Dear gentle reader,

This is the second episode in the Social Web miniseries we’ve started last week. We’re talking about Fediverse, the open-source best-case future for social media and today specifically we will talk about stuff under the hood - how it works, what is this ‘federation’, how it is ad-free and corporation-free.

Why bother though? Just look at this past week’s social media news:

French prosecutors launched a probe into X over algorithmic bias that could potentially steer away elections, because as a report suggests, X was overrun with fake viral conspiracies over US elections. And to put icing on the cake, another report shows that hate speech dramatically increased on X under Elon Musk. 

Not everything is about X, although it might have the strongest political capital, at least in the western world. Meta warns us, that Meta AI will scan our DMs if we mention it. To say the least, it did not sit well with most users. When it comes to AI, Adobe’s Firefly Video Generative AI is now available for everyone in beta version.

But to be fair, not all social media sentiment is dreary. Bluesky announced their Instagram competitor - Pinksky, and Buzzfeed wants to launch their own social network to spread joy and not just hate, anxiety and discourse as the Big Social does (their words, not mine).

The idea behind the Big Social being the “discourse machine” is not isolated to Buzzfeed though!

More and more reports surface claiming the Meta and X algorithms do favor negative emotion baiting and creating “righteous anger” while keeping users in echo chambers, while TikTok’s addictiveness is all about sparking interest in new and similar things and hooking users on “attractive” and relatable content.

And while I’m not sure I agree about the TikTok claims, I do know that the idea of “interesting and relatable” content is exactly what sparked my interest about Fediverse.

I’ll explain 👇

My name’s Mark Valasik, I help businesses master early-stage marketing and build authority through social media and you’re reading the 27th edition of my Marketing Right Side Up newsletter.

The Social Web, Episode 2: How It Actually Works

Previously, we talked about how Big Social has us all at gunpoint, squeezing creators, favoring political elites, and paving the way for an AI-driven hellscape. But here’s the good news: a better alternative already exists—the Fediverse. Today, let’s break down how it actually works.

Before we dive deeper into the ins and outs of the Social Web, let me be clear about one thing:

I do believe it’s the future of social media, but it won’t be the next big thing like the next X or the next Facebook.

Why? Because the whole concept is about smaller communities, intertwined with each other, but isolated for specific interests. 

If you’ve ever spent some time on Reddit, imagine Fediverse as a web of multiple Reddits, each with separate Subreddits dedicated to specific topics and its own community moderators. The idea is that your one reddit account would work on all the reddits and subreddits. You decide where you post and spend your time, and what subreddit will your “homefeed” show. 

This is exactly how Fediverse works, it’s a web of multiple web services like Mastodon (X alternative), Pixelfed (Instagram alternative), Peertube (Youtube alternative) or even Wordpress and Tumblr. 

The main difference is that Reddit is driven by closed-sourced corporation techstack, while the appeal of Fediverse is fully open-source and in the hands of communities. 

But what does it actually mean?

The Backbone of the Social Web: Federation & Interoperability

The Social Web isn’t just a new social media trend—it’s a structural shift in how online platforms connect. The magic behind it? Federation.

Federation means that instead of one giant company (Meta, Twitter/X, TikTok) owning an entire platform, multiple independent servers communicate with each other using shared protocols. That’s why it’s called the Fediverse—a federated universe of social platforms that work together while remaining independent. Imagine different countries with different cultures and interests using the same currency. Like European Union, but less regulated…*sigh*. You can move countries, while keeping your income and pay with the same money. 

It’s really the main difference between “Big Social” and Fediverse:

• Big Social: Centralized, walled-off, corporate-controlled silos where you’re locked in.

• The Fediverse: Decentralized, interconnected, and community-owned social spaces where you can move freely.

Think of it like email: you can use Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo, but they all talk to each other. The Fediverse applies the same concept to social networking. No matter what service or what app you use, you can communicate with everyone who uses email.

ActivityPub vs. AT Protocol vs. Threads

But it’s not necessarily just Federation that makes the fediverse THE Fediverse., let’s talk about the different tech stacks that claim to support the Social Web—because not all are created equal.

1. ActivityPub: The Real Fediverse Standard

• The backbone of the Fediverse.

• Used by Mastodon, PixelFed, PeerTube, WordPress, and soon… Tumblr.

