Table of Contents
- The fediverse on the web
- Coverage of the fediverse
- Coverage of Mastodon exclusively
- Postcards from the Edge (writing about the 'verse from the "inside")
- Research on the 'verse (from peer-reviewed academic journals)
- Reports, Reviews, and notable Commentaries (not specifically about the fediverse)
- Community Resources
The fediverse on the web
Note: all dates use YYYY-MM-DD (or Year-Month-Day), an international standard that hardly anyone uses ;)
Coverage of the fediverse
Writing about the 'verse from the "outside"
Edited articles
2023
Second Half of 2023
2023-08-06: https://mashable.com/article/what-is-the-fediverse
2023-08-12: https://www.wired.com/story/migrate-move-instagram-to-pixelfed-no-tracking-fediverse/
2023-07-24: https://www.engadget.com/mastodons-decentralized-social-network-has-a-major-csam-problem-202519000.html
2023-07-19: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/fediverse-explainer-1.6905837
2023-07-18: https://www.wired.com/story/metas-threads-could-make-or-break-the-fediverse/
2023-07-06: https://fortune.com/2023/07/06/mark-zuckerberg-replacing-metaverse-with-twitter-killer-threads-fediverse/
First Half of 2023
2023-05-19: https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/19/23730070/instagram-twitter-app-competitor-leak
2023-05-18: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/best-mastodon-apps
2023-05-12: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/05/social-media-centralism-fediverse/674041/
2023-05-04: https://www.theverge.com/23710406/mozilla-social-mastodon-fediverse-moderation
2023-04-28: https://www.techdirt.com/2023/04/28/six-months-in-thoughts-on-the-current-post-twitter-diaspora-options/
2023-04-20: https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/20/23689570/activitypub-protocol-standard-social-network
2023-04-18: https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/whats-happening-to-twitter-could-never-happen-to-mastodon
2023-04-18: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/18/mastodon-users-twitter-elon-musk-social-media
2023-03-30: https://www.pcmag.com/news/mastodons-active-users-double-to-25-million-amid-musk-twitter-drama
2023-03-28: https://www.theverge.com/23658648/mastodon-ceo-twitter-interview-elon-musk-twitter
2023-03-11: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/11/meta-mastodon-activitypub/
2023-03-09: https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/09/meta-is-working-on-a-decentralized-social-app/
2023-03-02: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/dawn-of-the-fediverse/
2023-02-12: https://www.wired.com/story/god-did-us-a-favor-by-destroying-twitter/
2023-02-04: https://www.androidpolice.com/best-mastodon-apps/
2023-01-27: https://tidbits.com/2023/01/27/is-your-future-distributed-welcome-to-the-fediverse/
2023-01-27: https://tidbits.com/2023/01/27/mastodon-a-new-hope-for-social-networking/
2022
2022-11-16: https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-get-started-use-mastodon/
2022-11-16: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/11/16/twitter-alternative-mastodon-social-network/8303119001/
2022-11-14: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/2018866914/is-mastodon-a-serious-twitter-alternative
2022-11-08: https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/08/what-is-mastodon/
2022-11-06: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-63534240
2022-10-08: https://www.makeuseof.com/best-fediverse-servers-create-online-community/
2022-04-29: https://thenewstack.io/the-fediverse-points-to-our-social-media-future-post-musk/
Before 2022
2021-08-13: https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-the-fediverse-and-can-it-decentralize-the-web/
2020-05-19: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/5/19/to-fix-social-media-we-need-to-introduce-digital-socialism/
2019-10: https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2019/227/Tutorial-Fediverse
2019-01-19: https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mastodon-fediverse-eugen-rochko/
