Darnell (Seize The Day)

👨🏾‍🚀 Darnell.bio 🤳🏾 @darnell@telegram.me 📹 @darnell@youtube.com

United States currency featuring 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 dollar bills.

An excellent video by @Techaltar@mas.to highlights how open systems helped free the Internet in the past, & how ActivityPub can free folks using social networks in the present.

Tech Altar was also able to conduct interviews on Nebula with the:

I have not yet watched the interviews (I just subscribed to Nebula to watch them later on). However, Tech Altar asked an essential question around the 20-minute mark near the end of the video: how can someone monetize their content within the Fediverse‽

Tech Altar mentioned that creating video content is expensive, & the video above costs “thousands of euros” to make, so he is currently skeptical about this working within the Fediverse overall (aside from promoting links upon the platforms themselves).

Fortunately, there are already several ways people can generate revenue within the Fediverse, some of which can be mimicked by centralized players.

Forget Google & Find A Sponsor

For video content creators like Tech Altar, ads are the easiest way to generate video revenue. Instead of relying on a random ad from YouTube to pay the bills, they could offer sponsored in-video ads apart from the video.

Here is an excellent example from Simon Whistler, who had to rely on an in-video sponsor for this video due to YouTube frowning on the subject being discussed (note: video is Not Safe For Work so use headphones when watching).

In-video sponsors are something that can easily be mimicked upon other Fediverse content platforms like Peertube, Castopod, etcetera, & as a bonus, they would not have to share that sponsored revenue with a billion dollar company.

Although briefly displayed in the video above, another way content creators can generate revenue within the Fediverse is via affiliate links (which have been an option for content creators for years).

A great example is a video by Joe Scott (where he discusses five reasons against visiting Mars), who mentions an affiliate company at the beginning and near the end (who also happens to sponsor the video he created).

Unlike a sponsored video, where a creator is probably only paid a lump sum for mentioning a product or service, affiliate links would allow a content creator to earn a commission every time someone signs up for a service.

Let’s Get Physical (Via Promo Products)

If sponsored videos & affiliate links are not appealing, content creators can also sell physical products that resonate with their audience, which Kurzgesagt has done successfully.

This can be anything from hats to clothes or calendars that help promote awareness of the content creator offline, which can reach new people unaware of the content creator’s existence.

Nowadays, there are numerous companies creators can partner with to create the physical products on their behalf (a quick search on Google or DuckDuckGo will help anyone locate a reputable company), which makes it easier for creators to focus on creating content for their viewers instead of worrying about making & shipping physical goods.

Power From The People

Lastly, content creators can request direct support from those who love their videos, podcasts, essays, etc. Direct support from users is a common practice within the Fediverse & is how projects like Mastodon, Pixelfed & Misskey can fund development of their respective software projects.

This practice is widespread among content creators (especially those producing videos). Content creators can encourage people to support their work by mentioning their names in the video as producers (instead of merely supporters), as demonstrated by Cool Worlds below (near the end of the video).

What About Protecting My Content‽

Yes, content theft has always been an issue on the internet, & it is a massive problem regardless of whether a social network or service is closed, open, centralized, or federated.

The problem has only grown worse with the presence of “affordable” Artificial Intelligence, & many content creators are understandably hesitant about uploading their creations upon platforms lacking a central authority figure who can quickly resolve copyright infringement issues.

Fortunately, there are companies like Viral DRM who specialize in protecting content from infringement, & who probably could easily adjust to servicing clients within the Fediverse (as they would contact the hosting company with legal papers).

Should Content Creators Embrace The Fediverse‽

With social networks like Threads & Flipboard entering the Fediverse sooner rather than later, content creators will soon have the option of reaching a large audience without having to maintain accounts upon major social networks.

As the Fediverse grows over time, we will probably see major centralized players begin to activate AcitivityPub on their respective sites, ultimately empowering people to create content on their terms.

Content creators should consider hosting their content on sites they ultimately control instead of relying primarily on multi-billion dollar corporations who can end their revenue stream for any reason.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

Warning no politics religion drama zone

Apparently @mosseri@threads.net announcement that Threads & Instagram will suppress political content across their respective platforms by default is making political gurus very unhappy.

