Post #1835192

2026-04-28 12:30 UTC

Growth has slowed on the open social web. We can’t win fighting Big Tech on their own turf: we need to move sideways. New ‘holdfasts’ won’t grow from protocols alone: we need to build communities. There are no concrete answers yet. Only emerging ones. #Fediverse #FediForum https://www.blog-pat.ch/moving-sideways-paths-to-growth/

Replies (3)

@michael@backend.newsmast.org 2026-04-28 12:35

Big thanks to @laurenshof@indieweb.social, @kissane@mas.to and @j12t@j12t.social for inspiration :)

Open ##2384338
@mister_shade02X2@mastodon.social 2026-04-28 14:13

@michael@backend.newsmast.org I worry that the technical arguments for decentralized social media are being overshadowed by the quality of the existing communities. People who come here and encounter regulars who are screaming that Joe Biden drinks the blood of children probably aren’t going to stick around, and may even conclude that the open social web is identical to Twitter. If the existing communities pushed back harder against its bad actors, maybe more people would see that, and engage more.

Open ##2384339
@ghostinthenet@hachyderm.io 2026-04-28 14:13

@michael@backend.newsmast.org It's a good beginning to the discussion. My 2¢? We've been sold an empty bill of goods with respect to the expectation of growth in the social space. If growth is a consideration at all, it's secondary to independence and community engagement.

Open ##2384340