Mission
We are guided in everything we do by a simple and clear mission. Every project and partnership we do is evaluated against it.
“The Social Web Foundation’s mission is a growing, healthy, sustainable and multi-polar Fediverse”
What are the goals of the
Social Web Foundation?
We think that the increasing use of the Fediverse is good for individual users, businesses and for society as a whole. And we have four major goals.
We want the Fediverse to grow
We believe that increased use of the Fediverse has the potential to make all of our online social experiences better, as well as to create lots of new opportunities for creation and self-expression. So we’re committed to growing the number of people using the Fediverse.
We want the Fediverse to be healthy
We believe a healthy Fediverse is able to support free expression while also giving individuals and providers choice over what they’re exposed to. Want a service with inbuilt fact-checks? Or one that is focused on fighting abuse and harassment? Or one that recommends content that corresponds with your faith or personal interests? You should have that choice. And there’s some types of content – spam, violence and illegal sexual content – that no one needs to see. We want to make sure people have the tools they need to filter them out.
We want the Fediverse to be sustainable
The Fediverse cannot thrive without those who build and maintain infrastructure like clients or servers, and social infrastructure like moderation. We want the people and organizations who provide those services to have the financial and mental health support they need for the long haul.
We want a Fediverse that is multi-polar
A Fediverse that is controlled only by one company isn’t really a Fediverse at all. We think a productive, creative and healthy Fediverse needs multiple providers, none of whom dominate the space.
Projects
We take on several projects a year — focused on developing technology, creating technical and operational resources, or building community and awareness around the Fediverse.
People
We help the general public understand the Fediverse, and provide targeted info for companies, government, startups and media to help the network grow.
Policy
We provide analysis and support for policymakers to better understand the Fediverse
Protocol
We collect requirements and architectural patterns for ActivityPub protocol and shape them through standardization
Plumbing
We build tools that developers, operators and users need to use the Fediverse more effectively (e.g., onboarding, moderation, verification)
Our people
Our core team and directors straddle both the tech industry and the civil society sectors, and includes experts in product, protocols, decentralization and public policy.
Evan Prodromou
Evan is the Research Director at SWF. He is the co-author of the ActivityPub protocol and the Activity Streams 2.0 data format. Sometimes called “The Father of the Fediverse,” Evan made the first-ever post on the social web in May 2008. He founded the identi.ca website and GNU Social software, as well as coauthoring the OStatus specification. As chair of the W3C’s Social Web Working Group, he led the development of ActivityPub and AS2 into official standards. He won the O’Reilly Open Source Award in 2009 as “Best Social Networking Hacker.” He is the author of “ActivityPub: Programming for the Social Web” from O’Reilly Media.
Research Director at the Social Web Foundation.
Current editor of the ActivityPub and Activity Streams 2.0 specifications at the Social Web Community Group of the W3C.
Author of “ActivityPub: Programming for the Social Web” by O’Reilly Media.
Mallory Knodel
Mallory Knodel is the Executive Director of SWF. She is a technology and human rights expert specializing in internet governance and digital policy. Mallory is active in internet and emerging technical standards at the IETF, IEEE and the UN. Her background in computer science and civil society brings a unique perspective to the intersection of technology, policy, and human rights.
Tom Coates
Founder and advisor Tom Coates is a technologist, product designer and entrepreneur with decades of digital innovation experience. He has developed products for TimeOut, Nokia, Jawbone, UpMyStreet, run R&D teams for the BBC and was Head of Product for Yahoo’s Brickhouse incubator. He founded Thington (IoT, acquired by Eero) and Planetary (decentralized social). Known for his work on innovation practice, social platforms, location and IoT, Tom is currently focused on building healthier social products through decentralization.