2018-09-18: https://newatlas.com/what-is-the-fediverse/56385/
2017-04-17: https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-mastodon-the-new-social-media-star-or-imploding-black-hole/
Blogs
2023
2023-08-24: https://fediversereport.com/the-multiple-meanings-of-fediverse/
2023-08-01: https://patdel.substack.com/p/threading-an-argument-for-the-fediverse
2023-07-06: https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/meta-on-the-fediverse-thread-or-opportunity/
2023-03-21: https://opensource.com/article/23/3/tour-the-fediverse
2023-03-10: https://www.platformer.news/p/meta-is-building-a-decentralized
2023-02-20: https://magazine.joomla.org/all-issues/february-2023/turning-the-joomla-website-into-an-activitypub-server
2023-01-03: https://kevquirk.com/does-a-blog-need-to-integrate/
2023-01-02: https://odd.blog/2023/01/02/the-mastodon-onslaught-on-your-blog/
2022
2022-12-09: https://macwright.com/2022/12/09/activitypub.html
2022-12-06: https://blog.opensource.org/the-fediverse-unlocks-a-world-of-composable-distributed-apps/
2022-11-18: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/11/leaving-twitters-walled-garden
2022-11-18: https://www.halcyon.hr/posts/what-are-mastodon-activitypub-fediverse/
2022-11-16: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/11/mastodon-private-and-secure-lets-take-look
2022-11-16: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/11/fediverse-could-be-awesome-if-we-dont-screw-it
2022-11-11: https://archive.is/V6KQj (https://www.secjuice com/mastodon-child-porn-pedophiles/ - site inaccessible without CF JS)
2022-11-07 (updated 11-10): https://avoidthehack.com/twitter-to-mastodon
2022-11-03: https://blog.djnavarro.net/posts/2022-11-03_what-i-know-about-mastodon/
2022-05-08: https://lucahammer.com/2022/05/08/joining-the-fediverse-with-wordpress
Before 2022
2021-12-24: https://simonsafar.com/2021/fedi_intro/
2020-07-16: https://newdesigncongress.org/en/pub/this-is-fine
2018-06-27: https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2018/06/why-activitypub-is-the-future/
2017-04-05: https://scribe.rip/mastodon-is-dead-in-the-water-888c10e8abb1 (published on medium.com)
Coverage of Mastodon exclusively
(no significant mention of the fediverse)
Edited articles
2023
2023-05-19: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-19/instagram-readies-twitter-competitor-for-summer-release
2023-4-12: https://www.npr.org/2023/04/12/1168232177/twitter-tik-tok-replaced-network
December, 2022
2022-12-29: https://www.pcmag.com/news/mastodon-rejects-funding-offers-to-preserve-nonprofit-status-founder-says
2022-12-25: https://www.theverge.com/23519279/mastodon-instance-follow-friend
2022-12-20: https://www.pcmag.com/news/mastodons-active-users-double-to-25-million-amid-musk-twitter-drama
2022-12-20: https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/20/23518325/mastodon-monthly-active-users-twitter-elon-musk
2022-12-20: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/20/tech/mastodon-twitter-usage/index.html
2022-12-05: https://www.theverge.com/23494253/elon-musk-twitter-alternatives-mastodon-post-hive-narwhal
November, 2022
2022-11-24: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/24/1139079748/leave-twitter-social-networks-mastodon-hive-post
2022-11-22: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-pick-a-mastodon-server
2022-11-21: https://www.infoworld.com/article/3680450/what-open-source-gets-wrong-with-mastodon.html
2022-11-19: https://themarkup.org/newsletter/hello-world/mastodons-moment
2022-11-18: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/10/1135243276/mastodon-twitter-elon-musk
2022-11-18: https://opensource.com/article/22/11/verified-mastodon-website
2022-11-17: https://www.androidauthority.com/best-mastodon-apps-android-1210889/
2022-11-15: https://www.cjr.org/analysis/journalists-want-to-recreate-twitter-on-mastodon-mastodon-is-not-into-it.php
2022-11-15: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/15/how-to-use-mastodon-twitter-alternative.html
