Recently, Ghost announced that their new ActivityPub offering is available in public beta. The company has been famously public with documenting their development, soliciting feedback from the wider community about how their integration should work. We took some time today to explore the beta, and showcase what the system can currently do. Keep in mind, these are still early stages for the platform, and there’s a lot of development happening behind the scenes.

The New Timeline

The first big change you’ll likely notice is that Ghost’s dashboard now incorporates a timeline under the Home tab. The layout is simple and minimalist, and breaks out into several different sections: Inbox, Feed, Notifications, Explore, and Profile.

Inbox vs Feed

One interesting design choice involves how content is split up between views. Long-form articles from your subscriptions show up in the Inbox, but general statuses instead land in the Feed. This seems like a good design decision, since Ghost is trying to straddle the line between being a social reader, and a general microblogging platform. You can easily keep track of your subscriptions and reading list, while also being able to move at a much faster pace on the timeline.

In our testing, we followed a variety of different actors from across the Fediverse, including our ActivityPub-enabled WordPress site. Happily, our articles showed up in the Inbox without a hitch, and clicking on one opened up a clean reader view. This all happens without navigating away from your position in the Inbox or the Timeline.

Clicking on profiles also renders a social view for any Actor recognized by Ghost’s platform. There are still a few hiccups here: remote profiles can be a bit slow to load, and posts don’t always show up right away. Given that this is still a beta, it’s very likely that Ghost will continue to focus on performance improvements.

Social Interactions

So, what does the experience of using Ghost’s social dashboard feel like? Honestly, it’s pretty slick. It’s hard to measure exactly how well the design nails the overall experience, considering I just set my own Ghost site up two days ago. As more interactions come in, this will be easier to measure.

Publishing

A form for status updates sits at the top of the feed, and it’s minimalist and unobtrusive. At the moment, it’s not particularly fleshed-out: hashtags, mentions, polls, visibility scopes, quote posts, and attachments don’t currently exist. This is something that I really hope to see improve in the short term, given that most of the Fediverse supports these basic features.

Notifications

Notifications are also pretty simple here, but they look nice and can stack together when multiple people perform the same interaction. It might be nice to have the ability to filter notifications and view them by type, but this is a pretty decent start.

Commenting and Discussions

One really nice affordance Ghost makes involves how comments work. Prior to this new development, Ghost historically did not natively support comments, and the main workaround most people relied on was to integrate Disqus or another third-party commenting system. Now, social commenting is supported in several places: on the feed, in side discussions, and on article entries themselves.

One slight annoyance here is that the commenting system technically supports threaded conversations, but doesn’t do the best job at showing which parts of a thread have replies. You kind of just have to click in to a section and hope to see some responses.

Search and Discovery

Currently, search and discovery are pretty limited. Ghost offers an Explore tab that highlights a number of featured accounts across the Fediverse, but it’s a short list. Search, on the other hand, just lets you look up people through their ActivityPub handles. It works, but it would be nice to be able to pull in remote content the way other Fediverse platforms do.

The biggest opportunity here involves Ghost’s expansive user base. There are a huge amount of Ghost publications out there. As more people and organizations opt into the beta, it would be great to see a similar design to how Ghost’s publication explore page works.

Things We’d Love to See

This is more of a “wish list” than it is a set of defined expectations, but we think there are some things Ghost could do to really shine.

• Privacy Scopes / Settings: some people will inevitably want to make some or all of their posts private, or choose not to be searchable on the network. Right now, this new timeline and integration lack any sort of configuration.
• Profile Customization: Currently, Ghost doesn’t really let you customize your Social Web profile. Sure, you can see it, and it’s populated with data from your publication. However, some people are going to want to set an avatar and a header that don’t necessarily match their publication settings.
• Rich Interactions: it would be great if the publisher modal could support hashtags, mentions, quote posts, polls, attachments, and visibility scopes. These are general baseline features supported by most Fediverse platforms to some degree.
• Mastodon API: An increasing amount of Fediverse platforms leverage the Mastodon API to make use of the many, many Mastodon apps out there. In lieu of an official Ghost mobile app, this would be a great way for people to stay tapped in to the Social Web with very little friction.
• Identity Migration: I would love to move my whole Fediverse identity onto Ghost at some point. The WordPress-ActivityPub plugin has recently started supporting this, but being able to “move with your feet” is a great feature.
• Discovery / Explore: Let us find existing Ghost publications that have ActivityPub enabled! Let us subscribe directly through the protocol!
• Template / Theme Support: From a design perspective, I would love to find a way to incorporate my status updates into my blog’s theme. This is something we’ve been experimenting on with WordPress, and it would be cool to see more publishing platforms support this.

