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.
@atomicpoet
Oh wow, that's a thought. What is it was never about Federating with Mastodon? What if it was about federating with WordPress all along?! Makes so much more sense when you think about it like that.
@atomicpoet@fediversenews I sure hope Tumblr (if they ever federate) has controls on whether you can interact with threads or not, because I am NOT here for Instagram.txt all up in my webbed site.
@atomicpoet@fediversenews oh no, yo tengo mi wordpress con activitypub y me encanta. No se ni como reaccionar en esta situación, justo estaba pensando en preguntar si se podía hacer un fediblock desde mi instancia wordpress y ahora esto.
@randulo@rlx@atomicpoet@fediversenews I don't believe so. Your requests are routed through your server which then, if needed, are forwarded to other servers.
@randulo@rlx@atomicpoet@fediversenews My best guess is that what they're trying to say in their privacy policy is that if there is a way to grab an IP address they will. Their privacy policy is probably purposely overbroad. It could also be that they're covering the case that someone clicks on a link in Mastodon that leads to Threads, which is very easy to do. I often click links in folks posts that lead me to other servers (e.g. clicking open original page).
@atomicpoet@fediversenews I highly doubt there is some back-door dealing between Automattic & Meta concerning ActivityPub. I've interacted with @pfefferle for years, and have been using the #ActivityPub plugin for #WordPress on my site, and he is still involved in the day-to-day development of ActivityPub for WordPress. Matthias has been involved with the #IndieWeb & #Fediverse for years, I've followed, and still follow what's going on in the IndieWeb Slack. Let's not talk conspiracies.
@tim@pfefferle Just to make it clear, I don't mean to suggest any sort of conspiracy here. I'm not implying that #Meta and #Automattic are secretly working together or anything like that. I'm simply suggesting that it's possible they've had conversations about #ActivityPub. It's a reasonable assumption, especially considering Meta has already been in discussions with admins who manage major Fediverse servers.
@atomicpoet@pfefferle well I personally know the state of #ActivityPub for #WordPress and it is still a ways off from being easily adoptable and fully featured. There are many caching and hosting requirements that are currently hurdles for mainstream WordPress adoption. So even if there were some sort of talking going on it's not even a viable thing right now.
@tim@pfefferle You know, if I were in #Meta's shoes, I'd be really interested in having some in-depth discussions about #WordPress' plans for #ActivityPub. Imagine if ActivityPub became a widespread feature in WordPress installations, that would mean a massive influx of content flowing into #Threads. And let me tell you, from a content perspective, that would be a major victory for Meta. Just something worth considering!
@tim@atomicpoet@pfefferle
I have the AP plugin enabled on my WP website and it doesn't seem to be federating, the interface is hard to understand. I'm hopeful that will work, but for now it's not.
@Andres yep, what you are experiencing is something very common with #WordPress sites. It's not a full #Fediverse experience with just installing the #ActivityPub plugin, there are additional plugins required, but it is still not a great experience for the non-technical.
@tim@Andres@atomicpoet this is mainly because it was a hobby project for quite a long time. I set the focus on publishing and discussions, because that is the main purpose of a blog. create content and discuss them. I never thought about having the time to implement a full social network based on WordPress, because of time and other factors, so I had a discussion with @alex some month ago, to join forces and have at least a simple following experience through his friends plugin.
@pfefferle so what I'm getting at is the many times I see issues related to caching or web server configuration that causes problems with the plugin being able to "just work". Those things are way technical and in the weeds for the average user. It is those things that really prevent widespread adoption.
@tim@Andres@atomicpoet so it was never meant to be a fully fledged, Mastodon like ActivityPub experience.... yet.... Now that I have the opportunity to work full time on ActivityPub, this changed. We are still focusing on the Publishing and "Follow me" experience for v1.0.0, but following is now part of the broader roadmap.
@WillardHerman Hey there! I just want to clarify that I'm not referring to Meta owning the majority of the Internet. That's definitely not the case, and it's also not what I was discussing in my post.
@WillardHerman Hey, guess what? Meta can't buy or own the Fediverse, so no worries there! And here's another cool thing: you always have the power to de-federate from Threads. That means you can make sure you never receive any posts from there, effectively keeping yourself separate from Meta. Isn't that awesome?
@atomicpoet@fediversenews ok so I am aware this is probably a dumb question but what would AP integration on WordPress sites even look like? I get it with Threads and Tumblr which are about people posting but... I'm just curious how WordPress fits in there
@AbandonedAmerica My #Calckey posts on Mastodon look just like regular Mastodon posts. And guess what? WordPress posts also appear like Mastodon posts when viewed from Mastodon. But here's the magical part: when you look at WordPress posts from within WordPress itself, they totally rock the typical WordPress blog style. Thanks to ActivityPub, it's all possible!
As a content writer, you should try the ActivityPub for WordPress plugin for yourself.
