(Some of) The Fediverse platforms

In my previous post, I talked a bit about the existence of alternative social networks, giving special emphasis on the Fediverse, but I didn't really get into detail about which are those. So, in this kind of sequel, I'll mention some of the platforms I know, both the ones I have personally tried, and the ones I've been interested, but have not tried yet.

Contents

  1. The ones I've had the pleasure of try
    1. Diaspora, alternative to Facebook
    2. Mastodon, alternative to X
    3. Bluesky, (another) alternative to X
    4. Pixelfed, alternative to Instagram
    5. WriteFreely, alternative to Tumblr?
    6. Bonus: Signal, alternative to WhatsApp and Telegram
  2. The ones I've been interested in
    1. PeerTube, alternative to YouTube and Dailymotion
    2. Friendica, (another) alternative to Facebook
    3. Lemmy, alternative to Reddit
  3. And so much more

The ones I've had the pleasure of try

Obviously I wouldn't have done any of these two posts if I weren't already in this world. I have even formed communities in some of these platforms. Let's start with the platforms on which I have already had an account, and listen first hand from me what I think of these platforms.

Diaspora, alternative to Facebook

To say the truth, I tried this project back in 2018, and it really didn't convince me, and I abandoned my account.

The idea of decentralization seemed really good to me back then, however, I thought the idea of having to choose who the posts were directed to without a completely defined friend/follower system was pretty incomplete to me. Although this really precise focus for privacy may be okay for people really looking to protect their data from organizations or other malicious people, so it's an option to consider. Also, as I said, several years have passed, so things may have really evolved, so don't just take my word, and better try it yourself.

Link to the project: The Diaspora* Project

Mastodon, alternative to X

I dare to say that, from this list, this one is the most known one, to the point of becoming a representative of the Fediverse.

This microblogging platform is powered with enhanced options for content warnings, custom emojis by instance, different visualization options on PC, adding extra info to your profile (I use it for links, but I have seen other people use it to add their pronouns or skills, to say something), and verification options for content you write on the rest of the internet, among several others. Also, the options for different types of timelines (followers, instance and federated) give more freedom for what you see. And speaking purely from my personal experience, it's easier to form communities once you settle in your instance. And in case you decide the instance you chose is not your place, account migration is relatively easy, although posts (for now) stay on the instance of origin.

Also, the different apps available to interact with this network are wonderful, or at least the ones I've tried on Android and on PC. Sadly, I haven't tried on iOS, and I don't plan to do it soon, so you'll have to live with that doubt... unless you have an Apple device.

Link to the project: Mastodon – Decentralized Social Media

Bluesky, (another) alternative to X

Basically Twitter 2.0, although (for now) without all the toxicity, and what personally hurts me the most, without the option to receive notifications from a specific profile.

Born at first as an internal Twitter project in 2019, wanting to experiment with decentralization and open source, I really consider it a good platform if you're really used to Twitter (or X). Recently, it has evolved pretty much in their moderation politics, and although it technically is a decentralized project, I haven't really heard of another server beyond the main one. However, you can male your username to be your own domain, but honestly, I haven't tinkered that much with that. Although the documentation for mounting your own server is pretty well explained, that's more oriented towards small communities.

It also has its official apps for Android and iOS, and, as they say, they also want to launch image sharing and short videos services.

Link to the project: Bluesky

Pixelfed, alternative to Instagram

Image and video sharing platform simple and to the point.

From my humble point of view, this platform doesn't really offer something new, which in fact is not a negative point, because it allows you to adapt really quickly to the platform. It also has functions for posting stories, post collections (that work as albums), edition filters inside the service itself, and something I do consider interesting, the option to add descriptive texts to pictures. Particularly useful for its interconnection with the Fediverse.

It has official apps for iOS and Android, although they are in beta phase and not all functions are available. Although there are more complete third-party apps. And I do really consider it's worth it.

Link to the project: Pixelfed – Decentralized social media

WriteFreely, alternative to Tumblr?

This is a very simplistic blog platform, and it allows text formatting using Markdown and HTML interchangeably, besides in blog configurations you can customize your blog theme using CSS, which makes it somewhat complex to modify, butt the default appearance is really nice to the eye (although I maybe should work in a gray or dark theme so it doesn't hurt the eyes so much xd).

The default editor doesn't really provide the option to upload pictures to the server, so in theory you should host your pictures in an external server , and link them to your blog with the image tags. But here, yours truly hosts her own instance (in fact, this blog is powered by WriteFreely, and I will soon post a storytime about how I prepared my own server for that), and I'm hosting the pictures directly on the image folder on the server.

Still, there are several good options out there if you can't or don't want to host your own server.

Link to the project: WriteFreely

Bonus: Signal, alternative to WhatsApp and Telegram

This is not a decentralized social network per se, but a private messaging open source app, which means, besides not being under a corporate organization, it can be studied, improved and distributed if you have the knowledge for it.

It has practically everything you'd want from a messaging app. End-to-end encryption, groups, stories, message formatting, pictures, videos, voice messages, and hide a text until you tap on it (spoiler alert, anyone?). As for message backup, you have to manually do it, and these backups are not stored automatically in a server. They are stored on your device as an option to recover it on another one later.

It's worth mentioning that you must first install the app on your phone, with apps for Android and iOS, and then you can sync it with a PC, with clients for Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

And although you do require a phone number to register, this is protected for other people through a username that you share with a link to your profile. Another really good project... if you have more than one contact.

Link to the project: Signal >> Home

The ones I've been interested in

Obviously this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of platforms to explore, with different purposes, that I've also been interested in, but I haven't tried yet. Let's mention some of them and their main features without going too much into detail.

PeerTube, alternative to YouTube and Dailymotion

Platform to play and share video and streaming. Videos can easily be downloaded, and playback uses P2P protocols so the workload of small servers is reduced, and to improve the experience for everyone in general.

Link to the project: What is PeerTube? | JoinPeerTube

Friendica, (another) alternative to Facebook

Besides the common functions of macroblogging platforms, you can also follow profiles on Diaspora, ActivityPub and Bluesky, directly from your Friendica account. You can also post directly to WordPress and Tumblr.

Link to the project: Friendica – A Decentralized Social Network

Lemmy, alternative to Reddit

It has the capability to post threads with images and links, besides upvote and downvote comments. Although the communities you can create are limited to the instance you join to, you can always comment and follow communities and people in other instances.

Link to the project: Lemmy – A link aggregator for the fediverse

And so much more

Evidently, by being an open space on the internet, there are so many platforms that have been born and perished, and many others still standing. Precisely there's a Wikipedia article listing the existing platforms and protocols for decentralized networks, so we have several options. But I consider the ones on my list to be the most common we can find, making it easier to find communities.

But I insist, not all of these spaces are for everyone, for diverse reasons. So if you decide to stay on the traditional networks, it's okay. Here we don't judge anyone. :P

Officially, I have overexplained this topic, so I better say goodbye, hoping you like these posts. See ya later!