Darnell (Seize The Day)

So there are several different sites that track numerous instances across the Fediverse, & when it comes to the top sites (based upon user accounts), they offer different listings from each other (although the list rankings are similar).

Some instances are excluded due to controversial content (which is understandable), while others are not tracked due to the software use or whether the instance actually federates (also understandable).

For example @dansup@mastodon.social (the creator of Pixelfed) launched the beautifully designed FediDB whose top ten is:

Instances Social (which was created by @TheKinrar@mastodon.xyz) primarily tracks Mastodon instances displays this top ten list:

Meanwhile the Fediverse Observer (who I think is maintained by David Morley / @davidmorley@hackyderm.io) displays this top 15 list:

Each site has a reason for the methodology for their respective listings.

However, I was still curious about a realistic listing of the top 30 active instances in the Fediverse (regardless of controversy).

My list will also technically not be accurate as I will exclude sites which are either test instances (full of fake accounts for testing purposes), twitter content scrapers or sites that are shutting down. Sites excluded are:

• DayStorm which is a testing site with fake accounts
• Brighteon Dev which is a test instance (for a controversial site) with fake accounts & interactions
• Bird Makeup is a glorified Twitter content scraper by @vincent@librem.one (so content is basically from Twitter). Some people on Twitter are threatening legal action against the site & are seeking to shut it down.
• Join Diaspora is shutting down.

Sadly a Fediverse variant leads the list at number one.

Note: User stat numbers are constantly changing, so I will not include specific user counts for each instance.

1) Truth Social

Created by the infamous Agent Orange @realDonaldTrump@truthsocial.com, Truth Social currently boasts about two million users.

Truth Social is a defederated Mastadon variant that is also incorporates Soapbox within their site.

While many third party mobile app developers have banned connecting to Truth Social, you can still access the site via the official Mastodon Apps (although do so at your own risk).

2) Mastodon Social

Created by the Mastodon founder himself, Eugen Rochko (@Gargron@mastodon.social), Mastodon Social has surpassed over a million registered users thanks in part to being the first Mastodon server in existence as well as the default server when a person signs up for Mastodon within the iPhone, iPad or Android app.

3) Pawoo

Pawoo is the most popular Fediverse instance in Japan (with over 870,000 users) & for years it actually was the top Fediverse instance overall. Powered by Mastodon, the site was created by @pixiv@pawoo.net who later on transferred ownership to Russel.

Russel eventually transferred ownership of Pawoo to @Sujiyan@mstdn.jp (I was able to chat with Suji Yan over a lengthy zoom call), who currently maintains the site.

Pawoo is considered a controversial instance due to some of the Not Safe For Work content they allow. However, the site does legally comply with laws in both Japan & the United States (they routinely take down reported content & have hired moderators for the site).

4) MSTDN (Japan)

MSTDN.jp or MSTDN Japan is a general Mastodon instance boasting over 350,000 users. This instance also currently owned by Suji Yan (he owns 3 of the top ten instances in the Fediverse).

The site is primarily in Japanese (a language I am determine to learn someday), & aside from being a large instance, it’s similar to numerous (albeit smaller) Mastodon instances online.

5) Baraag

NSFW: Baraag is probably the most controversial Fediverse instance, as the site hosts uncensored art which many people (myself included) view as distasteful. This instance boasts over 290,000 users.

The site is administered by @satori@baraag.net & is hosted within the United States. Baraag only accepts registrations from artists (who have to be manually approved) & despite my objections to their content, they do comply with all of the laws in America (as least according to the courts).

6) Mastodon Cloud

Mastodon Cloud is the third Fediverse instance that is owned by Suji Yan & boasts over 255,000 users. The content seems to be a mixture of Japanese & English.

Aside from being one of the three Mastodon instances owned by Suji, it’s similar to many Mastodon instances that many users would encounter in the Fediverse.

7) MSTDN Social

MSTDN Social boasts over 197,000 users & is a general purpose Mastodon instance run by @stux@mstdn.social (who also runs numerous Fediverse instances from various platforms).

