"Meta's fediverses", federating with Meta to allow communications, potentially using services from Meta such as automated moderation or ad targeting, and potentially harvesting data on Meta's behalf.
"free fediverses" that reject Meta – and surveillance capitalism more generally
The free fediverses have a lot of advantages over Meta and Meta's fediverses, some of which will be very hard to counter, and clearly have enough critical mass that they'll be just fine.
Here's a set of strategies for the free fediverses to provide a viable alternative to surveillance capitalism. They build on the strengths of today's fediverse at its best – including natural advantages the free fediverses have that Threads and Meta's fediverses will having a very hard time countering – but also are hopefully candid about weaknesses that need to be addressed. It's a long list, so I'll be spreading out over multiple posts; this post currently goes into detail on the first two.
Opposition to Meta and surveillance capitalism is an appealing position. Highlight it!
Focus on consent (including consent-based federation), privacy, and safety
Emphasize "networked communities"
Support concentric federations of instances and communities
Consider "transitively defederating" Meta's fediverses (as well as defederating Threads)
Consider working with people and instances in Meta's fediverses (and Bluesky, Dreamwidth, and other social networks) whose goals and values align with the free fediverses'
Build a sustainable ecosystem
Prepare for Meta's (and their allies') attempts to paint the free fediverses in a bad light
Reduce the dependency on Mastodon
Prioritize accessibility, which is a huge opportunity
Commit to anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-colonial, and pro-LGBTQIA2S+ principles, policies, practices, and norms for the free fediverses
Thank you for the optimistic PoV on the entrance of others to the #DeSoc of the Fediverse. It is an optimism that I share - especially with Matthias' announcement just an hour ago that his team behind the development of the #WordPress ActivityPub plugin has just released version 2.0.0 - considering the enormous footprint of WordPress installations across the entire Internet belonging to both common, everyday individuals and companies alike, of every shape and size, this is HUGE news.
It instantly, overnight, positions common folks and businesses to leap into the freedoms afforded them by the existing, privacy respecting, #FOSS based Fediverse that hitherto was... well, a bit of a leap for them psychologically. But now they have a familiar platform with which to begin a journey through the minefields of the deprecated, privacy mining, monolithic silos; its proprietors programming their masses of #subjugated_chattel into livestock holding pens, where they are weighed, measured, packaged, placed into inventory, and sold.
That does raise the issue of an error in your assertions however. You mentioned, "instances in Meta's fediverses and on Bluesky".
The truth however, the reality, is that each are merely a single instance - One big monolithic silo, as described above, with the same incentives of monetization through privacy mining techniques that have made them the dreadnoughts that they are; at least in the case of #Meta (Threads).
Bluesky is of that vertically scaling market as well, but much smaller than the #Faceplant and #InstaSPAM engines operated by Meta, and now their new spearhead into the DeSoc space occupied by ActivityPub and other decentralized or federated protocol based, horizontally scaling instances.
#Bluesky hasn't actually shown their hand yet to the general public, but already, they've disenfranchised (fired) much of their talent; some, actually principal architects of their monolith who were frustrated and disillusioned with the direction Jay has been taking the company - moving further and further away from the disowned public community they spawned, organized, and abandoned following the initial trials and tests of the open source preview version of what became #ATP protocol (ATX).
Even Jack has moved on and embraced yet another horizontally scaling protocol in the DeSoc space, #nostr, and it's already bridged and interoperating flawlessly with the ActivityPub powered portion of the Fediverse, which in turn interoperates with instances running other protocols such as #Nomad, #OStatus, #Streams, #Diaspora, and #ZOT... all of them part of the Fediverse.
Many of the extant #ActivityPub powered instances in the Fediverse merely need to install these capabilities with a couple of clicks to enable this interoperability, while others bridge the divide through infrastructure developed and deployed over the past year or so.
What will be Meta's use case here for their business product?
