Threads by Meta

[bnew]

Meta starts testing Threads integration with ActivityPub | TechCrunch

Mark Zuckerberg said today that Meta has started testing a feature to show Threads posts on Mastodon and other ActivityPub protocol-supported networks.

techcrunch.com

Threads is officially starting to test ActivityPub integration​

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company has started testing showing posts on Mastodon and other ActivityPub services.​

By David Pierce and Wes Davis

Dec 13, 2023, 1:22 PM EST|34 Comments / 34 New

Illustration: The Verge

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted on Threads that the platform is beginning to test making Threads posts available on Mastodon and other ActivityPub-supporting services. Zuckerberg wrote that making Threads work with the interoperable standard “will give people more choice over how they interact and it will help content reach more people.”

Joining the fediverse — the decentralized world of social media that includes Mastodon, Pixelfed, and other services that all interoperate through ActivityPub — has been on the Threads team’s to-do list since the very beginning. Instagram head Adam Mosseri told The Verge in July that he believed decentralizing the platform was key to making it relevant to a new generation of creators. “I think we might be a more compelling platform for creators, particularly for the newer creators who are more and more savvy, if we are a place where you don’t have to feel like you have to trust us forever,” he said at the time.

Zuckerberg echoed the sentiment this fall, telling The Verge’s Alex Heath that “my view is that the more that there’s interoperability between different services and the more content can flow, the better all the services can be.” In August, Threads made it possible to verify your account through Mastodon, which isn’t exactly a decentralization feature but was at least a sign of goodwill toward the fediverse.

Skeptics have long held that Threads would never actually federate, even as Zuckerberg, Mosseri, and others at Meta kept promising they would. For the largest and most centralized social service on the web, suddenly throwing open the gates to other platforms seemed like an unlikely pivot. And as Threads got bigger and more mature, ActivityPub integration became a bigger project — and as the platform became more successful, there were more reasons for Meta to try to back off its decentralization plans. But it appears the company might actually do it.

This test appears to only cover one small part of a truly federated social network — it doesn’t sound like you’ll be able to post from Mastodon to Threads, for instance, and you can’t move your account between services. But the test at least reaffirms Meta’s commitment to ActivityPub and to being part of the broader open social web.

 

[bnew]

Move Over Twitter, Threads is Going Fediverse

In a surprise announcement, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared that Threads, the company’s Twitter-competitor app, will soon become interoperable with the fediverse via decentralized protocols. This means Threads content and profiles will be viewable on Mastodon and other ActivityPub-based social...

new.blicio.us

Move Over Twitter, Threads is Going Fediverse​

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Dec 13, 2023 · 2 mins read

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In a surprise announcement, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared that Threads, the company’s Twitter-competitor app, will soon become interoperable with the fediverse via decentralized protocols. This means Threads content and profiles will be viewable on Mastodon and other ActivityPub-based social platforms.

“Making Threads interoperable will give people more choice over how they interact and it will help content reach more people. I’m pretty optimistic about this,” said Zuckerberg.

For those thinking “fedi-whatsit?”, here’s a quick explainer. The fediverse refers to a collection of independent, decentralized social media servers. Together, they facilitate open access and data portability across platforms. Power comes from the collective, not a centralized authority like Meta.

By tapping into the fediverse, Threads plugs into a network of millions of users across thousands of servers. It divides Meta’s dominance and lets users decide where and how to engage. Of course, Meta still profits from all the Threads activity, so maybe it’s not feeling too altruistic.

Understandably, some fediverse mods aren’t thrilled by a Meta invasion. But most see it as a step toward data liberation from walled gardens. Users get more control over their content rather than being locked in Zuckerberg’s kingdom.

For now, Mastodon users can follow Threads profiles but not vice versa. It’s a start, and the plan is for full interoperability. Back in August, Threads also added Mastodon profile verification. Slowly but surely, Meta is decentralizing Threads.

What Does This Mean for You?​

As a Threads user, your content and profile may suddenly gain a whole new audience on the fediverse. Mastodon alone has millions of monthly users. This unlocks serious exposure potential.

Your posts made on Threads could end up displayed to a indie bookshop owner in Edinburgh or a goat farmer in Peru - not the usual crowd for polished, blue-checkmarked metaverse citizens. But it does expand horizons.

You also gain more control over your data. If you ever leave Threads, your content comes with you and remains visible. Things you share, like photos and comments won’t disappear into a Meta void. Portability is freedom.

For Meta, embracing federation signals they are serious about decentralization and open ecosystems. They see the backlash against data exploitation and loss of privacy. The fediverse aligns incentives around user needs, not profit.

Maybe Meta is changing its ways or just paying lip service; the coming months will tell. Butconnecting Threads to the fediverse is a trailblazing move, no matter the motivation.

