Before Mastodon’s Rise

Long before the Fediverse we had decentralized systems for many years. We used email, calendar, blogs, bulletin board systems, newsgroups, IRC and text messages to connect, invite others to events and just chat with our community. Internet protocols like SMTP, DNS and HTTP were designed to connect networks made up of many different systems all over the planet. Services like Mastodon are not the first distributed systems to connect millions of people.

You do not need deep technical knowledge to run a server to be connected to a community. It is now easier than ever to create a website, publish a newsletter and host a forum using free software. It is also often free or very affordable with so many cloud providers. Right now you can buy your own domain and set up your own platform that you control and reach your community on your terms. The illusion that platforms are controlled by large, centralized corporations was never real. Remember that.

Google’s search engine became valuable because it indexed more content than other search engines when it first started. That content was not created by Google. Instagram has value because users post photos and videos. Facebook does the same along with making it easy to plan events and organize into groups around a shared interest. These big companies have monetized the content others create. What if instead of just making this content easily accessible on the platforms these companies control we go back to what made the Internet such a transformational force?

Maybe you don’t want to delete your accounts on these centralized platforms. That is understandable. It is where you’ve connected with your friends for a long time and walking away would be hard. But that does not mean it is the only place you can post content and stay connected with them. In fact, you could start posting on your own blog or newsletter and put links on Mastodon while still posting on other platforms. As more and more people spend less and less time using Meta apps they will have a way to stay connected with you. Many have already stopped using Facebook and Instagram.

Many who have left the Birdsite are now on Mastodon and the conversations have continued like nothing has changed. If you don’t have your own domain, blog or Mastodon account yet now is a good time to consider it. Here’s a short list to get started.

1. Buy a domain that you will own and control for years to come.
2. Decide where you will host your own website with your domain.
3. Set up your website which will link to all of your accounts everywhere.
4. Put the link to the website that uses your domain on all your profiles.
5. Ask all your friends to include the link to your website in their contacts.

Mastodon now has more than 10 million active users. It is built on a W3C standard called ActivityPub. You can think of it like a blog with much more powerful features. There are other apps in the Fediverse which are also built on ActivityPub. You can even find ways to integrate your own website with ActivityPub. (See: Wordpress ActivityPub plugin) Before you know it you will be posting to the platform that you control under your own domain and you will still be connected with all your friends, family and co-workers. (See: What’s a Domain Name?)

If you have questions, feel free to ask either here or find me on Mastodon. There are also a ton of resources to get you through these 5 steps. There are also many cloud providers which will help you buy your own domain and host everything on their service for a small fee. And since you own and control your own domain you can always decide to move to another service. You will have full control.