Fediverse—everything marketers need to know about decentralized social media

Like most fringe internet phenomena, the fediverse—a network of decentralized social media platforms—is relatively unknown. But last fall, it saw a surge in popularity when X, formerly Twitter, users flocked to Mastodon, a notable fediverse platform, in the aftermath of Elon Musk’s takeover. This summer, hype surged again when Meta announced that it would eventually incorporate Threads, its own Twitter alternative, into the fediverse. Clearly, something is a-brewing with this new vision for decentralized social media and it’s causing brands and marketers to take note. But there’s still plenty of confusion surrounding the concept and its relationship with the metaverse and exactly what opportunities are available for brands in a pocket of the internet that aims to be ad-free. To answer these questions and more, Ad Age has compiled a primer on everything marketers need to know about the fediverse—from the basic 101s to more speculative inquiries on its future viability. Also read: Brands should start planning for a decentralized internet What is the fediverse? A portmanteau of “federated” and “universe,” the fediverse is a network of decentralized web-based platforms. While mostly related to social media, these platforms cover a variety of functions, from microblogging to videostreaming to publishing and more. They are mostly open-source and are powered by a software protocol called ActivityPub, which allows them to communicate with one another and share content without forcing users to create separate accounts for each. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Why does the fediverse exist? The fediverse is intended to offer an alternative to the fragmented social media experience that most people use today, in which walled gardens unilaterally control user data and eschew interoperability with other platforms. A common analogy is made to email: Imagine if Gmail accounts could only interact with other Gmail accounts, and Outlook accounts could only interact with other Outlook accounts. This enclosed scenario more or less describes the state of the internet today. In reality, email is a symphony of communication between disparate services. The fediverse wants to apply this standard to the wider web. What platforms are in the fediverse? Numerous platforms inhabit the fediverse, most notably X rival Mastodon and publishing application WordPress, which began supporting ActivityPub this fall. Lesser known platforms include YouTube alternative PeerTube, Reddit alternative Lemmy and Instagram alternative PixelFed. Why should marketers care about the fediverse? Like Web3 and the metaverse, the fediverse has experienced a few days in the mainstream sun. Popularity surged last November after Elon Musk took over X and users flocked to Mastodon, a decentralized microblogging site, in protest. While traffic on Mastodon has since cooled, the moment signified a cultural interest in decentralized social networking—sufficient reason for marketers to pay attention. The fediverse, by virtue of its decentralization, also champions data privacy, a concept that is only becoming more familiar to mass consumers. Companies such as Apple and Google have already begun to transition to stricter privacy compliance, and so brands have a reason to keep tabs on how both platforms and consumers view data protection. The fediverse could be a key battleground for such developments. Who owns the fediverse? No one owns the fediverse because it merely describes the connected relationship between different platforms. In fact, many of these platforms are also devoid of owners because they are decentralized. What’s the difference between the fediverse and the metaverse? The fediverse and the metaverse are two distinct visions for the internet. The metaverse is based on virtual reality, hinging upon the development of advanced technologies that can immerse people as avatars inside their web experiences. The fediverse, on the other hand, requires very little innovation that does not already exist. Scope is another important difference. Whereas the fediverse hopes to carve out a relatively small pocket of the web based around social media, the metaverse is far more ambitious in its goals, hoping to transition the entirety of the internet into an immersive, virtual experience. However, the two ideas agree on the importance of an unimpeded flow of information between disparate services. To this end, decentralization and interoperability are paramount to both the fediverse and the metaverse. Related: Metaverse and Web3 glossary How will the fediverse affect content creators? Content creators are one of the most salient groups that could benefit from the development of the fediverse. Because all social media platforms are connected, creator posts and content would show up everywhere without needing individual accounts for each site. This could greatly expand creators’ reach and protect against the user attrition that arises on social media today, wherein a large following on one platform does not translate to a large following on another. But creators will only benefit if the fediverse grows in and sustains popularity. Mastodon’s surge over the past year may have been a boost to fediverse creators, but the platform has since cooled off on user growth. Its numbers remain a fraction compared to the traffic seen on walled garden platforms. If those numbers never translate over to the fediverse, creators will have a much smaller incentive to post content there. Check out the latest creator and influencer marketing news How does Big Tech view the fediverse? The fediverse aims to provide an alternative to walled gardens, so Big Tech is naturally opposed to the success of the vision. That said, Meta has expressed explicit plans to bring Threads, its new Twitter rival, to the fediverse. “Our vision is that Threads will enable you to communicate with people on other fediverse platforms we don’t own or control,” according to the Instagram help center. “This means that your Threads profile can follow and be followed by people using different servers on the fediverse.” Meta has yet to reveal a timeline for when Threads will be fully integrated within the fediverse. Some industry watchers view the plan as mostly lip service, arguing that Meta has no real intentions to relinquish any control around Threads. Such a bait and switch would be similar to one apparently made by Tumblr, which announced a year ago that it would add support for ActivityPub, yet no such support has been enabled. That said, Meta recently rolled out the ability for people to verify a link to their Threads profile within their Mastodon profile—a notable flirtation with the fediverse. Also read: Inside Threads’ first month of influencer brand deals What opportunities do brands have in the fediverse? Importantly, the fediverse aims to be ad-free—not simply by prohibiting advertisements, but by lacking the very infrastructure through which an ads business can run. Keep in mind that fediverse platforms are meant to be decentralized; the absence of a central company calling the shots means the absence of both a mechanism and an incentive to drive ad revenue. But brands can still use the fediverse as an environment to engage consumers, similar to how brands currently use social media. For example, a brand could set up a Mastodon account to make funny or relevant posts. And since each platform in the fediverse communicates with all the others, the brand would only need to create a single account, as opposed to a separate account for each platform. The deeper opportunities for brands are still up in the air, and will depend on whether the fediverse can grow into a larger phenomenon.

Fediverse—everything marketers need to know about decentralized social media

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