Move slowly and build bridges : Mastodon, the fediverse, and the struggle for democratic social media /
Move Slowly and Build Bridges tells the story of activists, software developers, artists, and everyday people who have built the fediverse - a large, noncentralized, alternative social media system. In contrast to big tech corporations like Meta, TikTok, or X, the fediverse is comprised of thousands...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York, NY :
Oxford University Press,
[2025]
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | Move Slowly and Build Bridges tells the story of activists, software developers, artists, and everyday people who have built the fediverse - a large, noncentralized, alternative social media system. In contrast to big tech corporations like Meta, TikTok, or X, the fediverse is comprised of thousands of small, independent communities who use a powerful internet protocol to communicate with one another. These small communities can govern themselves and moderate content at the human scale - in stark contrast to the global and advertiser-friendly interests of Meta or X. |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | "Better social media is possible. Move Slowly and Build Bridges is the story of activists, software developers, artists, and everyday people who have built the fediverse, a noncentralized alternative social media system. Unlike big tech corporations like Facebook, TikTok, or X, the fediverse is comprised of thousands of small, independent communities who use a Web protocol to communicate with one another. These small communities govern themselves and moderate content at the human scale—compare that to Facebook and X, which try to moderate global conversations. And the fediverse isn't built in order to gather user data and sell attention to marketers—it's a more privacy-respecting social media alternative. The most notable part of the fediverse is Mastodon. Founded in 2016, Mastodon was positioned as an alternative to Twitter. Like Twitter (or X), Mastodon members can post, like, share, and connect with one another across the world. Unlike Twitter/X, Mastodon can be completely under the control of its members, from how it's run to its underlying software. Making a noncentralized, ethically run social media system isn't easy. The people building the fediverse have faced long hours, burnout, angry debates, and, worst of all, bigotry, death threats, and discrimination. They face constant, nagging doubts: Can we really do this? Can noncentralized social media survive in a world that is used to corporate social media? Can we—all of us—have our own social media? As Move Slowly and Build Bridges shows us, the answer is yes, but it's going to take a struggle"-- Oxford Academic. |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource |
| Audience: | Specialized. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780197776711 019777671X 9780197776698 0197776698 9780197776704 0197776701 |