If you follow political accounts on Threads or Instagram, we want to avoid getting between you and their content. That said, we also don't want to proactively amplify political content from accounts you don't follow. To that end, we're extending our existing approach to how we avoid recommending political content to additional surfaces. (Mosseri on Threads)

Over the next few weeks we will be improving how we avoid recommending content about politics on recommendation surfaces — like Explore, Reels, and Suggested Users — across both Instagram and Threads. If you want political recommendations, you will have a control to opt into getting them. (Mosseri on Threads)

These recommendations updates apply to public accounts and only in places where we recommend content. They don't change how we show people content from accounts they choose to follow. If political content is posted by an account that is not eligible to be recommended, that account's content can still reach their followers in Feed and Stories. (Mosseri on Threads)

Our goal is to preserve the ability for people to choose to interact with political content, while respecting each person's appetite for it. (Mosseri on Threads)

It might appear odd why both Threads & Instagram are forgoing the promotion of politics, especially with numerous democratic republics electing heads of state & representatives in various legislatures around the world in 2024.

However, the answer may be for business reasons, as advertisers might be less likely to spend money on controversial topics (like politics or social issues).

The fear of upsetting potential consumers en mass is already affecting advertisers in the Super Bowl, & it would not be surprising if the same fear is influencing social networks as well.

While some commercials that run in CBS' Feb. 11 broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII may shock or surprise, most will aim to comfort or amuse, as marketers pull back on pushing the envelope. [...]

“Advertisers are very aware that things can go wrong at the Super Bowl,” says Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, who has studied Super Bowl commercials with his students for years. Thanks to social media, he says, marketers realize that any ad can “manage to annoy people or cause backlash. Nobody wants to put their career on the line with a certain piece of Super Bowl footage. There is a huge incentive to be cautious.” (Variety)

Meta (for better or worse) is attempting to prevent Threads & Instagram from becoming a haven for hot topics, which would attract the attention of the masses, but ultimately at the expense of advertisers (the latter who are Meta's real customers).

Note: Ironically, Meta minimizing politics has renewed interest in Mastodon on Threads, as the former reflects the desires of its actual users & is not beholden to corporate advertisers. We could witness another wave of users signing up for decentralized ActivityPub platforms soonish.

Image Credit: No Politics Religion Drama Metal Tin Sign Novelty Plate on Amazon

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

I know the ad situation with X (formally Twitter) is currently awful, but I did not think it was this bad.

Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has in the past couple of months been inundated with a wave of ads for porn sites and fake luxury goods. That might sound like a low-priority problem for X, as these ads—no matter how sketchy—could in theory bring in much-needed ad revenue.

The problem is that the flood of ad spam, as insiders refer to it, has coincided with a surge in credit card firms asking X for refunds on unauthorized transactions. That indicates that at least some of the spam ads are paid for with stolen cards, say people familiar with the situation, which means X doesn’t get to keep any money generated from the ads. (The Information)

@ErinKWoo@twitter.com elaborates more in her article on The Information (subscription required) & it appears that Elon Musk lacks the personnel to sift through the ad spam afflicting X effectively.

Another issue is that many democratic republics worldwide will elect new leaders or re-elect incumbents, which means that various political parties & foreign actors will attempt to use social networks (including X) to influence populations at the ballot box.

We will probably witness autocratic regimes & nationalist political parties attempt to flood X with controversial or sensational ads worldwide to advance their agenda of authoritarianism across the planet.

Circling back to X, my theory is that 2024 will be the last year X is influential as a micro-blogging site, as the centralized cess pool is replaced by the decentralized Fediverse by the end of the year.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

So @rklambo@threads.net was interviewed by Wired & we might be a few months away from Threads activating ActivityPub upon their site.

In the coming months, Threads users should gain the ability to follow accounts from other social networks and to publish posts that will appear not only in Threads but elsewhere on the social web. [...]

