Here you can read about what alternative social media there are, how to join Fediverse platforms, and for microblogging specifically, deciding on Mastodon, Bluesky or both, or bridging.

still want to use social media? What are the alternatives?

Luckily there are alternative social media, which don’t have black box algorithms controlled by tech bros or ads and don’t try to lock you in. You can set up on alternative social media, and then transition from X and other toxic platforms to your new social media account(s).

Alternatives are Fediverse platforms (including Mastodon, Pixelfed, PeerTube) and Bluesky (which is not in the Fediverse but adopts similar practices). Although X and similar platforms try to lock you in by not giving you straightforward ways of re-establishing your social network on another platform, there are tools such as openportability.org which have been developed by open source developers to help you get around this – see our how-to guide. And once you are in the Fediverse, you can freely change your server and your algorithms while keeping your social network (followers/followings).

Here is an introductory video about the Fediverse. Here are some links to help you learn more about the Fediverse: jointhefediverse.net joinfediverse.wiki fediverse.info fedi.tips fedi.directory . connectedplaces.online covers both the Fediverse and Bluesky. In true Fediverse style, these website guides are run by individuals or small groups of people, many of them volunteers, and not any large central organisation.

Here are some options for different purposes:

• Microblogging (similar to X) – Mastodon or Bluesky
• Image-based posting (similar to Instagram) – Pixelfed
• Video-sharing (similar to YouTube) – PeerTube
• Plus more ! See jointhefediverse.net/join for a full list of established Fediverse platforms. Also keep an eye out for new possibilities, developers of Pixelfed are now developing ethical alternatives to Snapchat and Tiktok called Sup and Loops.

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Joining Fediverse platforms: Mastodon, Pixelfed, PeerTube etc

In the Fediverse, your account may be on one server, but you can follow anyone on any server. It’s like email – whoever said that just because you use gmail and someone else uses yahoo mail that you can’t email each other? Of course not, because they use the same email protocol (called SMTP). The Fediverse is like this for social media. You don’t have to limit your followings/followers to the same server, because all servers in the Fediverse are using the same social media protocol (called ActivityPub).

When you join a Fediverse platform, you need to choose a server or instance. The server doesn’t matter in terms of you can follow or be followed by in the Fediverse.  However, the server name will normally be a visible part of your account link, so choose one which is appropriate for you or your organisation.  If you are based in a particular country, you could choose a server based in that country – e.g. mastodon.ie, mastodon.fr etc.  If not, you could choose a server which is focused on your values/interests, or a general server, for example mastodon.social has become a default Mastodon server, and you can go there to set up an account if you don’t want to choose another server.  If you want to choose a server, you might like to check background on the server, for example who are the server administrators, what moderation rules and processes do they have, are they not-for-profit and how are they funded. Fediverse platforms generally have a “join” website which lists our your server choices: joinmastodon.org, pixelfed.org, joinpeertube.org.

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Microblogging – Mastodon or Bluesky or both?

Mastodon and Bluesky are the two main alternatives to X.

Mastodon is a social networking microblogging software originally developed by Eugen Rochko, a German free software developer, and later expanded by a community of contributors. Its software is based on the Fediverse protocol, called ActivityPub, which decentralizes the social network into a federation of servers.

Bluesky is another social networking microblogging platform created as a company by Jack Dorsey, one of Twitter’s co-founders. Bluesky is developed by an American company with substantial funds at its disposal. It currently has more users than Mastodon. It is ahead in the development of algorithmic pluralism, with everyone able to design or choose the recommendation algorithm that suits them best. It is based on an open protocol they invented called the AT Protocol, which aims to be decentralized. Bluesky is not part of the Fediverse as it doesn’t use the Fediverse protocol. As of now, it is not practically possible to join the Bluesky network independently of the company. Thus, the promise of decentralization is not yet realized. To counter this excessive centralization, initiatives like Free our Feeds are currently promoting the development of independent micro-blogging platforms based on the AT Protocol that will be compatible with the Bluesky ecosystem. The recent support of Blockchain Capital, a company from the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, may also influence its business model in the future.

So if you want to micro-blog, you can use both Mastodon and Bluesky, or alternatively use one and bridge to the other. Bridging means connecting your profiles on different platforms, so you can follow, share, or interact across them more easily. You can use fed.brid.gy to bridge Mastodon and Bluesky and vice versa.

• Top recommendation! Set up accounts on both Mastodon and Bluesky. This has advantages that you will be “fully present” in both, be able to access all the features, and be able to follow as well as be followed in both. Disadvantage is that you would need post in both – though there are tools to facilitate this.

• Alternatively: Set up account on Mastodon and bridge to Bluesky using fed.brid.gy
  • You will have all the features of Mastodon including a presence in the Fediverse
  • Your account can still be followed by people who are in Bluesky, and they will see your posts in their feeds.
  • However you won’t be able to follow Bluesky-only accounts, and this can also impede the build up of your network.

• Another option: Set up account on Bluesky and bridge to Mastodon using fed.brid.gy
  • You will have all the features of Bluesky.
  • Your account can still be followed by people who are in Mastodon or the Fediverse, and they will see your posts in their feeds.
  • However, it is difficult to provide a link to your Fediverse presence, e.g. on your website, this way.

alternative social media how to join Fediverse Microblogging: Mastodon, Bluesky