8) Misskey

Misskey IO is the first non-Mastodon Fediverse instance (or a variant of Mastodon) to appear in the top ten (boasting over 182,000 users), & it is powered by Misskey Software.

The site is owned & operated by the Misskey creator, @syuilo@misskey.io & is primarily in Japanese. Misskey culture is much more celebratory when compared to rival platforms, which might explain it’s rise in popularity over the past few months.

Misskey software is actually older than Mastodon by about two years (former was started in 2014 while Mastodon emerged in 2016) & boasts many features that are currently missing in Mastodon.

9) Mastodon Online

Mastodon Online was created by the Mastodon founder himself, Eugen Rochko & boasts over 177,000 users. It is a general purpose Mastodon instance.

10) Counter Social

Counter Social is a defederated Mastodon based variant that was allegedly started by Jay Bauer (unconfirmed), but the admin/owner is known online as @th3j35t3r@counter.social (aka Th3 J35t3r).

While having a reputation as a Hactivist, Th3 J35t3r decided to create a social networking site built upon:

• Mastodon (a heavily forked version)
• Jitsi (decentralized & open source video conferencing software
• RocketChat (which powers Counter Social Groups)

Counter Social also boasts numerous other features like virtual reality realms, & generous file sharing options (an “ephemeral 500 terabytes” worth!) for premium users (which is $5 USD per month).

11) Mastodon World

Mastodon World is a general purpose Mastodon instance run by @ruud@mastodon.world which boasts over 164,000 users.

12) Mas.to

Mas.to is a general purpose Mastodon instance run by @trumpet@mas.to (this instance boasts over 159,000 users).

13) Pravda

Pravda is a controversial Mastodon instance that boasts over 142,000 users & is primarily in Russian. I am not sure who runs the site, but it is administered by @admin@pravda.me (a general admin account).

14) Micro Blog

Micro Blog is currently the most prominent, centralized social network to enter the Fediverse. This premium site is run by @manton@manton.org / @manton@micro.blog & boasts over 111,000 paying users.

Micro Blog comes across as a mixture of Tumblr & Mastodon, & is one of the few blogging platforms that supports ActivityPub

15) Diaspora Social

Diaspora Social is currently the largest, active instance which is powered by Diaspora.

The site boasts over 105,000 users, although that number could dramatically increase if numerous users port their accounts over from the Join Diaspora instance (the latter is shutting down soon).

16) GC2 (Japan)

GC2 is a Mastodon (variant‽) instance which boasts over 100,000 users (with most of the content in Japanese). I am not sure if they are using an older version of Mastodon or a slight fork, but the instance is relatively popular in Japan.

The instance is administered by @admin@gc2.jp (who I suspect also runs the site).

17) Pixelfed Social

Pixelfed Social is the original Pixelfed server run by @dansup@pixelfed.social & is the largest Pixelfed instance in the Fediverse (boasting over 78,000 users).

The platform & site boasts themselves as a Fediverse alternative to Instagram, & while I have no evidence of this, I believe Pixelfed is one of the reasons Facebook is entering the Fediverse via a pending Instagram proxy site.

18) Techhub Social

Techhub Social is a Mastodon instance for passionate technologists. The site is run by @nicdex@techhub.social & the site boasts over 76,000 users.

The instance is primarily in English & if you are a technical geek (like me) you will enjoy being a member of this site.

19) Universeodon

Universeodon is a Mastodon instance run by @supernovae@universeodon.com which currently boasts over 74,000 users.

Universeodon is a general purpose instance, although the site does focus on scientific (especially space) & is trying to be a home for engineers, physicists, philosophers, etcetera.

20) Mastodon SDF

Mastodon SDF is a Mastodon instance whose group’s history predates Mastodon, although the social side of the group originally started out on StatusNet

SDF stands for Super Dimension Fortress & Mastodon SDF currently boasts over 72,000 users. SDF is administrated by @sdf@mastodon.sdf.org & they also runs a smaller Pixelfed instance.

