why doesn’t communication about the ecosystem go beyond the tech niche and reach the masses?
Main stream cut through can be challenging, though I would say that topics like decentralisation and data privacy are becoming increasingly large in the public consciousness especially in places like Germany. Here’s run down of the German Matrix landscape.
What happened to interoperability with WhatsApp?
We’ve always had bridges, but our FOSDEM talk this year revealed details of a tighter integration. It is still very much a thing but not quite ready for production use.
When will we have an ecosystem with documentation and websites that are friendly to exclusively non-Anglophone speakers?
Again I see no impediment other than activation energy and the ability to maintain the docs.
If you would like to talk about these questions in more detail I’d strongly recommend you join the matrix space here.