"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 Facebook, TikTok, or X, the fediverse is comprised of thousands of small, independent communities who use an internet protocol to communicate with one another. These small communities govern themselves and moderate content at the human scale - compare that toFacebook or 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 itsmembers, from how it's run down 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"-- Provided by publisher.
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.
The Mastodon network is perhaps the most notable and successful platform in the fediverse. Founded in 2016, Mastodon has positioned itself as an alternative to Twitter -- one that can be completely under the control of its members, from it to its daily operations to it underlying software.
Making a noncentralized, ethically-run social media system is no easy task. The people building the fediverse have faced burnout, bigotry, angry debates, and death threats. And they face constant, nagging doubts: can we really do this? Can noncentralized social media survive? Can we -- all of us -- have our own social media? In this thoroughly researched book, Robert W. Gehl argues that the answer is yes -- but it won't be easy.
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. Making this ethically-run social media system is no easy task. Can it survive? Can we -- all of us -- have our own social media? in this thoroughly researched book, Robert W. Gehl argues that the answer is yes -- but it won't be easy.
