I just had a look at #Meta's recent press release about #Threads, and something caught my attention right away.
For the very first time, they're acknowledging another #Fediverse platform alongside #Mastodon. Specifically, they're highlighting that #WordPress can now connect through #ActivityPub.
Now, you know Meta's PR department doesn't say things by accident. So here's why this is a big deal. Last time I checked, WordPress powers a whopping 43% of the Internet. Yeah, you heard that right! If you visit a website, there's a good chance it's using WordPress as its CMS.
Now, if even a fraction of those WordPress sites start federating, it could have a huge impact on the network effect of the Fediverse. Of course, Meta isn't oblivious to this. I've been talking about the potential of WordPress and ActivityPub for quite some time now.
But if you're particularly observant, you might also notice that they mention #Tumblr. We've known for a while that Tumblr is likely to integrate ActivityPub into their platform.
But here's an interesting tidbit: Did you know that one company, Automattic, not only owns Tumblr but is also the driving force behind WordPress?
I don't want to jump to conclusions, but once again, PR departments don't just drop hints randomly. I have a strong feeling that Meta has been having some high-level discussions with Automattic about the future of ActivityPub. It wouldn't surprise me if Meta has some insights into Automattic's upcoming plans for the Fediverse.
⚠️ We have just released important security fixes for the #Mastodon server software. Versions 4.1.3, 4.0.5, 3.5.9, as well as a new nightly are available now to make upgrading quick and painless. Please upgrade as soon as possible!
My general view for now on the issue of Threads integration with #Mastodon is that it may make sense in terms of making it easier for Threads users to follow Mastodon users (given the topology and complications of the Mastodon model), but it makes little sense for Mastodon users to follow Threads users via such an integration, rather than simply following them on Threads and avoiding "cross-contamination" of the very different operational models and standards involved. My sense is that Mastodon will ultimately be on the losing end of this arrangement. Why? One word: "Zuck."
THREAD: I made a series of images for an Instagram post I made about migrating to the fediverse. I figured I'd share with anyone else who wants to use, so I included some blank template versions too. DM if you'd like the Adobe Illustrator file so you can make your own edits. And please,comment if I got anything wrong so I can correct it.
Others have said this. More and more, I think it's true: the Homeowners Association (HOA) culture on the Fediverse is hurting it.
Except, people who tend to push an HOA agenda don't even tend to be "homeowners". They don't code. They don't run servers. Many of them are recent arrivals to the Fediverse.
I don't bring that up to say that anyone's more or less important because they code or admin or have been active for awhile. But surely, if you're going to be a gatekeeper, you should have something to qualify you as the self-appointed enforcer of the HOA.
Usually, these self-appointed gatekeepers have never made any investment in this community. Instead, the HOA are outright hurting this community by being unwelcoming jackasses.
Just to give an example, why has #BlackTwitter soured on #Mastodon? It's the HOA in action. And who's currently uttering death threats to server admins? It's the HOA. They are toxic, and everywhere they go, they spread toxicity.
The worst FUD about the Fediverse isn't even coming from the likes of Big Social or Bluesky or the Press. It's from the HOA.
Who's spreading fears about "embrace, extend, extinguish"? It's the HOA. Who's creating uncertainty about whether ActivityPub can survive a corporation's use of it? Again, it's the HOA. And who believes that the Fediverse will die because something happened without their approval? It's the HOA every time.
The HOA has no authority here. The Fediverse has no board meetings, never mind a board of directors. Their decision making power is a complete delusion, a total fabrication of their collective imagination.
To be blunt, I'm done with entertaining the HOA's bluster, speciousness, and pretensions.
From here on out, at least on spaces I have tangible power, I'm gatekeeping the gatekeepers.
Yet another question people are asking me: "How can I, a common person, help hasten the demise of #Meta through #ActivityPub?"
Again, I want to re-emphasize this. #Fediblock is not an all-purpose tool. It's useful as a hammer. But in this scenario, we don't just need a hammer. We need drills, pliers, saws, and blowtorches.
That said, we must protect communities that choose to defederate from Meta. Which means that if those servers don't want to receive messages from any Meta-owned services, we must not only be respectful of that, we should make damn sure that those servers are quarantined from Meta. So much of the success of fighting Meta will require safe spaces from Meta.
