Decentralization Reaches a Turning Point: 2024 in review

The steady rise of decentralized networks this year is transforming social media.  Platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads are still in their infancy but have already shown that when users are given options, innovation thrives and it results in better tools and protections for our rights online. By moving towards a digital landscape that can’t be monopolized by one big player, we also see broader improvements to network resiliency and user autonomy.

The Steady Rise of Decentralized Networks

Fediverse and Threads

The Fediverse, a wide variety of sites and services most associated with Mastodon, continued to evolve this year. Meta’s Threads began integrating with the network, marking a groundbreaking shift for the company. Only a few years ago EFF dreamed of the impact an embrace of interoperability would have for a company that is notorious for building walled gardens that trap users within its platforms. By allowing Threads users to share their posts with Mastodon and the broader fediverse (and therefore, Bluesky) without leaving their home platform, Meta is introducing millions to the benefits of interoperability. We look forward to this continued trajectory, and for a day when it is easy to move to or from Threads, and still follow and interact with the same federated community. 

Threads’ enormous user base—100 million daily active users—now dwarfs both Mastodon and Bluesky. Its integration into more open networks is a potential turning point in popularizing the decentralized social web. However, Meta’s poor reputation on privacy,This article has been indexed from Deeplinks