21) Mastodon App (UK)

Mastodon App UK is a Mastodon instance that embraces their British roots (as you can tell when visiting the site).

The instance is run by @wild1145@mastodonapp.uk & Mastodon App (UK) currently boasts over 71,000 users.

Update: I corrected the link for Mastodon App UK (auto correct fail! 😂). Thanks for letting me know @CandyCat@mastodon.xyz about this!

22) Masto AI

Masto AI is another large Mastodon instance run by Stux which currently boasts over 69,000 users.

This instance by Stux is not as large as MSTDN Social (the latter is currently the 7th largest Fediverse instance), but it is just as fun. 😀

23) Mastodon Uno

Mastodon Uno is currently the largest Italian speaking instance in the Fediverse, boasting over 67,000 users.

The instance is powered by Mastodon (obviously), & they also host sibling sites across various platforms & languages in the Fediverse.

Mastodon Uno is administered by @amministratore@mastodon.uno & aside from being in Italian, it is a general purpose Mastodon site.

24) Creation Innovation Motivation

Creation Innovation Motivation is a general purpose Mastodon instance who was able to obtain a valuable domain name (due to it’s shortness): C.im.

This instance is administered by @admin@c.im & boasts over 63,000 users.

For those who loathe Mastodon user interface, Creation Innovation Motivation has also embraced Soapbox & allows their users to access the Soapbox reimaged version of the instance over here.

25) Fosstodon

Fosstodon is a general purpose Mastodon site who more or less became famous (at least to me) over their server costs which exceed $2,000 a month (so if you use the platform, please donate to keep their server alive!).

Fosstodon is administrated by @fosstodon@fosstodon.org & the site boasts over 58,000 users.

26) Info Sec Exchange

Info Sec Exchange is a Mastodon instance with a focus on information security (which honestly is need more nowadays due to our hyper political climate).

Info Sec Exchange is run by @jerry@infosec.exchange & the instance currently boasts over 54,000 users.

27) Mastodon Top

Mastodon Top is a one of the largest French speaking Fediverse instances who currently boasts over 50,000 users & will probably pass 51,000 users in the near future.

The instance is run by @thomas_virtubox@mastodon.top & if you speak French or want to connect to anyone in France, this is the instance to join.

28) Brighteon Social

Brighteon Social is a controversial, defederated Mastodon variant (slight fork of Mastodon) who is primarily known for allowing numerous conspiracy theories to be broadcasted unchallenged (at least by moderators).

The site caters primarily to the ultra conservative side of the political spectrum, & despite the political perspectives (which for the record does not appeal to me), Brighteon does boast a beautiful user interface.

The site is administered by @BrighteonAdminOfficial@brighteon.social & currently boasts over 50,000 users.

29) MSTDN Party

MSTDN Party is a general purpose Mastodon site boasting over 49,000 users. The site is administered by @staff@mstdn.party & true to it’s name, the site is a bit more celebratory about life than your average Mastodon instance.

30) Hachyderm

Hacyderm is a Mastodon instance who caters towards professionals in the tech industry but is more or less an instance anyone can join & enjoy.

The site is administrated by @hackyderm@hackyderm.io & the site currently boasts over 47,000 users.

Conclusion

Yes, this list will probably change from the time of posting, as the Fediverse is still growing.

I do predict that when Instagram launches InstaPost (what I call it) in June, InstaPost will skyrocket to the number one spot ahead of Truth Social.

After that I expect many of the larger, centralized social services to embrace ActivityPub within the next 6 months, which means this list may look completely different 30 days from now.

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)

The future of the Fediverse could not seem brighter right now! Numerous services ranging from Tumblr, to Post.News, to Flipboard & even WordPress are embracing ActivityPub (what enables Fediverse services to communicate with each other), & it seems as if all of cyberspace is attempting to figure out their place within the Fediverse.

However there is one entity entering the Fediverse whose goals are less about allying with various ActivityPub platforms & more about assimilating the Fediverse as we know it.

