What is the “Fediverse”?
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Fediverse is a portmanteau of federated and universe. It is basically a network of servers that can communicate with each other using open protocols (like ActivityPub). There is no single person or thing in control of the network. Individuals can participate in the network through their own servers or by joining servers that already exist.
Mastodon is an example of a federated network in the fediverse for microblogging. This is in contrast with something like Twitter which is a closed system entirely controlled by Twitter.
The fediverse is attractive because it gives individuals more control over their experience and data (see what’s happening over at Twitter right now).
Fediverse is short for federated universe. A federation is a union of self-governing entities. The USA being an example where the 50 states have their own laws, police and court system that manage their own internal affairs but have joined together in a union. The fediverse is a similar union of self governed social media sites which share content between themselves. So they appear as a single service even though they are made up of lots of self-governed services.
The best known fediverse is Mastadon which is often seen as a replacement for Twitter. Each site have their own rules and moderators but you can seamlessly follow people and tags on other sites. And replies will get shared back to the people you mention even if they are on other sites. Because of this federated structure there is no single entity controlling the entire fediverse. For reddit like social media the most popular now is kbin.
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Finally, a universe where we can all be in control! No more waiting for alien overlords. Count me in!
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