The Fediverse: What It Is, Why It’s Promising, What’s Next

In the early days, the internet was a decentralized space created by enthusiasts. However, it has since transformed into a centralized, commerce-driven entity dominated by a few major players. The promise of the fediverse, a decentralized social networking concept, offers a refreshing alternative.

Prodromou, a co-author of ActivityPub—the W3C standard for decentralized networking used by platforms like Mastodon—discusses the evolution of the fediverse on The New Stack Makers podcast. He notes that small social networks dwindled to a few giants, such as Twitter and Facebook, which rarely interconnected. The acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk disrupted the established norms, prompting users to reconsider their dependence on centralized platforms.

The fediverse aims to address these issues by allowing users to maintain relationships across different instances, ensuring a smoother transition between networks. This decentralization fosters community management and better control over social interactions.

Check out the full podcast episode to explore how tech giants like Meta are engaging with the fediverse and how to join decentralized social networks.

Learn more from The New Stack about fediverse:

FediForum Showcases New Fediverse Apps and Developer Network

One Login: Towards a Single Fediverse Identity on ActivityPub

Web Dev 2024: Fediverse Ramps Up, More AI, Less JavaScript

[bobbydg]

This is a solid introduction that dispenses with technical minutiae and social growing pains to invite newcomers to the network. There's a lot to be optimistic about, but given the long corporate tradition of "embrace, extend, extinguish", there is plenty of reason to suspect Meta.

[Jordan-hzwr]

Holy shit, Chris Pirillo. That’s a name I haven’t heard in over a decade.

[jeffreycliff]

youtube standard license instead of creative commons => downvote, close tab