Insta-Assimilation via InstaPost‽

As many within the geekverse are aware, Instagram is planning on entering the Fediverse via their Twitter killer app code named Barcelona, which will be a decentralized alternative to Twitter.

Facebook’s smaller sibling Instagram has yet to give their pet project Barcelona an official name, so for the sake of this article we shall call it “InstaPost.”

So what is the purpose of InstaPost‽ Is it to Zuck up Musk after Elon’s SpaceX rocket blew up—along with Facebook’s leased satellites‽

Maybe. Ok, probably not!

Even though ending Twitter would make Mark Zuckerberg smile, Zuck’s ultimate goal is to ensure the dominance of the socialverse by his F-verse (pun intended).

If Zuckerberg is unable to buy out future competition (like he did with Instagram & WhatsApp), then he will attempt to bury it instead.

Since buying the Fediverse is impossible, Zuckerberg will attempt to displace any future Fediverse app using the dreaded strategy known as the three E’s.

Embrace The Zuck (Heavy Meta)

InstaPost will probably embrace the Fediverse with great fan fare. Media personalities & celebrities will love it as it will enable them to join the Fediverse (as it will be the fashionable thing to do) & since people can use their Instagram credentials, the sign up process will be seamless.

You will probably see Instagram gush about the Fediverse, & prove how the service can interact with Mastodon, Misskey, etcetera, without having to select which server to join.

InstaPost’s entrance of millions of users (probably hundreds of millions of users) will spell the death knell for Twitter as celebrities join the service. As a bonus, Instagram will allow blue check marks from celebrities & paying commoners to automatically be applied upon their InstaPost accounts.

Within a few months, InstaPost will probably represent 60% of the entire Fediverse, & it would not be surprising to see InstaPost generate revenue via advertising upon the service.

Of course many admins within the Fediverse will respond by blocking or limiting interaction InstaPost in a vain attempt to cripple the service before it over whelms the Fediverse.

However, Zuck will anticipate this action & respond in a way to make it nearly impossible to thwart his plans for decentralized social domination.

Extend The Empire (One Login to rule them all)

After signing up over 100 million users, InstaPost will probably extend it’s reach by releasing it’s software to hosting providers & offering support via software updates.

However, this support will probably come with the prerequisite that requires Instagram as the main (if not only) login option. In essence, it will be one login option to rule them all.

InstaPost will claim that using Instagram as the primary (if not only) login is necessary to ensure the security of the service as well as limit spam & impersonation.

This will appeal to many businesses who want an easy way to interact with future customers without having to spend extra resources on creating another secure logging system.

As more hosting companies offer InstaPost as a “one click option,” we will see InstaPost’s influence reach nations who have previously banned Zuck’s social networks (like China 🇨🇳 & Russia 🇷🇺), allowing Zuckerberg to reach billions of people in order to become something Twitter always aspired to be—the digital town square.

Note: In places where Instagram is banned, Facebook would establish an alternative login approach, by creating local companies within restricted nations (to handle logins) who will be an exception to the Instagram login requirement rule.

Extinguish The Competition‽

As InstaPost gains popularity amongst the hosting masses, we will probably see Zuck attempt to diversify revenue generation away from advertising at the expense of rival Fediverse apps.

InstaPost could offer inexpensive managed hosting for customs domains at unreasonable rates (say between $5-$10 per month) which will include support for premium features like:

• Live Streaming
• Unlimited video & image storage options
• Built in email account with custom domains
• 24/7 customer support

By initially offering low prices for people seeking a premium federated experience, InstaPost can “condition” the masses to expect high quality features & services at discount prices. Once most of the competition disappears, they will gradually raise prices, blaming “inflation & cost of living” to make up the difference.

InstaPost will also attempt to center themselves as the de facto payment service for the Fediverse, using Meta verification for Instagram & Facebook as a way to ease customer concerns of doing business online.

Can InstaPost Be Stopped‽

Short answer is no; long answer is yes.