The next thing we need is lots and lots of nodes. Currently, we only have ~25,000 nodes on the Fediverse but we need more. Preferably, these nodes should be small, agile, and well-moderated. If you have the finances and/or skill to run a node, it's important that you do so. To compete with Meta, we need to build scale -- and the easiest way to build scale is by adding more nodes to the Fediverse.
What will also be key is lobby servers. These will be servers specifically set up for migrants from Meta-owned services to help onboard them towards the rest of the Fediverse. To run such a lobby server, they need to be welcoming, moderated well, and free of the elitists and gatekeepers that poison so much of the Fediverse currently.
How to get people from Meta to try out the rest of the Fediverse? We need people willing to be ambassadors on #P92 who are ready and willing to evangelize the rest of the Fediverse. Folks like @tchambers are very good at this on Twitter, and I have no doubt that we can do the same with P92. Except this time we'll have the benefit of federation already happening 😉
Now if there's one thing I've learned about the growth of the Fediverse it's that bad corporate decisions pay dividends. We've already experienced waves of migration from Tumblr, Twitter, and Reddit. And I have no doubt that it's only a matter of time before Meta makes another corporate mistake -- as they tend to do.
In which case, we need to strike fast. When another Cambridge Analytica happens, we need to remind everyone on Meta about the lobby servers that are on standby, and ready to take them on. Unlike previous migrations, let's not be unprepared for this. Let's be especially prepared since Meta plans to join the Fediverse.
Finally, we need more devs. Specifically, we need devs willing to build innovative server and client software that takes aim at Meta. And to do that, we need to support the devs that currently exist -- show evergreen devs pondering whether they should invest here that we, as a community, are appreciative of our current devs.
If you like #Mastodon, #Calckey, #Kbin, #Friendica, etc., it's important that you open up your hearts as well as your wallets and fund the next stage of Fediverse development.
This will take a lot of work. But if you want to fight Meta, challenge their dominance of social media, this is what must be done.
Personally, I'm hyped about the future of the Fediverse -- regardless of whether Meta eventually lives to tell the tale.
It's release day! #Mastodon 4.2 will drop later today. I'm very excited for all the improvements we've been working on since January to become available to all server operators and their users.
For those new here from #twitter to #mastodon may I suggest @FediFollows as well as @feditips. If you’re interested in running your own server I personally use @mastohost for managing my service, simple to setup and pay them, been using them for months and it’s cheaper than Twitter blue for many individuals, but inexpensively can scale if you become more popular as I have been. Enjoy your time tooting posts away #twittermigration#welcome
I’m happy to see Threads starting to federate with Mastodon and other ActivityPub networks!
Open standards are good, and honestly, I have a ton of friends already on Instagram and Threads that would never join yet another social network, but I’d still love to keep up with them and their lives without having to use Threads. Federating via ActivityPub enables exactly that.
No, it did not. Tired of hearing this. According to who? In what?
I’ve seen platforms that ceased to exist over the years. I’ve seen social media companies getting acquired or going bankrupt. I’ve seen entire portals losing their users. The Fediverse keeps growing. How is this failing?
With Meta beginning to test federation, there's a lot of discussion as to whether we should preemptively defederate with Threads. I made a post about the question, and it seems that opinions differ a lot among people on Kbin. There were a lot of arguments for and against regarding ads, privacy, and content quality, but I don't...
I really love the #filters here on #Mastodon. Unlike on previous corporate-owned platforms I’ve used, Mastodon filters allow me to hide one major source of traffic: the US.
English is my primary language and America and its culture floods the anglosphere.
I’m Australian and Dutch. I wish the best for Americans but I have no need to be kept up to date on every detail of the latest horrible thing happening in that country.
It is an existential threat to the very core of Meta’s social media monopoly. Surprisingly, if the goal is to fight against Meta’s hegemony, the most effective strategy may be to federate with them.
“But Chris,” some of you might state, “Even you agree that it might be better to defederate Meta – and you’ve even set up notmeta.social for expressly this purpose.”
Yes, because it’s not everyone’s objective to fight Meta, and there should be spaces where fighting Meta isn’t top of mind. Not everyone wants to be part and parcel of a fight, and that’s okay.
Let’s first acknowledge the technology through which federation happens. #ActivityPub is an open standard protocol that enables the decentralized social networking that powers the Fediverse. It allows different social media platforms (#Mastodon, #Calckey, #Kbin, etc.) to interoperate, meaning that users on one platform can communicate with users on another platform. Federation is the process by which these platforms connect and share content, forming a decentralized network.