Meta is treading carefully, doing a phased implementation while continuing conversations with Fediverse leaders. This will give the company more time to iron out some of the integration kinks. “Do we adapt the protocol to be able to support this?” Lambert asks. “Or do we try to do some kind of interesting, unique implementation?” Instead of the audio for voice posts, Meta considered federating text transcripts, but ultimately decided to stick with sharing the audio.

Lambert hesitates to put an exact timeline on the rollout of ActivityPub support, but she says general users may be able to access the new features in a couple of months. Access will first arrive for Threads accounts open to the public, and the activation process will be opt-in. “We have some milestones that we’re working towards,” Lambert says. “But I think we’re most invested in just making sure that the experience feels really good & that things are actually working.” (Wired)

I understand the logic behind Meta being cautious (as making drastic changes could make or break the site), but I think the company could be moving a lot faster in reaching their goals if they would simply launch a public beta testing site.

There are a plethora of other features Threads should launch, but activating ActivityPub is definately a feature at the top of the list.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

IFTTT supporting Mastodon

Years ago, I tried (& failed) to convince IFTTT (which stands for If This, Then That) to embrace the Fediverse by adding support for Mastodon in the hope it would encourage IFTTT to embrace other ActivityPub services that I actively use (specifically Pixelfed, WriteFreely & Misskey).

It appears that IFTTT finally did add support for Mastodon sometime in January of 2024, albeit with a face-palming caveat.

At IFTTT, we know that every thing works better together. We are constantly adding new services that can be integrated with the 900+ apps, devices, and platforms available on IFTTT.

New services

With new services joining IFTTT every week, there are always new opportunities to transform the way you integrate and connect with the things in your life.

Mastodon.Social

Mastodon is an open-source, decentralized social networking platform that allows users to connect and communicate with others in a federated manner. Launched in 2016, Mastodon offers an alternative to centralized social media platforms by giving users control over their data and the ability to choose their own instance, or server, to join.

Please note: You can only login with your mastodon.social credentials. If your account is hosted on a different server, you will not be able to log in here. (New on IFTTT)

I am not sure why IFTTT is limiting itself to just Mastodon Social (the flagship server). Still, for whatever reason, IFTTT does not understand the Fediverse or does not care (probably a mixture of both).

Most Mastodon users are not on the flagship server, which makes this feature worthless for most people.

Mastofeed icon

Mastodon users seeking to integrate third-party services into their account should visit Mastofeed by Alex Barredo (@barredo@mastodon.social), as you will be able to choose which Mastodon server you want to interact with online.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

3D visualization of Fediverse logo

Okay, so it technically is not the day the Fediverse was born as ActivityPub was more or less a work in progress (props to @youronlyone@c.im for providing a detailed history of how the Fediverse morphed into what it is today).

However, on January 23rd, 2018, the World Wide Web Consortium gave their official recommendation of ActivityPub thanks entirely to these living legends listed below.

So regardless of which Fediverse platform you prefer, raise a glass of gratitude to the Fediverse Founders on this particular occasion, as these five individuals created a protocol so noteworthy that even major companies are admitting that the future of social is with ActivityPub.

Note: Image via Wikimedia Commons by Eukombos, discovered on Engage Media (@EngageMedia@mastodon.social)

Update: Thanks @cstanhope@social.coop for informing me of Jessica Tallon’s account!

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

Kaijali, Goblin leader from Overlord

Image Credit: Kaijali, Goblin leader from Overlord, picture from Overlord Wiki.

So Javi Alvarez, an employee who use to work for Automattic (the company behind WordPress, Tumblr & WordPress.com) is attempting to build a Tumblr like application for the Fediverse with an interesting name.

Hi! I'm @jv@mastodon.social and https://tumblr.com/jv, but this is my little instance where I'm doing a bit of an experiment to merge both. Basically, I'm trying to build a tumblr-like platform that runs on the fediverse. I called it Goblin, and you can find the source code here:

https://github.com/johnHackworth/goblin

Goblin.band is my own instance, with me being the only account right now while I'm working on it. If you are interested to try it, let me know and I can ping you when I'm ready to let other folks in to test. (via @javi@goblin.band bio)

Update: Javi’s handle is displayed incorrectly in WriteFreely due to the underscores (which makes it appear italicized), so I linked it to his profile on Mastodon instead (link should work).