InstaPost is going to wash over the Fediverse like Tsunami & while it will bring in tens of millions (if not hundreds of millions) of folks into the Fediverse, it will also potentially kill off numerous Fediverse projects as legacy social companies begin to adopt ActivityPub as the decentralized standard.

InstaPost will probably kill off Twitter as well as BlueSky & utterly replace Twitter as the digital town square in 2024 as celebrities, politicians, government institutions & the non crazy folks abandon Twitter en masse.

However, if large rival hosting companies (like Microsoft, Amazon, & Google) as well as numerous smaller ones can be convinced to offer one-click hosting for Fediverse platforms (similar to how many offer one-click installs for WordPress), we could witness platforms like Mastodon, Misskey, Pixelfed WriteFreely, etcetera, increase to 100 million users, then they will maintain enough momentum to avoid being bullied by the larger, legacy social platforms (as Instagram & Facebook will probably join the Fediverse later on).

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)

I am pleasantly surprised about the growing popularity of Misskey, which in my honest opinion boasts more features than it’s more prominent sibling, Mastodon.

Previously @tchambers@indieweb.social posted about how the Fediverse is growing in numerous directions, both in numbers as well as diversity.

However, as @atomicpoet@mastodon.social pointed out, the rise of Misskey is a bigger story...

...& the stats do not lie regarding Misskey’s rise!

According to FediDB, Misskey is the third largest Fediverse software platform after Mastodon & PeerTube, although Misskey may eclipse the latter sooner rather than later.

Although according to some statistics, Misskey may have already surpassed Peertube (as far as user count goes), as The Federation Info already lists Misskey as second only to Mastodon in the Fediverse.

The Fediverse Observer already lists Misskey.io (which is run by @syuilo@misskey.io who is also the founder of Misskey) as a top ten instance, a list which is mostly dominated by Mastodon instances.

As Misskey gains popularity, it might inspire more Android & iPhone/iPad developers (especially those who have built apps on Mastodon) to create advanced apps for this Misskey.

For what it’s worth, @fruitriin@misskey.io has created a phenomenal Misskey app for iPhone, iPad & Android (note: here is how login to Misskey using the MissRirica app), while @launchctl@social.qaq.wiki has created a Mac App (for you Mac lovers out there).

As far as managed hosting goes, there are only two companies offering hosting services for Misskey.

• @12vpx@social.12vpx.com offers stress free managed hosting options for Misskey (note: I currently use their services for my solo instance: @darnell@darnell.moe).
• @MisskeyHost@misskey.io (which I assume is by the Misskey founder) offers managed hosting solutions as well, however it seems primarily open to residents from Japan.

Hopefully we will see more Fediverse platforms gain popularity in the coming months, so that those fleeing legacy social networks will experience the true taste of the Fediverse instead of a carbon copy from Facebook.

*Note: Discovered via The Fediverse Report. If you are a citizen of the Fediverse, you should follow them at @fediversereport@mastodon.social!

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)

Two interesting posts came up that I read, which highlighted why journalists are sticking with twitter when it appears folks in other industries are moving on to alternatives.

I believe @caseynewton@mastodon.social summed up half the reasons why Journalists refuse to abandon Twitter:

The second answer, I think, lies in the power of chaos to command our attention. Just as Trump’s tumultuous White House constantly kept the news cycle off balance, so, too, does Musk’s erratic leadership of reporters’ favorite website. (Platformer News)

Twitter, for what it is worth, is still a hyper drama social network, & like a moth is attracted to the deadly flame, so are journalists attracted to the drama they view on Twitter.

The other reason journalists love Twitter is the status of the legendary blue check mark (that is not so legendary any more).

As @atomicpoet@mastodon.social perfectly elaborates:

People in favor of creating Blue Check status on the Fediverse don’t like acknowledging that it’s about social status. They claim that they’re purely concerned about account verification. But account verification already exists on the Fediverse, so why do you want a Blue Check here anyway?