• Allows users to interact across different platforms seamlessly—one account, multiple networks.

• Fully open-source & decentralized, meaning no single company controls it.

• Theoretically every website CAN join it and either federate their content or have comments section run by Fediverse protocol and users.

2. AT Protocol: BlueSky’s Attempt at Decentralization

• Created by Jack Dorsey (yep, Twitter’s original founder).

• More centralized than ActivityPub—BlueSky users are still largely stuck within BlueSky.

• Allows for “portable accounts”, meaning you could move servers, but only within BlueSky’s walls, not across multiple apps…yet (see PinkSky mentioned in the intro)

• Funded by investors, making its future uncertain—could lean corporate real fast, like Meta did.

3. Threads: Meta’s Fake Attempt at Playing Nice

• Meta says Threads supports ActivityPub.

• Right now? It’s just another walled garden, fully controlled by Meta.

• Your Threads can be seen and interacted with by Mastodon users, but that’s about it. You can’t move your account, you can’t use it on any other ActivityPub app.

• It’s unclear how much power they’ll actually give users, if this is it, or if there’s some future development.

• It’s not a real Fediverse app solely by design of things (we call it the “walled garden”)

TL;DR: ActivityPub is the real open social protocol, AT Protocol is trying, and Threads is talking about decentralization while staying very much in control.

HOWEVER there are 3rd party solutions like Bridgy Fed, that bridge the federations (lol) between AT Protocol and ActivityPub, but it’s a compromise. Bluesky and Fediverse users can see each others’ posts and interact with them, but it’s done on separate shadow accounts. Imagine you are posting something on your Bluesky account, and some unpaid intern will create a Fediverse account for you and copy-paste every Bluesky post you create there. It’s the best cross-bridge we have right now but it’s far from perfect.

How It Actually Works for Users

So what does this all mean for you as a user or creator?

✅ You choose your platform (Mastodon, PixelFed, PeerTube, WordPress, etc.).
✅ Your posts & interactions flow across multiple platforms seemlessly.
✅ If you don’t like a server or even a full platform, you can move—without losing your audience.
✅ There’s no algorithmic manipulation. Most content needs to be found chronologically or via search
✅ Moderation is handled by communities, not corporate overlords.

It’s the Social Web as it should be—users in control, not black-box algorithms. Centered around similar interests, smaller, but more related. Call me a hippie or communist, but I do believe the “social” platforms should be in the hands of the people…. I just read that sentence again and can’t help but cringe, BUT YOU KNO WHAT I MEAN!

Anyways, “in the hands of the people” does NOT mean Fediverse is completely company-free or corporation-free. Everyone is invited, if you can play nice. And some corporations want to play nice.

And that’s today’s news:

Tumblr’s Big Move: A Game-Changer for the Fediverse

In a surprising (but welcome) twist, Tumblr just announced they’ll be integrating with the Fediverse after their WordPress migration is complete. What does this mean?

• Every Tumblr user will be able to federate their blog via ActivityPub, just like WordPress users already can.

• This brings millions of Tumblr users into the Fediverse overnight, massively expanding its reach.

• It could allow deeper web integrations, like cross-platform plugins, themes, and content sharing between blogs and social platforms.

This is huge. It signals that even legacy platforms see the writing on the wall—the future of social media isn’t in walled gardens, it’s in an open, interconnected web.

And while Wordpress and Drupal already officially support ActivityPub integrations via plugins, Tumblr plans to integrate with it natively. That’s nice.

However it’s not the only one. The social magazine app Flipboard started integrating with Fediverse last year too. And while Meta’s Threads might seem a bit shady with its intentions, their attempt to join Fediverse speaks volumes.

The future of social media are open-source, scattered, yet connected social servers with fewer users joined around niched down topics and interests.

For good measure, I’m using the same Fediverse tree visualization from last week’s issue:

What’s Next: The Future of Social Media Marketing in the Fediverse

With all this decentralization, what happens to social media marketing? Can brands and creators thrive without algorithmic boosts? How do you build an audience when there’s no engagement farming? And is it all positives with no negatives?

Next episode, we’ll dive into what marketing looks like in the Social Web era, and how creators and businesses can get ahead before the shift happens. So make sure you subscribe!

Are you ready for the next evolution of social media?

Until next week, stay safe.

Cheers,

Mark.