How one pioneering platform is working to detoxify social media

It's Friday Eve! Writing to you from New York, I'm Jordan Parker Erb.

Social-media networks have no shortage of pitfalls. They're known to be "toxic" to mental health, especially teens'. They can become echo chambers for disinformation. And the screentime we can rack up isn't great either.

But some platforms are trying to detoxify social media. Today, we've got a look at Mastodon, a platform that's trying to do things differently.

That, and more, below.

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1. One pioneering platform is working to detoxify social media. Once championed as heralds of a more interconnected world, social media has instead contributed to loneliness, low self-esteem, and the proliferation of harmful disinformation, Evan Malmgren writes. One platform could change that.

• Mastodon aims to create a "decentralized" platform — a social-media ecosystem where control of the content and the features is dispersed among the users instead of concentrated in the hands of the main provider.
• With 4.4 million users, Mastodon looks like Twitter, but rather than a single website, it's an open-source software platform that allows users to run self-hosted, "federated" social networks.
• "I made a post and immediately random people I had never talked to were engaging with it thoughtfully," one Mastodon user said. "It felt like the internet should be."

A look at a less toxic online experience.

In other news:

2. Leaked Amazon slides instruct employees to "double down on frugality." In an all-hands meeting, Amazon's leadership encouraged workers to "accomplish more with less." In another indication of belt-tightening at the notoriously frugal company, Amazon is also shuttering its ORCA robotics team and Explore virtual travel division.

3. Intel is planning massive layoffs. The layoffs, which will likely affect thousands of employees, are expected to happen later this month, according to Bloomberg. Everything we know about Intel's downsizing.

4. Is it time for Mark Zuckerberg to step down? Bill Gates left Microsoft. Larry Page and Sergey Brin let someone else take charge at Google. It's time for Zuckerberg to follow their example, writes senior correspondent Linette Lopez. She explains why stepping down would save Zuck's empire.

5. Twitter is reviewing its rules around permanent bans. As Elon Musk's takeover attempt trudges on, the company is reassessing its policies on permanently banning users — but even if the rules change, it's unlikely that former President Donald Trump would get his account back. Get the full rundown here.

6. Internal critics think Uber's chief product officer has made the company too short-sighted. According to some former executives, Sundeep Jain lacks the innovative drive that Uber needs to thrive, and his no-nonsense style has made him one of the more divisive figures at the company. Meet Jain, Uber's chief incrementalist.

7. One of the investors that agreed to back Elon Musk's Twitter bid wants out of the deal. Manhattan Venture Partners committed to invest in the deal earlier this year, but the firm is trying to get out of its commitment because Twitter's value has tumbled. Read our full scoop here.

8. Quiet quitters could be prime targets for layoffs. As the job market slowly shifts back in favor of employers, workers may not be able to get away with just doing the bare minimum, or "quiet quitting" — and those who are coasting could be the first ones out the door.

Odds and ends:

9. Elon Musk is selling a perfume called "Burnt Hair" for $100 a bottle. It's not clear what scents are actually in the fragrance, as it's simply described online as smelling "just like leaning over a candle at the dinner table." Now you, too, can exude "the essence of repugnant desire."

10. Tom Cruise could do a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. As part of one of his upcoming adventure movies, Cruise could be the first civilian to do a spacewalk outside of the space station. What we know so far.

What we're watching today:

• Delta, Walgreens, and others are reporting earnings. Keep up with earnings here.
• SpaceX's Crew-4 mission is scheduled to return to Earth.
• Google's new Pixel 7 smartphones are now available.

Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.

Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.