Other Fediverse Platforms to Watch​

Threads will exchange ActivityPub data with Mastodon first but that’s just one fediverse server. The concept transcends individual platforms. Other notable fediverse apps include:

• PeerTube: Video sharing alternative to YouTube
• PixelFed: Photo feed and galleries, like Instagram
• Friendica: Facebook-style profiles and timelines
• Lemmy: An alternative to Reddit hosted in various places.

Notice that I did not mention Hive or Steemit, which are simply frontends to single blockchain backends.

In time, Threads could integrate with many or all of these. For now it’s Mastodon, but the possibilities span gaming, events, messaging, video - anything communication-related.

As they say, the fediverse is the limit. This initial bridging from Threads is only the beginning as the next era of social interaction takes shape.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Them thread executives have open their wallets. They have Woj, Adam Schefter and every news organization posting daily now.

Woj even host a weekly Q&A now.

 

[Macallik86]

@bnew what are your personal thoughts re: Threads entering the fediverse? I remember a lot of the big areas blocking them months ago, but it seems like it'll be a good way to make the fediverse more mainstream. Being able to follow ppl more easily since threads is connected to IG seems like a win. Then again, Meta is a shyt company that will likely due something nefarious re: their fediverse launch before all is said and done

 

[bnew]

@bnew what are your personal thoughts re: Threads entering the fediverse? I remember a lot of the big areas blocking them months ago, but it seems like it'll be a good way to make the fediverse more mainstream. Being able to follow ppl more easily since threads is connected to IG seems like a win. Then again, Meta is a shyt company that will likely due something nefarious re: their fediverse launch before all is said and done

thats why i think they want to federate with mastodon, nsfw accounts can be hosted on mastodon instances and users on threads would be able to follow, reply, quote, or repost without messing with META brand of being SFW and advertisers. their ability to filter to filter and blur mature/nsfw photos will be key tho.

they already have some major news organizations and journalists that are active on threads, i think they do have some politicians, and some government agencies on there too. it's likely to grow during major crisis's, threads video/photo quality is WAYYY better than whats available on twitter. they have to add video controls to their video player tho.

as long as they respect the server rules especially deleting quoted posts of mastodon users when the original poster deletes it, I think it's somewhat promising if it introduces users to decentralized platforms. users on mastodon and other activitypub communities can get a wider audience to share important content especially during national disasters. I think full implementation of activitypub and a couple of major news worthy events could help mainstream the fediverse.

 

[bnew]

Mike McCue (@mike@flipboard.social)

With today's announcement you can see the stories that some terrific publishers are curating on Flipboard: Afar @AfarMedia@flipboard.com The Root @TheRoot@flipboard.com Pitchfork @pitchfork@flipboard.com The Collector @thecollector@flipboard.com LGBTQ Nation @LGBTQNation@flipboard.com...

flipboard.social

Garry Knight (@garry@mstdn.social)

Flipboard is pivoting to ActivityPub and the fediverse 'If you have a Flipboard account, you’ll soon have an account everywhere in the open social web' We knew it was coming and here it is. #SocialMedia #News #Flipboard...

mstdn.social

 

[bnew]

Bluesky posts are finally open to the public

It’s a potentially big moment for Bluesky.

www.theverge.com

Bluesky posts are finally open to the public​

The platform also has a new logo — a butterfly.​

By Jay Peters, a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium.

Dec 22, 2023, 6:21 PM EST|52 Comments / 52 New

Image: Bluesky

Bluesky remains an invite-only decentralized Twitter alternative, but now, you don’t need to have an account and log in to be able to see posts on the platform, according to a blog post from Bluesky CEO Jay Graber. Now, anyone can easily see posts from both the web and from the Bluesky app — like this one.

If you want to prevent people who aren’t logged in from seeing your posts, you can “discourage” that by clicking a toggle in settings. But Bluesky notes that “other apps may not honor this request” and that the toggle doesn’t make your account private.

“Bluesky is an open and public network,” Bluesky says in a note under the toggle. “This setting only limits the visibility of your content on the Bluesky app and website, and other apps may not respect this setting.” In the blog post, Graber notes that “posts on Bluesky have always been public via developer tooling and other apps.”

Bluesky has a new logo, too: a butterfly. Previously, the app’s logo was a blue sky with clouds, but “early on, we noticed that people were organically using the butterfly emoji to indicate their Bluesky handles,” Graber says in the blog post. “The butterfly speaks to our mission of transforming social media into something new.”

I think the butterfly is a big improvement from the generic blue sky. And, as spotted by my colleague Parker Ortolani, the app has a fun animation that will feel familiar to fans of Twitter. (I do mean Twitter, not X.)

With the increasing momentum behind ActivityPub — including the very public support from Meta’s Threads — I’ve worried that Bluesky, which is based on its own AT Protocol, might get left behind. But every time I hop over to my Bluesky account, it seems like people are having a lot of fun — the platform seems to be growing quickly, too — so hopefully the protocols can co-exist and usher in a fediverse future.