Usually when one thinks of the word Goblin, negative connotations appear in the brain, although maybe Javi's idea of Goblin is closer to what is seen from the anime Overlord.

Goblin is currently based upon Firefish, an ActivityPub platform which was forked from Misskey by @kainoa@firefish.social (see side note below).

Side note: There have been unconfirmed reports that Kainoa has abandoned the Firefish project, although his last post was a month ago so he could merely be busy with life, especially after the holidays.

Goblin seems to be another fork of Firefish, with the other prominent ones being Iceshrimp by @zotan@estrogen.network, & Catodon by @panos@catodon.social & @namekuji@its.waah.day (Catodon features a cute pirate cat icon for what it's worth! 😂).

However, what will separate Goblin apart from the various Fediverse forks of Misskey (or Firefish), is the fact that Goblin seeks to build integration with Tumblr, which (to my understanding) will allow users to post to their Tumblr blogs from Goblin.

Currently two other platforms also post to Tumblr (Micro.Blog by @manton@manton.org & WordPress via the JetPack plugin), but I believe what Javi is trying to do is recreate Tumblr's fun albeit awkward culture upon the Fediverse, since it is unclear when Tumblr will activate ActivityPub on their site.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

BuddyPress Icon

Last year, lead BuddyPress developer Mathieu Viet desired to combine the powers of ActivityPub with BuddyPress as a bulwark against multi-billion dollar social networks.

About federating WordPress site owners updates into a BuddyVerse 🌍, it's an amazing idea I already heard of 5 years ago during the WordCamp Europe 2017. As WordPress is powering around 40% of Internet sites, I guess there's an interesting potential, but I believe** we need a lot more contributors** to master the ActivityPub protocol (extending the ActivityPub WordPress plugin?) or the Matrix standard and required developments to allow 2 or more WordPress instances to follow each others or more globally to achieve a distributed BuddyPress network. To avoid missing the « we figured out being chained into social media owned by capricious billionaires was masochistic » opportunity, maybe we can make a first step into this direction and reach something approaching improving how we deal with RSS feeds & implementing Webmentions. (via BuddyPress Blog)

It might be wise for Automattic (the company behind WordPress & WordPress.com) to pursue creating a special Fediverse plugin for BuddyPress or expand support of the original ActivityPub plugin for the social network.

One advantage BuddyPress has over current Fediverse options is that the former can leverage the power of WordPress, which many (if not most) hosting companies provide as a “1-click” install option.

Since BuddyPress can be activated on WordPress sites via the BuddyPress plugin, communities can easily set up their social network that is not run by a mega-corporation that may not share their ideals.

Viet will probably need assistance from the (super busy) @pfefferle@mastodon.social (lead developer of the ActivityPub plugin) as well as @photomatt@mastodon.social (who can direct resources from Automattic to help speed up compatibility).

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

Fediverse Logo

In 2023, we witnessed numerous sites & platforms activating ActivityPub or investing more resources into the Fediverse.

A few notable mentions include:

While 2023 was the year the Fediverse became familiar amongst the masses, 2024 will be the year when we see ActivityPub adopted by numerous social networking sites, blogs, forums, video streaming services & potentially even messaging platforms.

After previously looking at the top 30 Fediverse websites, I decided to take another look at the top sites (also known as instances), this time limited to those boasting over 100,000 total users.

Unlike the prior list, I decided only to include instances currently federating or will embrace federation this year (the latter includes Threads & Flipboard).

I am basing my rankings primarily on three aggregate websites (note: I included donation links to the respective aggregate sites as they do this for free using their resources):

I excluded Daystorm (administrated by @admin@daystorm.netz.org) as this is a testing instance & their user data is fake. I also did not include WordPress.com as that is technically a WordPress-managed hosting company & not a typical website or instance.