Because the Fediverse’s current account verification doesn’t carry the same weight as a Blue Check when it comes to social status. (Chris Trottier on HedgeDoc)

I believe these two reasons are why most journalists will stay on Twitter until the lights turn off.

Most social networks like Instagram, Mastodon, Youtube, Pixelfed, Tumblr, Misskey, etcetera, lack both of these attributes (sometimes intentionally).

Advertiser friendly social networks avoid drama to please their real customers (which is advertisers as they pay the bills). Folks on decentralized social networks usually filter out drama in their timelines.

This is why journalists keep going back to Twitter, as well as why a credible replacement of the blue bird will probably not appear for quite some time.

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)

So if you have not already heard, @elonmusk@twitter.com announced that only Twitter Blue subscribers will enjoy promotions & polls on blue bird network.

Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.

The is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.

Voting in polls will require verification for same reason.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2023

Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.

The is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.

Voting in polls will require verification for same reason. (Elon Musk)

I honestly do not believe this will end with promotion & polls.

I suspect over the coming months Elon Musk will make standard Twitter features (such as Twitter Spaces, LiveStreaming, & even secure direct messages) & make them only accessible to Twitter Blue subscribers.

By the end of the year, I foresee Twitter becoming a shell of it’s former self, with most of it’s active users sacrificing $8 or $11 per month in order to play upon the angry blue bird social network.

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)

Recently there was a Distributed Denial of Service (also known as DDoS) attack against Fosstodon, a prominent Mastodon instance.

@kev@fosstodon.org (Kev Quirk) quickly alerted everyone about the attack & took measures to mitigate the threat.

You probably had trouble accessing # Fosstodon for the last few hours. That's because we have (and still are) the target of a DDoS attack. Fosstodon was the target, but other Masto. Host customers were impacted because of it (sorry about that, folks!)

Unfortunately, we've had to take the decision to put Fosstodon behind # Cloudflare to mitigate the attacks. I don't like it either, but we need to do what we can to keep the lights on.

More details to follow... (via Kev Quirk)

Since Fosstodon is hosted upon Masto Host, their services were slightly affected as well (note: my Mastodon instance is also hosted by Masto Host, but I did notice any sluggishness from the attack).

There is currently a DDoS attack going on in the Masto.host infrastructure.

Some instances are affected. I am investigating and will report once I know more. (via Masto Host)

@mastohost@mastodon.social was able to shake off the attack like a duck shaking water off it’s back.

However, it made me wonder: should Fediverse admins have a secondary ActivityPub powered status account just in case a nefarious force temporarily takes the site offline‽

Should regular Fediverse folks have one as well‽

Short answer: Yes!

Long(er) Answer For Admins

Fediverse Admins should consider opening a secondary ActivityPub powered account that is hosted on a different server as their Mastodon, Misskey, Pleroma, etcetera, instance. It would also be wise to put it under a separate domain as well (just in case the main social domain is targeted by hackers).

I suggest microblogging Admins use WriteFreely as Fediverse admins will be able to inform the public without having to deal with the hassle of maintaining an active social network on yet another social platform.

If setup & hosting is too bothersome, then they could always create a premium account on Write.as & let @matt@writing.exchange handle the technical details of keeping their status blog online.

For Fediverse Folks

Yes, you should create another account, preferably on a different platform just in case your account is targeted.

If (God forbid) angry authoritarians attempt to exact their revenge upon my Mastodon account for mocking their political messiah as an outdated dinosaur...

...& it disappears, then I have the options of using my Misskey or WriteFreely account to communicate my thoughts to cyberspace.

Obvious Conclusion

Yes, having a secondary ActivityPub powered Fediverse account is something Admins & regular folks should consider; preferably using a different hosting provider, platform & if affordable, on a different continent (just in case of war or for political/legal reasons).

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)

Okay, so the Fediverse was already beautiful, but when @mmccue@mastodon.social (aka Mike McCue, cofounder & CEO of Flipboard revealed that Flipboard has embraced Mastodon within the app, I was excited!

Accessing your Mastodon account from within Flipboard is a beautiful experience, especially on iPad.

