By Ethan
Are you having some mixed feelings about mainstream social media platforms? Were you appalled when Meta announced its January 2025 “Actually, hate speech is cool with us!” policy change? Wanna learn about an alternate approach to connecting online? Come with me, on a journey into . . . The Fediverse!
Most mainstream social media platforms revolve around capturing user data to feed targeted ads and keep us locked in “walled gardens.” Network effects pull in all our friends, leaving us reluctant to switch. Meanwhile, proprietary algorithms mete out content in ways that enrich shareholders, leaving us with more ads, sensational junk, and less of what we actually want from our friends—resulting in what author Cory Doctorow calls “enshittification.”
What Is the Fediverse and Why It Matters
The Fediverse is a network of independently run servers, all using a shared protocol (ActivityPub) to seamlessly communicate with one another. Instead of handing control to a single corporation, each server is guided by its own community’s moderation rules—shaped by shared values, not profit motives. Unhappy with how your server is run? Move to another, and bring your followers.
Exploring Fediverse Platforms
Different services plug into this shared network:
- Mastodon offers a Twitter-like experience.
- Pixelfed is akin to Instagram.
- PeerTube, Loops, and Friendica cater to video, TikTok-style clips, and Facebook-like socializing, respectively.
All of these platforms can still follow and interact with each other because they “federate”—it’s one giant,interconnected world of smaller, values-driven communities.
No Algorithm, No Ads, and No Tracking
Unlike major social media, the Fediverse doesn’t rely on targeted ads or invasive tracking. Yohronological feed is populated with accounts and hashtags you’ve followed, instead of being filled by the whims of a profit-driven black-box algorithm.
Volunteer Effort
Fediverse servers are reasonably affordable to run, and are maintained and moderated by volunteers who periodically ask for donations from their users.
How To Get Involved
Pick a Platform: Mastodon and Pixelfed are presently the most popular.
Pick a server: Browse a list of servers, and sign up on one. I recommend avoiding the most popular servers for each service, mastodon.social and pixelfed.social
Explore and Connect: Introduce yourself using #introduction, liberally follow accounts and hashtags, and see what’s trending in the Explore section. Since there’s no algorythm filling your feed, you’ll need to do a little work to follow interesting people and topics.
Learn More: fedi.tips has incredible guides for getting started, and the punks over at The Counterforce wrote a brilliant “Guide to Mastadon Fediverse”
After joining, drop me a line, and ask me anything! I’m @dusk@todon.eu
I’ll leave you with the words of the excellent article by 404 Media: You Can’t Post Your Way Out of Fascism. Whatever social media you opt to use, remember to connect and organize with folk near you, IRL.