Without further ado, here are the top 20 instances in the Fediverse (including betas), highlighting total user accounts &/or active monthly user accounts (if available).

Threads icon

(1) Threads

Operated by Meta (formally known as Facebook), Threads will be the largest instance in the Fediverse by active user count (stats below).

Update: Meta revealed that they currently boast 130 million active users, which puts them in the second place behind Flipboard (shown below). However, the latter’s numbers are from 2020, & it is unclear if Flipboard user numbers have changed.

However, when they enable ActivityPub on their platform for all their users, they may not boast the most Federated accounts overall as Threads will take an opt-in approach to protect the privacy of their users.

While Threads will probably remain the most prominent instance in the Fediverse, the instance in the number two spot might boast more ActivityPub-enabled accounts in the Fediverse.

Flipboard icon

(2) Flipboard

Best described as a social networking magazine, Flipboard is comparable to Google News, except humans curate news stories.

Flipboard is for news enthusiasts & as a bonus, the apps & website are a feast for the eyes.

Update 2: According to TechCrunch (props to Craig Smith from Expanded Ramblings for locating this info), Flipboard has north of 100 million active users in 2022, although it is unclear if their current number is less than 145 million active users. For now, I will keep them in the number two spot.

Eye candy aside, Flipboard could play a critical role in distributing information worldwide, especially with large corporations like Google & Facebook geoblocking news articles over legal disputes.

Minds lightbulb icon

(3) Minds

Due to their heavy embrace of cryptocurrencies & freedom of speech (as in they allow any & all types of legal speech, including controversial rhetoric), Minds is viewed by numerous instances as a controversial platform.

However, as of this post, Minds is currently the largest federated instance, although they will drop to third place once Threads & Flipboard activate ActivityPub. Minds software is also open source, & the site & software were created by Bill Ottman, John Ottman, Jack Ottman (lots of Ottmans! 😂), Mark Harding & Ian Crossland.

Unlike many instances that are either funded by advertisers or donations from users, Minds offers premium hosting services to individuals, communities & companies via their plus, pro, & network plans (the latter which can be run under a custom domain).

Minds is a freemium platform, as their basic plan is free for everyone, regardless of viewpoint (as long as it is legal in the United States 🇺🇸).

Mastodon Social header

(4) Mastodon Social

Started by Eugen Rochko, this flagship Mastodon instance helped popularize ActivityPub amongst the masses & is currently the largest Federated site powered by Mastodon.

As of this post, the software Mastodon boasts over 14.5 million total user accounts, & over 1.5 million active monthly user accounts (all across 9500 plus instances).

Mastodon Social is financed by a plethora of generous donors (myself included), & it is one of the two Mastodon instances run by the non-profit Mastodon gGmbH.

Lemmy Icon

(5) Alien Top

Alien Top is the largest Lemmy instance in the Fediverse and the third largest Federated instance powered by open-source software (after Minds & Mastodon Social).

For those looking for a Reddit like community that is not corporate owned & ActivityPub powered, Alien Top appears to be a prime location for those who love engaging & communicating via forums.

Pawoo Header

(6) Pawoo

Pawoo is the second-largest Mastodon instance & the most famous Japanese instance in the Fediverse. Ownership of the site has changed a few times, with the current owner being Suji Yan, who incredibly owns three of the top ten instances in the Fediverse (including Pawoo).

Pawoo was previously the most popular instance in the Fediverse (holding the title for several years) & it was only recently surpassed by Mastodon Social.

The site is currently the most popular non-English instance in the Fediverse (most of the posts are in Japanese), & is now operated by the Social Coop Limited.

I want you for Misskey development

(7) Misskey

Misskey is the flagship instance for the Misskey Software, which powers the website. The Misskey website & software were created by Eiji Shinoda, who online is known more commonly as Syuilo.

Misskey Software boasts over 700,000 total users across 1200 instances, of which 11,700 are active (at least once a month). Software development & the flagship instance of Misskey are financed primarily by donations from passionate fans (including yours truly).

The Misskey flagship website is the second most popular Japanese instance in the Fediverse, & is (not surprisingly) the most popular Misskey instance online.

