Fediverse

The Fediverse is a giant Network of social media platforms.

Fediverse logo

Imagine

Imagine Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Co were all part of one giant network. That's basically what the Fediverse is, except the parts are less well known, free software & federated replacements to those.

In the Fediverse you can use your "Twitter" account to interact with "Facebook" users, share "Instagram" posts, comment under "Youtube" videos, listen to "Bandcamp" music, follow "Blogger" blogs, take part in "Reddit" discussions and more.

How does it compare to traditional social media?

Traditional social media is neither social nor media. Meaning it's not made for you, it's made to exploit you and it's full of misleading ads and fake news.
That is because the aim of traditional social media is to make a whole lot of money.
The aim of the Fediverse is to benefit the people.
The aim of traditional social media is to control and steer the users.
The aim of the Fediverse is to empower the users to control the Fediverse.

Terminology

An identity is basically your profile. It has a unique address and is hosted on one of the many servers, also called instances.
An instance is basically a small social network hosted on one server. Each instance can have it's own set of rules as for what content is allowed. You can also host your own instance. Each instance runs one software.
The software used on an instance is essential for the user experience and possibilities.
Many software projects use the same protocol which enables instances to communicate with each other. Most software projects use Activity Pub. Some projects might not have full federation with other pojects yet.
The Fediverse (federated universe) is the sum of all identities, on all instances using any software, communicating with any protocol.
To be exact the Fediverse doesn't even include just social media projects. Any software that federates using one of the protocols is part of the Fediverse.
An example for an identity is @PaulaToThePeople@ClimateJustice.social. ClimateJustice.social is the instance the identity is on. The software it uses is Mastodon. Thanks to the ActivityPub protocol it can follow identities on other instances that use e.g. Mastodon, GNU Social or Pixelfed software.

How do I get an account?

Main article: How do I get an account?

If you just want to get to know the Fediverse experience you can start by creating a profile on mastodon.social or mastodon.online.
You can later move instances or create accounts on different instances and projects.
For more info on finding the right instance and creating an account click the link above.

External Links

Main article: Fediverse weblinks

Fediverse Town The forum for questions about the Fediverse

Fediverse Guides

The Fediverse: the distributed social network
Guide to the Fediverse
DE: Fediverse – So geht gutes Social Media
DE: Das Fediverse