The most important thing to understand about ActivityPub is that, more than a technology to merely send and receive messages, it’s also a common ruleset – a gentleman’s agreement that everyone will play nice when sending and receiving messages.
Now when Meta opts to use ActivityPub, they’re abiding by the agreement: to play by the same rules as everybody else. Should they renege on this agreement, they are no longer using ActivityPub. They’re using something else.
But let’s assume for a moment that Meta is abiding to use ActivityPub, and they indeed will play by the same rules. Knowing Meta, this is a tall order – but still, let’s assume.
ActivityPub means that whatever of Meta’s userbase that’s exposed to federation will diversify into other platforms. This is because, through ActivityPub, smaller platforms can connect with each other and offer a combined user base that competes with Meta’s centralized network. This diversification reduces the dependence of users on a single platform, giving them more choices and potentially drawing them away from Meta.
This creates an erosion of Meta’s network effects. Meta’s entire monopoly is based on ownership of their platforms’ network effects, where the value of the platform increases as more users join. Suddenly, by federating, Meta no longer own the network effect. This is because federation challenges this by breaking down barriers between platforms, allowing users to interact regardless of the platform they are on. This reduces the exclusivity and advantage Meta holds, as the network effects become distributed across multiple interconnected platforms.
Federation also gives Meta’s users power that they never previously had. Federation promotes decentralization by giving users greater control over their data and interactions. With ActivityPub, users have the freedom to choose which platform they prefer without sacrificing connectivity. This user empowerment threatens Meta’s control over user data and engagement, potentially leading to a loss of influence and advertising revenue.
ActivityPub poses a tangible threat to Meta’s monopoly on social media. By choosing to federate, Meta might be opening Pandora’s box. The moment Meta’s users receive a message from a server not owned by Meta is the moment they’re exposed to something else beyond Meta’s control. Inevitably, this will create more diversity of ActivityPub-enabled platforms – not less. This will erode Meta’s network effects. For people who use Meta, the power of decentralization – giving them more freedom – will prove revelatory.
Of course, this is a fight. And just because Meta federates doesn’t mean it’s game over. In the next post, I will explore what Meta is hoping to gain by joining the #Fediverse.
#Twitter is a proprietary platform. #Facebook is a proprietary platform. #WhatsApp is a proprietary platform. #Instagram is a proprietary platform. #Telegram is a proprietary platform. #Signal is a proprietary platform. #Mastodon is a proprietary platform.
Spoutible is soaring to new heights with our latest integration of #Mastodon for seamless cross-platform posting. Now, you can broadcast your thoughts on Spoutible, Bluesky, and Mastodon simultaneously, ditching the need for any extra apps or extensions.
Both as a #marketer and a big fan of #Mastodon and the #Fediverse I see Threads as a way to preserve existing social hierarchies, decrease the quality of content on the platform, and convince users (yet again) that they should view social media as a place to consume "media”... instead of being "social”
Do you prefer typing emoji instead of stopping to choose them from a picker?
You can do this when writing a post on Mastodon's web interface by typing a : (colon) and then a keyword without a space. This will automatically bring up emoji with that keyword in their description.
For example if you type :sun it will show you emoji with the keyword "sun".
(Note that if there are many matches for a keyword, you may need to go to the picker to see them all.)
I see a lot of posts on fediverse trashing reddit, Twitter, spez, musk and so on, and rightfully so. But like it or not, the mass majority of users on the internet still use these sites, and some of us still want to interact with the friends and communities we are a part of on those sites. And there's nothing wrong with that...
A case for preemptively defederating with Threads
With Meta beginning to test federation, there's a lot of discussion as to whether we should preemptively defederate with Threads. I made a post about the question, and it seems that opinions differ a lot among people on Kbin. There were a lot of arguments for and against regarding ads, privacy, and content quality, but I don't...
There's nothing wrong with using Reddit, Twitter, and other mainstream site still while being active on fediverse.
I see a lot of posts on fediverse trashing reddit, Twitter, spez, musk and so on, and rightfully so. But like it or not, the mass majority of users on the internet still use these sites, and some of us still want to interact with the friends and communities we are a part of on those sites. And there's nothing wrong with that...