MSTDN Japan header

(8) MSTDN Japan

MSTDN Japan is the second significant instance owned by Suji Yan, & the third most popular Japanese-speaking instance in the Fediverse.

The instance is powered by Mastodon & MSTDN Japan is the third largest Mastodon instance in the Fediverse (after Mastodon Social & Pawoo, respectively).

  • Domain: MSTDN.jp
  • Software: Mastodon (open source)
  • Leader: @Sujiyan@mstdn.jp
  • Over 400,000 total users
  • About 32,000 monthly active users

Adults Only

(9) Baraag

It brings me no pleasure to type about this next instance, which is powered by Mastodon & in the past, has been highlighted by Fediverse detractors attempting to slander either Mastodon software or ActivityPub-powered websites in general.

Called Baraag, this site is renowned for boasting users sharing highly unethical (but under the United States 🇺🇸, constitutionally legal) content, often involving children (users of the site test the legal limits of American law).

Baraag is probably one of the most blocked instances on the Fediverse, yet despite being shunned by the community, the site somehow makes the top ten list.

Mastodon Cloud header

(10) Mastodon Cloud

Mastodon Cloud is the fifth most prominent Mastodon instance in the Fediverse, & is also the third Mastodon instance owned by Suji Yan (who currently owns 3 of the top 10 instances in the Fediverse).

Unlike Suji Yan's larger Mastodon instances (Pawoo & MSTDN Japan), Mastodon Cloud users post content in a variety of languages, including English, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish & German, which might make this the largest diverse instance in the Fediverse after Threads.

Pravda Header

(11) Pravda

Powered by Mastodon, Pravda is the most prominent Russian-speaking instance in the Fediverse, & the name Pravda means “truth” in Russian.

The site seems to have been partially inspired by a post/tweet by Elon Musk, the latter who joked about starting a site called Pravda to rate the credibility of journalists online.

Decades ago, Pravda was also the name of a prominent newspaper in the Soviet Union, which might partially be the inspiration for the name as well.

MSTDN Social header

(12) MSTDN Social

MSTDN Social is the 7th largest Mastodon instance in the Fediverse, & is a general-purpose Mastodon site run by a famous cat lover known as Stux online.

Stux is known for hosting & maintaining instances powered by other ActivityPub platforms (ranging from Pixelfed to Peertube), although this is the only instance to appear in the top 20 list.

Mastodon Online header

(13) Mastodon Online

Mastodon Online is the second Fediverse instance started & maintained by Eugen Rochko (the creator of Mastodon).

The purpose of the second site is to demonstrate the power of Mastodon by showcasing how users of two different sites communicate with each other in the Fediverse.

Although not as prominent as its larger sibling (Mastodon Social), Mastodon Online is still popular enough to be listed in the top 20 Fediverse instances.

Mastodon World Header

(14) Mastodon World

Mastodon World is a general-purpose Fediverse instance that is (obviously) powered by Mastodon.

Mastodon World is one of two major ActivityPub platforms run by Ruud, & both of them are popular enough to be featured in the Fediverse top 20 websites (the other site is featured at number 16).

Mas.to Header

(15) Mas.to

Mas.to is a general-purpose Fediverse instance, & the last Mastodon instance to make the top 20 list (Mastodon powers half of the sites listed here).

The site is primarily in English, & is most notable for its short domain (which is harder to secure nowadays).

  • Domain: Mas.to
  • Software: Mastodon (open source)
  • Leader: @trumpet@mas.to
  • About 168,000 total users
  • About 18,000 monthly active users

Lemmy Icon

(16) Lemmy World

Lemmy World is the second largest Lemmy instance in the Fediverse, & is also the second instance run by the famous Ruud.

Although not as popular as Alien Top, Lemmy World does sport a better user design/layout than Alien Top, which might make it more appealing to newcomers desiring to experience the Fediverse, albeit through the lens of a forum.

Micro blog icon

(17) Micro Blog

Despite being proprietary & centralized, Micro Blog is probably the most popular ActivityPub-powered blog platform in the Fediverse. Users can post underneath Micro Blog's domain or use a custom domain (the latter, which I highly recommend).

