Meta has been making moves to link up Threads with the whole decentralized scene. Mark Zuckerberg and the team at Meta are testing a new way to make Threads stuff show up on Mastodon, Flipboard and other ActivityPub platforms. This means that Threads is hooking into into the Fediverse vibe.
So, you might be asking, what's this Fediverse thing?
The Fediverse is a group of social networks that can communicate with each other, even though they’re independent platforms. Users on different social media platforms and websites can send and receive updates from others across the network.
Imagine millions of independent servers, all doing their own thing but together, creating this massive open social media space.
It spreads the power so no single platform or company gets to call all the shots or hoard your data. Every server can set its own vibe, rules, and systems.
Best of all, it means the content from all of the Fediverse platforms is visible to all of the other platforms, and all of the people on other platforms can follow you. And you can follow them.
Here’s what Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri laid out as the plan:
Threads Fediverse Features Mosseri mentions that the Threads team aims to allow every public account on Threads, not just a select few testers, the option to be followed on different platforms.
Right now, their plan is to have accounts set as public and require users to choose actively to display their posts on other federated servers. However, they're contemplating making this a default setting, giving users the option to opt out instead.
The team is also looking to integrate replies from other platforms directly into Threads. Mosseri points out the current inconvenience of having to exit the Threads app to view replies from the wider community.
Furthermore, Threads intends to enable following accounts from other fediverse platforms that aren't part of Threads. "There are significant privacy and integrity aspects to work out, but we're actively tackling these challenges," Mosseri explains.
A crucial aspect under consideration is follower portability. Mosseri expresses his belief in the importance of creators being able to transfer their followers to another app or server if they decide to leave Threads. He emphasizes that creators should have ownership of their relationship with their audience.
The Future Of Threads
It means more freedom to move your data around and own your content, which Meta said they'd do when they dropped their Twitter-like app. Everyone thought that was just talk, but Meta are showing they're dead serious about this decentralization game.
They're looking to connect Threads with a bunch of other platforms using the ActivityPub standard, which is great.
It's still early days, and linking up Threads with the Mastodon network is gonna take some time, possibly up to one year.
This could seriously blow up Threads' audience and give us more control over what we post.
More from Spacelab
Flipboard Is Joining The Fediverse. Find Out What That Means.
Flipboard is doing a big expansion into the Fediverse, using ActivityPub to become available across platforms like Mastodon, Pixelfed, and more. Find out why.
Instagram Has A New Gen Ai Feature For Creators
There’s a new generative AI tool from Instagram that uses artificial intelligence to create backgrounds for Instagram Stories.
Meta Ai Audiobox Is Out. Your Vocal Identity Isn’t Safe.
Meta AI Audiobox does voice descriptions, sound effects, editing, and more. You can train it on your own voice.
|