2022-11-14: https://techplugged.com/mastodon-tumblr-and-other-platforms-user-counts-skyrocket-following-twitter-exodus/
2022-11-09: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-have-44-billion-for-your-own-social-media-network-try-mastodon-11668002451
2022-11-08: https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/130407379/with-twitter-in-a-spiral-social-network-mastodon-is-on-the-rise
2022-11-08: https://gizmodo.com/mastodon-how-to-dm-send-messages-twitter-1849759852
2022-11-07: https://thespinoff.co.nz/internet/07-11-2022/why-is-everyone-leaving-twitter-for-mastodon
2022-11-05: https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-find-twitter-friends-on-mastodon/
2022-11-01: https://www.theverge.com/23429095/twitter-social-network-alternatives-mastodon-reddit-tumblr-cohost
January-October, 2022
2022-10-27 (updated on 10/31 and 11/1): https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/31/mastodons-microblogging-app-saw-a-record-number-of-downloads-after-musks-twitter-takeover/
2022-05-02: https://onlysky.media/mclark/countersocial-isnt-the-new-twitter-its-something-way-better/
2018-2021
2021-10-22: https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-truth-social-may-sued-192100382.html
2021-10-21: https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dgm5k/truth-social-is-mastodon-trump
2018-08-19: https://www.wired.com/story/join-mastodon-twitter-alternative/
2017
2017-04-15: https://mashable.com/article/mastodon-has-instance-for-everyone
2017-04-13: https://www.wired.com/2017/04/like-twitter-hate-trolls-try-mastodon/
2017-04-07: https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/7/15183128/mastodon-open-source-twitter-clone-how-to-use
2017-04-06: http://technology.inquirer.net/60966/mastodon-the-new-alternative-to-twitter
2017-04-06: https://web.archive.org/web/20170406185449/http://technology.iafrica.com/news/1047534.html
2017-04-05: https://mashable.com/article/mastodon-wont-survive
2017-04-04: https://www.vice.com/en/article/783akg/mastodon-is-like-twitter-without-nazis-so-why-are-we-not-using-it : 2017-04-04: https://mashable.com/article/mastodon-twitter-social-network
Blogs
2023-07-03: https://researchbuzz.me/2023/07/03/post-twitter-mastodon/
2023-05-19: https://liahaberman.substack.com/p/icymi-instagrams-new-app-could-be
2023-05-13: https://jmberger.substack.com/p/bluesky-smiling-at-me
2022-11-07: https://skullsinthestars.com/2022/11/07/an-intro-to-mastodon-from-a-relative-newcomer/
2022-11-05: https://trueviralnews.com/154287-how-to-find-your-twitter-friends-on-mastodon.html
2022-11-05: https://scribe.rip/come-join-me-on-mastodon-folks-bbb073ff05d2 (published on medium.com)
2019-11-24: https://archive.ph/qFNCb, Against hackerism, Simone Robutti
2017-07-06: https://web.archive.org/web/20170903090136/http://altplatform.org/2017/06/07/mastodon/
2017-04-17: https://extratone.com/mastodon-eugen-rochko-federated-social-network
2017-04-05: https://scribe.rip/mastodon-is-dead-in-the-water-888c10e8abb1 (published on medium.com)
Postcards from the Edge (writing about the 'verse from the "inside")
2023
2023-08-28: A Guide to Moderating in the Fediverse: The Basics - https://tenforward.blog/a-guide-to-moderating-in-the-fediverse-the-basics/
2023-05-22: https://reb00ted.org/tech/20230522-what-the-meta-activitypub-not-so-fast/
2023-05-01: https://shadowfacts.net/2023/activitypub-portable-identity/
2023-04-25: https://blog.erlend.sh/fragmentations-in-the-fediverse
2023-04-24: https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-04-24-mastodon-is-doomed/
2023-01-16: https://www.anildash.com/2023/01/16/a-fediverse-search/
2022
2022-11-25: https://darnell.day/where-are-the-bluesky-apps-rival-protocols-have-them
2022-11-22: https://nolanlawson.com/2022/11/22/thoughts-on-mastodon/
2022-11-21: https://scribe.rip/whither-news/on-joining-mastodon-d539eed5e41a (published on medium.com)
2022-11-19: https://fediverse.blog/~/ExploringTheFediverse/Thank%20you,%20Elon!