@atomicpoet thanks! I don't use WordPress, I use a crappy hosting service that hasn't updated in like 8+ years and I am just overwhelmed by the idea of porting 17+ years of work somewhere else. I know WordPress is super easy for some people but always bewildered me when I tried to figure out where/how to start with it.
@AbandonedAmerica@atomicpoet wordpress.com is much harder to work with than it was 10 years ago. The Gutenberg interface is BAD. Installing your own WP setup bring about it's own set of headaches.
Currently, with the plugin your posts are federated as @user (for example @ olav@nomdujour.net) and replies make it back to your WP comments ~ but comments are currently unidirectional. When it's done, you'll be able to have conversations where someone can comment on your fedi, and you can have a full conversation between them and the comments section of your website just like someone commenting on your blog
@AbandonedAmerica@atomicpoet@fediversenews I donʼt fully understand it myself, but my Wordpress blog has the ActivityPub plug-in. I canʼt connect to it at all from here, but I can from my Calckey account. As far as I can tell, it posts the blog posts, and I can supposedly follow people from within my Wordpress dashboard. The interface could use a lot of work.
The account itself is @admin, but that means nothing to Mastodon.social (and presumably nothing to any Mastodon installation).
@Jacky an@mastodon.social @AbandonedAmerica@admin I can receive your posts from WordPress to Calckey. I don’t know why it’s not appearing on mastodon.social. Maybe something’s up with federation there?
@Rairii I have no idea how to fix this and I’ve followed all the advice so far. There was a Webfinger error inside Wordpress that has since disappeared without any intervention from me or any updates!
I think you need a computing degree (much like anything to do with computers these days!). All I know is I can follow it on Calckey.
@WA5PSA Hey, just wanted to mention that I'm neurodivergent, which means I might not be the best at picking up on subtle cues or reading between the lines. So, if you could kindly provide some clarification on what you mean and how it relates to my original post, that would be really helpful. Thanks!
@atomicpoet Sure. As I read it (could be wrong) you're saying both Meta and Automattic will potentially be able to hook into fediverse. I'm confused on what that means. Is this a threat to Mastodon's "independence"? Will the rolling monsters of Meta and Automattic be able to take over or drown out our little mastodon community?
I am just a nontechie trying to understand the implications. But it seems to me that this is a threat if we don't watch ourselves.
@WA5PSA I want to clarify that I'm not suggesting that #Meta and #Automattic might potentially take over the Fediverse. Instead, I'm talking about the current reality where #WordPress can already federate through #ActivityPub, and #Threads will be able to do the same in just a few months.
Now, you might be wondering if this will impact the independence of #Mastodon. Well, it's highly unlikely. Each Mastodon server operates independently from one another, and there's now over 10,000 servers out there. Even if Meta tried to acquire a few prominent servers, they couldn't possibly buy them all.
And as for the concern about Meta and Automattic overpowering Mastodon, there's no need to worry. Every Mastodon server has the power to decide what content gets displayed on their own server, and they can even choose not to federate if they prefer.
It's worth noting that Mastodon is just one type of server software that utilizes ActivityPub. There are other software options like #Kbin, #Friendica, and #Akkoma. By the way, I'm currently using #Calckey myself.
From a broader perspective, Threads is just one node among many, and we, as a collective, comprise numerous nodes.
I hope that explanation makes things clearer for you! Let me know if you have any more questions.
The rush to adopt Threads tells me that social media is all hype. Somehow #ActivityPub hasn’t got on the treadmill. Wait till Threads gets on to ActivityPub and folks will lecture you on this as if Meta invented the concept. Coming to a browser near you Chris, :-/
@atomicpoet@WA5PSA it should be noted that it's a bit of an oversimplification to say that #WordPress can "already federate through ActivityPub". The only thing that is possible is that individual WordPress sites can install the #ActivityPub plugin to provide limited #Fediverse presense. Also every WordPress site is like it's own instance. If ActivityPub was somehow automatically turned on for every WordPress site it would be like adding millions of #Mastodon instances to the Fediverse.
@tim@WA5PSA I totally get what you mean. It might be oversimplifying things to say that WordPress can already federate through ActivityPub. When we talk about WordPress being able to do it, we're referring to its potential capabilities rather than what's currently the norm.
And you know what? If I were in Meta's shoes, I'd definitely be interested in having conversations about WordPress too. I mean, if I were Mark Zuckerberg, I'd want to find out if the ActivityPub for WordPress plugin will come pre-installed on future versions of WordPress. It's a valid point to consider.
If you have any more thoughts or questions, feel free to share!
@atomicpoet@fediversenews I run a federated self-hosted Wordpress website. I adore Wordpress. I’m thrilled with a decentralized Fediverse. Meta’s involvement is the fly in my otherwise delicious, delicious soup. Thank you for this find.
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