The Fediverse, also known as the social web, is a network of independent social platforms connected by the open standard protocol ActivityPub.
Users on a participating platform can follow their friends or interesting people on any other platform on the network — liking, commenting, sharing and posting together.
The Fediverse feels like one, big, integrated social network where you can find all your friends.
Why use it?
- You can create a home on the social web and stay connected to people you care about, no matter where they are.
- You can meet new people who share your interests.
- There are fun, interesting applications to try.
- You can choose a home network that aligns with your values.
- You can choose how you pay for your service.
- You have more control over your privacy and data.
- It’s more resistant to censorship.
- You own your followers and can move to another provider without losing them.
- It’s not controlled by any one person or company.
How do I get on the Fediverse?
There’s no one way to get on the Fediverse — there are a lot of different projects and products that support it. Here are some common ways to get started with a personal account on the Fediverse:
- Get an account on a Mastodon server at joinmastodon.org
- Join Threads and enable Fediverse sharing
- Join Pixelfed to share photos
- Join Medium and get a free me.dm account
- Get a WordPress.com blog and enable the ActivityPub plugin
- Download the Flipboard app
- Get a Write.As blog
- Start publishing with Ghost.org
How can I enable Fediverse support in my own software?
ActivityPub is the protocol that social platforms implement to let their users to connect to the Fediverse. It is an open, royalty-free standard provided by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). To learn more about ActivityPub:
- https://activitypub.rocks/ is a resource service for all things ActivityPub
- ActivityPub: Programming for the Social Web is a book from O’Reilly Media that gives a step-by-step guide on building ActivityPub-enabled apps.