The Bottom Line

Overall, the future is looking really bright! Ghost has done a phenomenal job in talking about their progress and findings in their ActivityPub Newsletter, and their product is really starting to take shape. I ended up migrating my personal blog over for testing purposes, but I think I’m going to stick with it. What Ghost is promising in slick, polished, and works incredibly well. If they can focus on smoothing the rough edges, it will be a huge win for Fediverse publishing.

There’s an interesting schism happening in the Fediverse, illustrating two competing visions for the network. One advocates for massive growth and universal adoption as a means for changing the shape of the Web. The other advocates for a smaller, more personal network shaped by individual consent and intention.

In a nutshell, this debate is what we could call “Big Fedi vs Small Fedi“. As platforms such as Threads and Flipboard bring massive amounts of new people to the network, a different group is embracing the concept of “Island Networks”.

What is an Island Network?

Island Networks take the concept of federation, and leverage it on a scale where individual operators choose who they want to connect to. The community is made up of smaller servers, usually with a capacity for a small amount of people on each, and federation is done with an allowlist-only model by admins.

One approach to this is Website League, an island network that aims to use Fediverse technology to build its own member community.

The Website League, as a “federated” system, is a collection of small social media sites that are connected together (as compared to being one big one, like Twitter or Cohost).

You can sign up for any of those websites; users on any website can see posts and follow users from any website in the League. Instead of a username, users have an address that works like an email address: “@username@website.org.” You don’t need to know anything technical, or how to make a website, to participate.

There are a few interesting caveats that member sites have to take into consideration. Operators are required to disable all forms of post metrics, remove the federated timeline, and disallow users from seeing or accessing each others’ follower / following lists. The Website League describes these as dark patterns, which drive unhealthy interactions within social media.

Website League volunteers have been busy developing a governance framework to help guide instance admins on how to work within their system. Patches have been developed for GoToSocial and Akkoma, to provide allowlist-only communications. The ultimate goal is to provide all of the information an instance admin needs, while taking out the complexity required to participate.

Upsides and Downsides

Island Networks are a fascinating experiment in leveraging open technologies to build safe spaces with unified sets of policies and vetted communities. Theoretically, this could be one approach to building dedicated federated communities without having to connect to countless servers across the network. In thinking about this paradigm shift, I wanted to break things down between potential benefits, and potential liabilities.

Upsides

• Unified Governance: to be allowed to participate in a given island network, each instance is required to adopt an overarching set of policies and norms, although individual instances can apply more rules for their own server. In theory, this could provide an inclusive and friendly social framework for network participants.
• Intentional Connections: because servers only connect to one another through an allowlist, interaction with servers outside of the island network is impossible. This could potentially cut down on trolling and harassment, while providing a cozy space for people who actually want to talk to each other.

Downsides

• Limited Reach: Given the nature of Island Networks, people can’t realistically expect for their posts to move outside of their mutual server connections. This is by design, but this option would effectively trade a larger communication reach for more direct, intimate forms of personal conversation.
• Admin Fiefdom: instance admins in the Fediverse today tend to have total control over their respective community servers, and can easily block entire communities at their own discretion. Sometimes, this can be wildly abused due to personal vendettas. Can an island’s social contract reduce this from happening?
• Weaponized Ostracism: When the main thing holding your community together is unified governance and intentional connections, the prospect of being banned from the entire network can create some weird dynamics and incentives. Granted, banning an instance is kind of the nuclear option, but the idea of being cut off from the network entirely is definitely something to think about.

