The Exploring Mastodon mini series is complete. Here's everything.
Four posts on how the open social web works - from federation basics to server governance. Also out: free ebook + 57-min audiobook.
Governance Is the New Differentiator: AI Policy, Moderation, and the Truth Social Cautionary Tale
Part 3 of Exploring Mastodon - the final post in this mini-series. Part 1 maps the AI policy spectrum. Part 2 covers the communities that give the network its texture. This post is the governance layer underneath both.
Place, Language, and Craft: The Communities That Give Mastodon Its Texture
Part 2 of Exploring Mastodon, a three-part mini-series inside the broader Exploring the Fediverse series. If you're new here, Part 1 covers the overall shape of the network: how instances work, why donation economics matter, and what AI policy reveals about a community's values.
Mastodon Isn't One Place — It's a Constellation of Communities
Part 1 of Exploring Mastodon, a three-part mini-series inside the broader Exploring the Fediverse series. Mastodon is just a constellation of communities sharing one open protocol - to choose your home, pick a neighborhood.
The Reason AI Makes the Open Web More Necessary — and Easier to Build On
AI is flooding mainstream platforms with synthetic content while simultaneously making self-hosted, creator-owned infrastructure easier to run than ever. That's not a coincidence. It's an opportunity.
What the #$*! is a Fediverse?
The internet used to be connected. Then it wasn't. Here's the movement trying to fix that — and why it matters for every creator online.
Your Social Graph Doesn't Belong To You
Why creators are renting their audience instead of owning it — and what that actually costs.