That's the main question I think folks need to address - not punish the good people on the so-called evil side of the divide, the hitherto subjugated chattel that populate Marks so-called Metaverse or whatever he thinks he can compel people to adopt and endure. The point is, childish, domain level blocking by juvenile minds operating ActivityPub powered #Fediverse server instances only serves to paint themselves (and the users who have to date trusted those admins with being told what they can and cannot see and do) into a corner where they effectively cancel themselves, and find that their users have migrated to other spaces... maybe WordPress, where they truly control their own destiny in the DeSoc space and can now fully participate and engage with others - but on their own terms, not someone else's.
And that, I believe, is what the whole thing has always been about, going back as far as #AngelFire and #GeoCities :)
I do agree with you that we should indeed embrace these common, everyday individuals who, through their programmed ignorance, are mostly clueless as to exactly what the Fediverse is, and more importantly, has always promised for them. This is an opportunity, like Steve Austin, (the Six Million Dollar Man): "We can rebuild them, we have the technology, we can make them better, stronger, faster..."
One more thing I should correct you on, the Fediverse is an internetwork of networks, on the Internet - there are no fediverses, Fediverse is itself a plurality, but your intent wasn't lost on me.
Great article, I enjoyed the read and most of all, your optimistically tempered intent. Thanks for sharing and I hope to see much more from you in the future!
I had a great idea to help with two areas of my life. I can only listen to podcasts if I am cleaning or exercising. I'm not going to miss #ATP or #GreatestGen, even if it means doing things I don't love to do.
Anybody looking for an #ATP chicken hat? One size fits all, unless you have a huge head like me. New condition, shipped free to lower 48. @siracusa@atpfm@caseyliss@marcoarment
@puniko I only know about the "Airgapped Transfer Protocol" because #UUCP is old amd ancient and not really good at all and doesn't work or gets implemented on modern hardware...
Whereas #ATP aims at transfering files using only cameras and screens...
It won't replace like a #USB or #Ethernet cable but can replace a #serial console...
The biggest #atp tournament in #Japan started yesterday. #TaylorFritz is the top seed and defending champion. He really needs this tournament if he is going to make it to the #atptourfinals First round is a tough one: Cam Norrie.
Listening to Accidental Tech Podcast (538: We Studied Thousands of Heads): https://atp.fm/538
Pre-show: 🧘 Feelings check 🧘 WWDC 15” MacBook Air Mac Studio 🎉 Mac Pro 🎉 2023 Mac Pro Accessories iOS 17 iPadOS 17 PCalc widget Sherlock macOS Sonoma Aerial Vision Pro Chance Miller’s impressions Matthew Panzarino’s impressions Dongle (?) that Casey noticed Post-show: WWDC food review
All these talk about #BlueSky and complaints about #Mastodon this, #ActivityPub that, #Fediverse this, and #Decentralisation that, are mostly questionable(?) since many haven't seriously looked around the fediverse. It's like saying burgers are bad because you've tasted McDonald's yet there are better burgers from #Jollibee.
The problem stems from the fediverse ending up unofficially represented by a very limited-feature software and most are not willing to do their due diligence (one would think they'll check out the forks at least). Before championing about the new kid on the block, before claiming that the fediverse is this and that, look around first.
What you've known as the fediverse, so far, is only based on what happens to be the software with the least feature set. Mainline Mastodon will get better, but it is what it is currently, as far as comparison with similar fediverse projects.
No one is saying you are not allowed to complain, just look around first before you make claims about the fediverse.
Also, no one is saying #ATP shouldn't exist. By all means develop it! Innovation and improvements come from seeing ideas come to fruition instead of staying as theories. Having different branches of development is better than getting stuck in one particular way of doing things, or line of thinking. It's all good and I think anyone will agree it is much welcomed.
Here's a #challenge: Since you have time to research a non-fediverse network, why don't you explore what the fediverse really has to offer, with the same effort and enthusiasm? Mastodon is not the fediverse, so you can not judge the fediverse based on it. That's like saying China is Asia, and you judge Asians because of mainland China.
Take the challenge, then publish the results of your journey. Good evening, and Shalom!