I do hope that Flipboard embraces other Fediverse platforms in the future, as it would be cool to view my Pixelfed, WriteFreely & Misskey timelines within Flipboard app.

But Wait, There Is More

Following the footsteps of Medium, Flipboard launched a semi-public Mastodon instance at Flipboard.social (you need to request an invite to join).

However, they plan on going one step further by having their social news network embracing the Fediverse.

The combination of Flipboard.social and our beta Mastodon integration helps make the brave new world of the Fediverse more approachable and beautiful. But that’s just the beginning. Flipboard is exploring how best to implement ActivityPub so that we can federate our unique ecosystem with every service and user in the Fediverse. This will make it possible for users on Mastodon or other Fediverse services to follow content creators, curators and Magazines on Flipboard. Similarly, Flipboard users will be able to follow users and feeds on services like Mastodon, PixelFed and PeerTube. (Inside Flipboard)

Flipboard has not yet announced when their main site will embrace the Fediverse, but hopefully it will be later on this year.

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)

I do not like TikTok & consider it a waste of time (highly entertaining yes, albeit still a waste of time).

That said, banning this app because its international headquarters is in China 🇨🇳 is silly.

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted to advance legislation that would give President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok, the viral video app owned by China’s ByteDance that’s been swiping market share from social media stalwarts. [...]

“A U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide,” a TikTok spokesperson said Wednesday. “We’re disappointed to see this rushed piece of legislation move forward, despite its considerable negative impact on the free speech rights of millions of Americans who use and love TikTok.” CNBC

Ignoring the privacy concerns about TikTok unethically siphoning data, the reason that banning the app is idiotic is one simple reason: TikTok would become even more popular amongst the youth.

Even if Apple & Google removed TikTok from their respective app stores, people would simply jailbreak or root their phones in order to regain access to TikTok.

Instead of leaning on the law, the US government should encourage TikTok alternatives via grants or tax incentives which (in the long term) would be far more effective.

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)

I thought @w7voa@journa.host & @tezoatlipoca@mas.to were joking, respectively, when they mentioned that Bing! (which is owned by Microsoft) was producing hilariously awful search results regarding the population of our solar system.

While Bing corrected the Martian blunder when it came down to the number of humans residing on the red planet, the rest of the solar system is allegedly over populated.

Obviously Bing is mixing results from multiple sources (a result of their algorithm perhaps‽) without understanding the context of the question being asked, but this is something that Microsoft can fix (hopefully soon, lest the conspiracy folks proclaim this obvious blunder as a hidden truth).

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)

Emerging from the shadow of its digital ancestor, Calckey (which is a fork of Misskey) is about to do something rarely seen amongst Fediverse forks, which is launch a native app upon the App Stores.

@thatonecalculator@stop.voring.me Thanks for the info! Do you have a time frame for when it will launch‽ Also, for iOS/iPadOS, are you beta testing via TestFlight‽ (Misskey Permalink)

@darnell@darnell.moe we'll probably go straight to release in a month (Calckey Permalink)

Launching a native app upon Android & iPhone (maybe iPad too‽) is a smart move, as it signifies to most non-tech people that your social project exists & that the developer is serious about maintaining a presence in cyberspace.

Most people use mobile devices to connect online, & having a powerful official or third party app can easily determine the difference between mass adoption (something Mastodon is beginning to experience) or a fringe site used by power users.

While launching on Android should be fairly straight forward, Calckey might have a minor issue with launching on iPhone & iPad as there is an abandoned iPhone/iPad app under the same name.

This will probably not be an issue as Calckey could launch as Calckey Social (or a similar variant) on the App Store.

I do wish Apple would grant Calckey the name on the App Store in order to reduce confusion when people are searching for the pending Calckey app (as having an abandoned calculator pop up first would perplex people).

👨🏾‍💻 by Darnell Clayton 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 👉🏾 @darnell@one.darnell.one 🐘 (Mastodon) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.app 📸 (Pixelfed) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.moe 🦁 (Misskey)