Founded by Manton Reece, Micro Blog allows users to easily connect to the Fediverse, as well as cross-post to various other platforms, including Mastodon, Tumblr, Medium, LinkedIn, Flickr, BlueSky, Nostr & Pixelfed.

Unlike other platforms listed, Micro Blog is a premium service, which covers the expense of hosting content on the site.

Twitter Fail Whale

(18) Bird Makeup

Featuring this instance is somewhat controversial, considering its sole purpose is to pull desired content from X (formally Twitter) & make those posts available on the Fediverse.

Created by Vincent Cloutier, Bird Makeup's site depends entirely upon X, the latter whose continued existence is in doubt thanks to Elon Musk's shenanigans.

Although there are no original users on the site, some folks find it helpful, as Bird Makeup allows them to follow accounts on X without engaging with the crazies on X.

Diaspora Federation icon

(19) Diaspora

Diaspora is the flagship instance for the Diaspora Foundation, whose software can be comparable to Facebook (just decentralized & federated).

Diaspora was started by Ilya Zhitomirsky, Dan Grippi, Max Salzberg, & Raphael Sofaer in 2010 & the software supports cross-posting to WordPress & Tumblr.

Pixelfed icon

(20) Pixelfed Social

Pixelfed Social is the flagship instance featuring the Pixelfed software by Daniel Supernault. It is best described as a Federated Instagram alternative, where users can host photos & videos on their domain yet still communicate with everyone else on the Fediverse.

Over 219,000 people have experienced Pixelfed firsthand (across almost 1,000 sites), which is a testament to the fact that a single individual primarily maintains the software.

Although known primarily for showcasing the power of Pixelfed, the primary Pixelfed instance often leads the way in pioneering new & innovative tech, especially when it comes to moderation (dealing with spam, trolls, etcetera).

Conclusion

This list could easily change throughout 2024, especially if other significant platforms decide to join the Fediverse. However, it is exciting that the Fediverse will expand from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of users this year.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

Amazon Prime Icon

Yes, Amazon emailed their loyal paying customers to inform all of us that our bill was going up.

Dear Prime member,

We are writing to you today about an upcoming change to your Prime Video experience. Starting January 29, Prime Video movies and TV shows will include limited advertisements. This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time. We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Primemembership. We will also offer a new ad-free option for an additional $2.99 per month* that you can sign up for here. [note: link removed]

If you pay annually for Amazon Prime & Prime Video was more or less a perk of 2-day shipping, then paying the extra $3 a month is not a huge issue.

However, if you were paying for Prime Video separately or paying monthly for Amazon Prime delivery, you are probably better off enduring the infrequent annoyance of ads interrupting your entertainment experience.

I will be paying the extra $3 per month to avoid seeing ads, as I find ads disruptive when watching movies or shows. I do wish Amazon offered an annual plan (I pay annually for Amazon Prime).

As far as why Amazon is increasing their prices, I believe @daringfireball@mastodon.social sums it up best:

“Meaningfully fewer ads” than Apple TV+ or Max is not possible, because they have no ads. Netflix has a lower-priced “with ads” tier, but Prime Video is no peer to Netflix. This is a rinky-dink move that solidifies Prime Video's status as a second-rate streaming service. Maybe if they hadn't blown $250 million on Citadel and nearly $500 million on Rings of Power — both of which shows were absolutely terrible — they wouldn't be in this position. (Via Daring Firefall)

**Note: ** Although Apple TV does not have ads, Max (formally HBO) does have ads on their lowest tier.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day

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

🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.tv 👨🏾‍💻 (TeleVerse) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.africa 🌍 (Africa) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.co 🧘🏾‍♂️ (Creative Outlet)

🥷🏾 Other Hideaways: 👉🏾 @darnell@threads.net 🧵 (Threads) 👉🏾 @darnell@darnell.xxx 🔞 (Hard News) 👉🏾 @darnell@flipboard.com 📰 (Flipboard)

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