Behind the Diner—Digital Rights Bytes: 2024 in Review

Although it feels a bit weird to be writing a year in review post for a site that hasn’t even been live for three months, I thought it would be fun to give a behind-the-scenes look at the work we did this year to build EFF’s newest site, Digital Rights Bytes. 

Since each topic Digital Rights Bytes aims to tackle is in the form of a question, why not do this Q&A style? 

Q: WHAT IS DIGITAL RIGHTS BYTES?

Great question! At its core, Digital Rights Bytes is a place where you can get honest answers to the questions that have been bugging you about technology. 

The site was originally pitched as ‘EFF University’ (or EFFU, pun intended) to help folks who aren’t part of our core tech-savvy base get up-to-speed on technology issues that may be affecting their everyday lives. We really wanted Digital Rights Bytes to be a place where newbies could feel safe learning about internet freedom issues, get familiar with EFF’s work, and find out how to get involved, without feeling too intimidated. 

Q: WHY DOES THE SITE LOOK SO DIFFERENT FROM OTHER EFF WORK?

With our main goal of attracting new readers, it was crucial to brand Digital Rights Bytes differently from other EFF projects. We wanted Digital Rights Bytes to feel like a place where you and your friend might casually chat over milkshakes—while being served pancakes by a friendly robot. We took that concept and ran with it, going forward with a full diner theme for the site. I mean, imagine the counter banter you could have at the Digital Rights Bytes Diner!

Take a look at the Digital Rights Bytes counter!

As part of this concept, we thought it made sense for each topic to be framed as a question. Of course, at EFF, we get a ton of questions from supporters and other folks online about internet freedom issues, including from our own family and friends. We took some of the questions we see fairly often, then decided which would be the most important—and most interesting—to answer.  

The diner concept is why the site has a bright neon logo, pink and cyan colors, and a neat vintage looking background on desktop. Even the gif that plays on the home screen of Digital Rights Bytes shows our animal characters chatting ‘round the diner (more on them soon!) 

Q: WHY DID YOU MAKE DIGITAL RIGHTS BYTES?

Here’s the thing: technology continues to expand, evolve, and change—and it’s tough to keep up! We’ve all been the tech noob, trying to figure out why our devices behave the way they do, and it can be pretty overwhelming.  

So, we thought that we could help out with that! And what better way to help educate newcomers than explaining these tech issues in short byte-sized videos: 

A clip from the device repair video.

It took some time to nail down the style for the videos on Digital Rights Bytes. But, after some trial and error, we landed on using animals as our lead characters. A) because they’re adorable. B) because it helped further emphasize the shadowy figures that were often trying to steal their data or make their tech worse for them. It’s often unclear who is trying to steal our data or rig tech to be worse for the user, so we thought this was fitting. 

In addition to the videos, EFF issue experts wrote concise and easy to read pages further detailing the topic, with an emphasis on linking to other experts and including information on how you can get involved. 

Q: HAS DIGITAL RIGHTS BYTES BEEN SUCCESSFUL?

You tell us! If you’re reading these Year In Review blog posts, you’re probably the designated “ask them every tech question in the world” person of your family. Why not send your family and friends over to Digital Rights Bytes and let us know if the site has been helpful to them! 

We’re also looking to expand the site and answer more common questions you and I might hear. If you have suggestions, you should let us know here or on social media! Just use the hashtag #DigitalRightsBytes and we’ll be sure to consider it. 

This article is part of our Year in Review series. Read other articles about the fight for digital rights in 2024.