2022-11-04: https://coffee-and-dreams.uk/development/2022/06/24/akkoma.html
2022-11-02: https://axbom.com/fediverse/
2022-10-28: https://axbom.com/mastodon-tips/
Before 2022
2021-08-05: https://www.paritybit.ca/blog/mastodon-is-dead-long-live-misskey
2021-04-17: https://wordsmith.social/elilla/a-futuristic-mastodon-introduction-for-2021
2020-07-08: https://write.as/eloquence/why-mastodon-and-the-fediverse-are-doomed-to-fail
2020-02-14: https://homehack.nl/activitypub-the-secret-weapon-of-the-fediverse/
2019-01-14: https://scribe.rip/@VirtualAdept/a-friendly-introduction-to-the-fediverse-5b4ef3f8ed0e (published on medium.com)
2018-01-25: http://dustycloud.org/blog/on-standards-divisions-collaboration/
2018-01-23: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/victory-for-libre-networks-activitypub-is-now-a-w3c-recommended-standard
2017-09-24: https://scribe.rip/a-quick-guide-to-the-free-network-c069309f334 (published on medium.com)
2016-03-31: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/the-licensing-and-compliance-lab-interviews-matt-lee-of-gnu-social
Research on the 'verse (from peer-reviewed academic journals)
2023-07-24: Child Safety on Federated Social Media - https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:vb515nd6874/20230724-fediverse-csam-report.pdf
2023-03-17: Into the Fediverse: An Opportunity for Academics to Reclaim the Public Sphere - https://doi.org/10.17613/10jk-jc17
2023-02-12: Will Admins Cope? Decentralized Moderation in the Fediverse - https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2302.05915
2022-11-23: Moderating the Fediverse: Content Moderation on Distributed Social Media - http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4213674
2020 'Fixing Social Media: Toward a Democratic Digital Commons', Michael Kwet - https://doi.org/10.23860/MGDR-2020-05-01-04
2020 'Seven Theses on the fediverse and the Becoming of FLOSS', Aymeric Mansoux and Roel Roscam Abbing - https://monoskop.org/images/c/cc/Mansoux_Aymeric_Abbing_Roel_Roscam_2020_Seven_Theses_on_the_Fediverse_and_the_Becoming_of_FLOSS.pdf
Reports, Reviews, and notable Commentaries (not specifically about the fediverse)
2022-11-02: Hey Elon: Let Me Help You Speed Run The Content Moderation Learning Curve: https://www.techdirt.com/2022/11/02/hey-elon-let-me-help-you-speed-run-the-content-moderation-learning-curve/
2022-07-26: TechDispatch #1 - Federated Social Media Platforms: https://edps.europa.eu/data-protection/our-work/publications/techdispatch/2022-07-26-techdispatch-12022-federated-social-media-platforms_en
2021: Decentralized Ecosystem Review: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmdFrru4PyHzXGZztEPnYToBR3QovD7fkC1HSyty22LzfD
Community Resources
Tips for newbies:
https://github.com/joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon/blob/main/README.md
https://wedistribute.org/2023/07/mastodon-newcomers-guide/
https://stefanbohacek.com/blog/a-netizens-guide-to-mastodon-fediverse/
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/12/user-generated-content-and-fediverse-legal-primer
https://joinfediverse.org/ (French)
Third-party Verification
General Documentation
https://github.com/emilebosch/awesome-fediverse
https://organicdesign.nz/Fediverse
Apps
https://fediverse.info/explore/mobile-apps
https://delightful.club/delightful-fediverse-clients/
Historical timeline
https://codeberg.org/ddfon/federated-sns/
https://conf.tube/c/apconf_channel/videos - videos from the 2020 ActivityPub conference
Server stats
https://fediverse.observer/stats
https://data.stefanbohacek.dev/projects/fediverse
Historical
https://the-federation.info/ - as of 2023-05-18, still up but buggy
https://fediverse.space/ - as of 2023-04-29, 404 Not Found
Search tools
https://search.joinpeertube.org/
Find an instance
Historical:
https://mastodon.help/ (used to look like: https://web.archive.org/web/20230819101543/https://mastodon.help/)
Find people to follow:
https://communitywiki.org/trunk
https://fediverse.info/explore/people
https://discover.fedified.com/
https://github.com/nathanlesage/academics-on-mastodon
Find users elsewhere in social media land:
https://debirdify.pruvisto.org/
Crossposters
https://crossposter.masto.donte.com.br/
Instance emoji checkers
Developer resources
Watercoolers for development discussions
All welcome.
Web Forums
https://socialhub.activitypub.rocks/
https://discuss.coding.social/t/major-challenges-for-the-fediverse/67
https://www.loomio.com/g/exAKrBUp/open-app-ecosystem
Chat Rooms
Fediverse_City (matrix): https://matrix.to/#/#fediverse-city:matrix.org
Fediverse: Mastodon & ActivityPub (matrix): https://matrix.to/#/#fediverse:pixie.town or
FediDevs (matrix): https://matrix.to/#/#fediverse-developer-network:matrix.org