How do I Join?

For now, the Website League is in early stages. The best way to get in touch would be to join the Coordination system, announce your intentions, and request access to the project’s shared allowlist. Get your instance added to the list, import it, and you should be able to get your initial connections to the rest of the island network.

FediForum is a virtual “unconference” that meets twice a year to showcase new developments, hold community discussions across a variety of important subjects, and give members of the wider Fediverse an opportunity to connect. For the most part, it’s been a successful effort to bring the network together and talk about ideas and future directions worth taking. However, the event has recently found itself at the center of controversy, and has been subsequently canceled.

Transphobia From a Co-Organizer

One recent development still fresh within community awareness involves Kaliya “IdentityWoman” Young, co-organizer of the unconference alongside Johannes Ernst. Community members recently stumbled into problematic rhetoric made by Kaliya regarding her position on transgender athletes in women’s sports.

Sex isn’t a “gender orientation” it is really simple biology.

Gamete size – its really simple.

Stop confusing young autistic vulnerable people.

— Date Unknown

You think it IS moral to have male-bodied people who identify as trans women playing in elite comparative sport for female-bodied people?

Gender can be socially-constructed.

Sex is not. Female categories for sport where hard won. They need to stay female.

— April 8th, 2023

There are only two sexes.

Gender expression can be broad and have a vast range of possibilities – literally 100s if not 1000s.

Sex denialism is dangerous.

We can have both things together. 2 sexes, 1000s of genders.

— Jul 10th, 2023

Telling male children who have feminine tights they must be female is what is happening and it is hurting boys.

Go listen to detransitioners and what has happened as the culture has gone competely bonkers confusing sex and gender.

— March 31st, 2023

There are more receipts floating around, however Kaliya appears to have deleted most of her Mastodon posts and marked her X account as Protected. These statements stand in stark contrast to her latest Mastodon statuses.

I fully acknowledge the right of trans people to exist, thrive and live their lives to the fullest with equal rights and dignity. They have always been welcome at events I have helped organize over the last 20 years.

— March 29th, 2025

When asked whether she still held her more problematic views in a follow-up comment, Young responded ambiguously with “I fully stand by the statement you are commenting on.”

Community Response

Within the following 24 hours of the community learning about these statements, a number of prominent community figures have signaled an intent to withdraw from FediForum entirely, citing a sense of discomfort and lack of safety for event attendees. A number of people have stated a desire to form an alternate event, and are currently discussing details.

Official Updates

Johannes Ernst stepped forward shortly afterwards with a public update:

In the past day or so, it was pointed out that my FediForum co-organizer has made some public statements that are incompatible with the kind of community we want to bring together at FediForum, and that I personally disagree with. Accordingly, Kaliya and I have agreed that she will be transitioning out of FediForum.

— March 30th, 2025

This response rang hollow for some community members, and raised more questions about whether or not Young would still be attending the event or getting paid from the proceeds. One day later, FediForum posted an official update to clarify matters.

Organizational update: FediForum, this time, is organized entirely by @j12t . The previous co-organizer is no longer involved.

Johannes’ previous announcement said “transitioning out” because there were a lot of accounts to transfer and settings to change and responsibilities to be moved so the transition could not be immediate. However, we have been scrambling and believe it is now complete.

(It is possible we missed something. If so, please point this out, gently if possible :-))

— March 31st, 2025

While this more or less resolves the immediate issue, the organization continues to receive criticism for its management, communication, and handling of the situation.

Official Cancellation

In a series of posts, the FediForum account officially confirmed the event will be held at a later date. The transcription can be read below.

We’ve all had a difficult few days. Tempers are high. Some of what’s been happening in the Fediforum comments section has reached insult-only stage and I have heard of physical safety concerns.

This is needs to stop, right now, none of this helps anybody.

So hold it, people.

FediForum April 1-2 is canceled, to be rescheduled at a future date.

In this environment, it is hard for me to see how a typical FediForum event could be successful tomorrow or the day after, we all need a time out. So I’m pulling the plug right now.

