Transparency note: The author of the LOCUTERRA concept (Lukas Geiger) is also the publisher of Um:bruch. LOCUTERRA is a non-commercial open-source concept under the MIT licence. There is no monetisation.
Note: Grüntal is a fictional small town. LOCUTERRA exists as a concept and demonstrator, not as a running system. This reportage imagines how such a network might work in practice — and where it would hit its limits.
7:45 AM — Maren Is Looking for a Piano Teacher
Maren opens LOCUTERRA on her phone in the morning, the way others open WhatsApp or Instagram. But here there is no global feed, no advertising, no algorithmic recommendation. Instead, she sees what is happening in Grüntal: the municipality has posted a road closure notice, the neighbourhood-help group reports that Thomas’ hedge has finally been trimmed, and the parents’ meetup at the Waldrand (forest edge) has planned a picnic for Saturday.
Maren is a single mother, a sewing enthusiast, and has been active on LOCUTERRA since January. Today she is not scrolling — she is searching with a purpose. Her son wants to learn piano, and Maren has posted a request: “Looking for a piano teacher for beginners.” She set the reach to “municipality” — visible to everyone in Grüntal, not just her neighbourhood.
A glance at her messages: no reply yet. But she knows that requests on LOCUTERRA are not classified ads. There is no listing fee, no algorithm boost, no premium feature to rank her post higher. It simply sits there, visible to the municipality — and someone will read it eventually.
9:15 AM — Thomas at the Allotment Association
Thomas is 67, retired, and the steward of the Gartenfreunde am See (Garden Friends by the Lake). “Steward” sounds more official than it is: he maintains the group’s information, answers questions, and makes sure the tone stays friendly. He rarely has to moderate.
Today he checks the group and sees that three new members have joined. The Gartenfreunde are an open group — no application, no admin approval. Anyone who is interested simply joins. The group is tied to the location “Seeufer” (lakeside) and is visible to the village.
Thomas has also listed a power drill as a shared resource. Yesterday someone wrote through LOCUTERRA asking whether they could pick it up on Saturday. The message came as a direct message, not through the group. LOCUTERRA keeps these separate: group content stays group content; reaching out to someone remains private.
This initially irritated Thomas. Why not just ask in the group? But he has come to understand it. In a small town, not everyone wants to say publicly: “I need a power drill.” The pseudonymity helps. Some people only see his display name “Thomas B.” — not his surname.
11:00 AM — Ayla Arrives
Ayla moved to Grüntal three months ago. A teacher, 29, Turkish as her mother tongue, and she barely knows anyone here yet. The “Welcome to Grüntal” group was her starting point. Jonas, the steward, had organised a language cafe there, and Ayla offered to give Turkish tutoring.
Her offer is listed as a resource in LOCUTERRA: “Turkish tutoring, all levels. At the library or online.” Visible to the entire municipality. She has received two enquiries so far, both via direct message.
What surprised Ayla: LOCUTERRA does not ask for her real name. Her profile shows “Ayla D.”, a short bio, and her neighbourhood. Nothing more. When someone reaches out, both parties see only what has been shared. Only when both consent can real contact details be exchanged — and even that is time-limited and revocable.
For Ayla, a newcomer being watched at a distance in a small town, this is a relief. She can make herself visible without fully exposing herself.
1:30 PM — Jonas and the Neighbourhood Help
Jonas is 34, a bicycle mechanic, and the most active steward in Grüntal. He runs the neighbourhood-help group, which at 47 members is the largest group in the network. His day-to-day work on LOCUTERRA consists of connecting requests and offers — sometimes actively, usually passively.
Today he has a task that gives him pause. Someone has reported a post in the group. A user listed a “help offer” that looks suspiciously like a business pitch: professional handyman services with an hourly rate. LOCUTERRA draws a strict line between resources (non-commercial) and a future marketplace (involving money). What Jonas sees does not belong in the resources section.
He uses the report function. The post goes to the moderation team — not to Jonas himself, because stewards may moderate but cannot unilaterally block content. The moderation team reviews the post, temporarily hides it, and notifies the user. The user can appeal.
Jonas sometimes finds this slow. A quick “delete” would be easier. But he has come to understand why the system works this way: in a common-good-oriented network, no single person should decide alone what is visible and what is not.
3:00 PM — The Municipality’s Information Channel
The “Gemeinde Grüntal informiert” (Municipality of Grüntal Announces) channel has 312 subscribers. Today it contains a notice about sewer construction work and a reminder about the next public consultation.
That sounds mundane, but it solves a real problem: previously, such information went out via notice boards (which no one reads), via a website (which no one visits), via a Facebook page (which many residents refuse to use), or not at all.
The channel works like a newsletter, but without email. You subscribe to it within LOCUTERRA, receive posts in your feed, and can optionally use an accompanying chat. The municipality can see how many people have subscribed — but not who. Only when a citizen actively sends a message to the channel is a connection established.
5:30 PM — What Remains Difficult
Not everything in Grüntal runs smoothly with LOCUTERRA. Three things stand out:
The silence. A social network without an algorithm is a quiet social network. There are no push notifications luring you back, no like counters, no trending topics. Some groups have five posts a week, others one a month. For people used to Instagram or TikTok, this feels like silence.
The moderation. A small moderation team for a small town — that works. But what happens when LOCUTERRA grows? When ten municipalities participate? When politically motivated manipulation enters the picture? The governance model provides for escalation paths and an independent appeals body, but whether that holds up in practice remains to be seen.
The funding. LOCUTERRA has no conventional business model — but it does have a financing concept. No in-feed advertising, no data sales, no premium accounts. Instead, an arena model: businesses can sponsor individual places via auction, exclusively, time-limited, and without tracking. Outdoors as digital signs, indoors as full-place sponsoring. Revenue is split 50/50 between the place owner and the platform. Still, the biggest hurdle remains: it needs a public steward for core operations.
7:00 PM — Maren Has a Message
In the evening, Maren opens LOCUTERRA one more time. A message: “Hi, I saw your request. My father used to teach piano — I can ask him.” It is Lina, the student from the library.
No algorithm brought the two together. No company profited from it. Just a platform that creates local visibility without forcing global reach.
That is the idea behind LOCUTERRA: not the next social media platform — but a tool for places where people actually live.
What Is LOCUTERRA?
LOCUTERRA is a concept for a common-good-oriented, location-based social network. It connects citizens, initiatives, and municipalities through real places, groups, resources, information channels, and direct messages.
The full concept — including the data model, privacy framework, governance structure, and a clickable demonstrator — is freely available on GitHub:
It lacks a sponsor. We developed the concept. Anyone who wants to build and operate it is welcome.
More on this in the accompanying concept article: LOCUTERRA: A Concept Seeking Stewardship.