---

Pedro Marques | Toronto (@ipedro) on Threads

The momentum is with ActivityPub. BlueSky is attempting to build their own protocol and took way too long to send people who were interested. I eventually got in from a shared invite but have not heard back from BlueSky for my code request from 6 months ago. Threads has all the momentum and the...

www.threads.net

Dave Winer (@davew) on Threads

Bluesky has RSS 2.0 feeds for every user, built-in. Now we have a basis for interop between Mastodon and Bluesky. Important milestone. What can we build with this? Start thinking, building.

www.threads.net

Bluesky (@bsky.app)

📢 1.60 is rolling out now (3/5) RSS feeds for profiles! Access your posts via RSS by pasting your profile link into your RSS feed reader and it will automatically be discovered.

bsky.app

Bluesky

bsky.app

Rob Pegoraro (@robpegoraro.com)

Another note about the new public-view feature: It looks like Bluesky's also-new RSS support respects opt-outs of it, going by tests in Feedly and NetNewsWire with profile addresses of people who have opted out. [contains quote post or other embedded content]

bsky.app

Posts, profiles, and user search are now available without login | Hacker News

news.ycombinator.com

 

[bnew]

Meta just showed off Threads’ fediverse integration for the very first time

Threads’ fediverse plans are coming together.

www.theverge.com

Meta just showed off Threads’ fediverse integration for the very first time​

During the FediForum conference, Meta demonstrated what it might look like to toggle on fediverse sharing and post across multiple platforms.​

By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Mar 19, 2024, 6:34 PM EDT
25 Comments

Illustration: The Verge

Threads is coming to the fediverse — and we just got our first official look at how that might work from Meta itself. During the FediForum conference on Tuesday, Meta’s Peter Cottle showed off a brief demo of how users will eventually be able to connect their accounts and posts to the fediverse. The integration will let users share their posts across different platforms through Threads, letting them reach multiple audiences at once. Meta is just one of the many platforms aiming to join the fediverse, a group of decentralized social networks aiming to become interoperable with one another.

As you can see in the video below, which FediForum shared with The Verge, Cottle can navigate to his Threads account settings and toggle on an option called “fediverse sharing.” Meta will then show a pop-up explaining what exactly the fediverse is, along with some disclaimers Meta will flag to users so they know what they’re getting into.



First, Meta notes that users will need to have a public profile to toggle on the feature, something Instagram head Adam Mosseri has already mentioned. Users in the current alpha test also can’t view replies to their posts and can only see the likes they get. Cottle says Meta is working “super hard” on changing that.

Additionally, Meta warns that Threads can’t “guarantee” that a post gets deleted on other linked platforms if a user decides to delete it on Threads. In other words, your post may still be visible on, say, a linked Mastodon server, even if you decide to delete it with Threads.

“I think this is a downside of the protocol that we use today, but I think it’s important to let people know that if you post something and another server grabs a copy, we can’t necessarily enforce it,” Cottle says.

Once fediverse sharing is enabled, users will be able to post to other services that interoperate through ActivityPub. Cottle says Threads will “wait five minutes” before sending posts out into the fediverse, during which users have a chance to edit or delete their post. If a Threads user has fediverse sharing enabled, their profiles will display a “pill” icon that other users can click into to copy their fediverse usernames.

Cottle demonstrated the process of using Threads to post to the fediverse, and you can already see how his post federated out to Mastodon.

“I know there’s a ton of skepticism about Meta entering the fediverse — it’s completely understandable,” Cottle says. “I do want to kind of make a plea that I think everyone on the team has really good intentions. We really want to be a good member of the community and give people the ability to experience what the fediverse is.”

The FediForum is an online event that gives developers the opportunity to show off what they’re working on in the fediverse. “It’s good for them, and it’s good for the rest of us to see what they’re up to,” Johannes Ernst, one of FediForum’s co-founders, tells The Verge. “They’re being transparent about what they’re building and why.”

Threads started testing an ActivityPub integration last year, and Mosseri suggested last December that Threads’ plans for the fediverse could take “the better part of a year” to pan out. Earlier this month, Threads gave Evan Prodromou, one of the creators of the ActivityPub protocol, the ability to post on both Threads and Mastodon. Threads also plans on letting users follow non-Threads fediverse accounts and letting creators take their followers with them to another platform.

 

[Macallik86]

Threads on Mastodon and The Bright Future of the Fediverse

This is my journey that started as an experiment to see how my Threads feed would look like on Mastodon and ended with me finding experiences that went above and beyond my expectations.

www.augment.ink

This is my journey that started as an experiment to see how my Threads feed would look like on Mastodon and ended with me finding experiences that went above and beyond my expectations. [...]