Registration is disabled as of now. Everybody who has a ticket can ask for a full refund. If you don’t, we will credit the purchase price for a future FediForum. Use the e-mail on our contact page https://fediforum.org/contact/

My apologies to the people who have diligently prepared for demos, presentations and sessions, and all of you who just wanted to come and help build a better social media future at FediForum.

We will create opportunity for you in the future, even if it’s a little hazy right now how and when this future will come to pass. Thanks for your understanding.

As next steps forward, we will be organizing a set of roundtables to listen to the FediForum community, to hear how we can do better — with a reconstituted organizing team. I clearly am not able to do this myself.

We want to do this with the community, and with all parts of the community, including trans folks, black people, and the many other marginalized groups that are under attack from so many directions these days. We want to do what we can to stand with you.

We will start this discussion tomorrow morning, right at the time when FediForum was supposed to start. We scrap the agenda that we were supposed to have, and make it a townhall or roundtable listening session, depending on how many people show.

We have the online venue, you probably have reserved time for FediForum and have received invite codes already, we might as well use it.

This one time, the roundtable / townhall will be for people who have invite codes already from their FediForum registration, to hopefully keep the size manageable. In the future, we will broaden participation.

I realize now that have made a number of mistakes in the past few days, as well as before, top of which is that I have not communicated better — in both directions. Some misunderstandings as well as real problems could have been avoided.

Thanks everybody who pointed this out. We/I need to fix this and do better, and I appreciate your help.

But I own this. So: sorry!

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Mastodon’s work to highlight their platform to journalists led to the opportunity to host an aperitivo, with special guests Save Social, at the International Journalism Festival (April 9th – 13th, 2025) in Perugia, Italy.

IJF brings together people from across the news industry to talk about the issues they face and celebrate the work they are doing. This year, Big Tech was one of the topics that dominated the panel discussions.

Bonjourno Mastodon

Mastodon, represented by Andy Piper, Head of Communications, Felix Hlatky, CFO, and Philip Schröpel, Head of Staff, brought together supporters of the open social web, Big Tech-disbelievers, and curious locals to a small bar nestled in the old walls of Perugia.

Understanding that many in the audience were unfamiliar with Mastodon, Piper introduced the social platform to the room, highlighting the benefits for journalists. This included the work to highlight article authors, using the byline feature that rolled out in July last year, and emphasis on the value of links to external publications.

Mastodon promised new tools to track referrals through links would be rolling out across the network soon but were already live on mastodon.social – the server run by the Mastodon team.

Looking Ahead

Hlatky spoke of Mastodon’s future as an organisation and their ongoing work to transition from a German gGmbH to a new European nonprofit. He acknowledged internal work to restructure and remove single ownership from Mastodon claiming, “No one gives you money if one owner can run away with it.”

There was a strong message that Mastodon wanted what is best for their users, rather than their pockets. A stark contrast to the Big Tech platforms that had been discussed across the Festival.

To echo the sentiment, Mastodon then invited Björn Staschen from Save Social to speak.

Save Social

Save Social is a predominantly German-speaking effort to turn away from Big Tech social media platforms and strengthen alternatives. In less than three months, their petition has reached 200,000 signatures.

“We, as a society, have to be part of the solution,” said Staschen. “We want to strengthen alternative platforms. Ensure freedom of expression by creating diversity and transparency.”

Converting Attendees

When it came to joining Mastodon, Schröpel admitted there are “multiple ways”, but that the Mastodon team are able to support individuals and organisations in setting up their own instance or offer advice on the network.

However, joining the platform continues to be a barrier for many users. A group of Italian women who attended the event abandoned their short effort to join the platform half-way into the presentation, confused about where to go and which app to use.

Alongside presenting Mastodon as an alternative platform, the aperitivo offered one of the only opportunities to take tangible action against Big Tech at IJF – attracting doers, rather than the commentators that lined the panels of the main event.

Wrapping Up

“There’s a mix of people in this room right now with the same instincts we have to save democracy,” Piper said in his closing remark, encouraging collaboration and action.

Based on the panels at IJF 2025, journalists are more worried than ever about the role they play in democracy. Witnessing the actions of the White House, many journalists are now calling for an “EU alternative” to Big Tech platforms.

Mastodon now has the opportunity to present themselves as the EU alternative and help journalists protect democracy.

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Bandwagon, the music-sharing platform built on Emissary, has seen a lot of success over the past few months. The site has grown to a catalogue of over 300 different musicians, spanning a wide range of different sounds and genres. After refining search and discovery features, project lead Ben Pate has decided to focus on introducing a payment system for music sales.

What’s Coming

This new payment system allows for ways to financially support artists on the Fediverse, and the levels of support resemble a hybrid of what both Bandcamp and Patreon offer. Not only does this feature include line items for digital media, but a new mechanism for access and distribution. Additionally, the flagship instance of Bandwagon.fm will be taking 0% of any money musicians make.

Premier Plans

To support development, Bandwagon’s flagship instance will be offering a $10 per month Premier plan that allows musicians to sell their music and offer their tracks at a higher bit-rate, among other features. To support the artist community, a number of Fediverse musicians will likely be gifted a lifetime Premier membership for free.

Album and Track Purchases

Once this feature becomes available to musicians, they will be able to configure a Merchant account to dictate what items they want to include for purchase. This could cover individual tracks, EP’s, or entire albums. It’s also possible to configure Support Levels with monthly billing.

When someone buys music through Bandwagon, their purchases get added to a profile. If you’re a native Bandwagon user, those live in your account. If you’re visiting from another platform, purchased items instead live in a special Guest Profile that can be connected to a Fediverse identity.

Special Access

Another new feature unique to Bandwagon is the concept of Circles. These are special, privileged collections of followers who can pay to access exclusive content: special album drops, rare tracks, secret shows, and private “behind the scenes” posts can all be accessed by premium followers.

What’s remarkable about this system is how things are tied together: this mechanism checks for payment, recognizes a Fediverse handle, and grants access on that basis. Previously, other systems needed to provision this kind of thing manually: you might have been able to pay for something through Stripe or PayPal, but there wasn’t always a way to account for a user’s Fediverse identity afterwards. Instead, that all had to be dealt with by hand.

This also means that it’s possible to create multiple kinds of support levels, which could give a Bandwagon musician profile almost Patreon-like functionality. Different support tiers could receive access to different things, allowing rewards to stack with the level of donations. One level might receive private blog posts, whereas another might have access to a monthly track plus access to private blog posts.

Alternate Payment Methods

For the time being, Bandwagon will support Stripe and PayPal when the feature launches. However, Ben has stated an interest in supporting many more payment processors, in the hopes of providing choice to artists and buyers:

Bandwagon will build integrations with private companies (lots of them, actually) but we will never depend on any one specific company. Open APIs are best, but when those are unavailable, we’ll connect directly to Stripe, PayPal, or anyone who can deliver benefits for indie artists. But If I have to integrate with one merchant provider to accept payments, then I’ll integrate with two, or seven, or as many as we can to guarantee that the companies we work with cannot abuse their position with monopoly power.

The project has also stated having zero interest in implementing support for cryptocurrencies. However, given that Bandwagon is an open source project, it wouldn’t be that surprising to see third parties build in support for various crypto payments for their respective communities.

Looking at the Big Picture

On the surface, these new features are big milestones for supporting the Fediverse music community. If we dig a little deeper, we’ll find that everything powering this new experience is part of the underlying Emissary platform. This is one more tool in Emissary’s arsenal for developers to build distinct services with donations, payments, and commerce in mind. Maybe in the future, we’ll see new kinds of Emissary apps that could act as replacements for DeviantArt, Nebula, or GameDev Market.

There’s a reason this development is so important: the Fediverse today lacks any kind of commerce. While it’s possible to support people out-of-band through things like Patreon or OpenCollective, the reality is that the experience is pretty fragmented. Being able to support artists, musicians, game designers, open source developers, and instance admins are a necessity for growing a healthy Fediverse. If we could build standardized support for this kind of market commerce across different platforms, it could have a huge impact on the network’s ability to sustain itself.