WriteFreely is intended for people who want to publish long articles on the Fediverse where the focus is on the text, with as few distractions as possible.
You can find out more from the official WriteFreely website ⧉, which includes a list of servers you can sign up on ⧉.
Alternatively, if you want to start your own blogging community, you can start your own WriteFreely server either by installing it yourself ⧉, or if you’re non-technical you can use a managed hosting service ⧉.
If you have an independently hosted blog powered by WordPress, you can add a special plug-in that turns it into a Fediverse server. When the plug-in is installed, people will be able to follow and interact with your blog posts from Mastodon and other types of Fediverse server.
The plug-in is called ActivityPub for WordPress ⧉, and is named after the technical protocol that Fediverse servers use to communicate. Here’s how to install it:
If all has gone well, your blog should now be its own Fediverse server. It won’t look any different, but behind the scenes your blog will now have its own Fediverse account address. People can paste this address into the search box on Mastodon and other Fedi server types, and your blog will appear as a profile that they can follow and interact with.
You can find out your blog’s account address by going to the WordPress dashboard’s Users section and click on the user that writes the blog. Scroll down to the bottom of their profile options page and the Fedi address will be listed there. Give this address to anyone who wants to follow that user’s blog on Mastodon or the rest of the Fediverse.
They will see your blog posts on their Mastodon etc timelines! You can set it to show the entire blog post, or just a partial excerpt with a link to read more, or just the link. Replies to these posts can optionally become comments on the blog.
You can choose how posts are displayed by going to the ActivityPub option in your WordPress dashboard’s Settings menu. (This will be available after you’ve installed the plug-in.)
No, not at the moment.
Free blogs on wordpress.com do not allow installation of plug-ins. You will need an independently hosted WordPress-powered blog that allows plug-ins. The vast majority of independent web hosting companies offer WordPress with plug-ins even on their lowest-price hosting plans.
You can also use it with the paid tier on wordpress.com as this does allow plug-ins, but this tier is expensive compared to independently hosted options. You are probably better off going to an indie hosting company.
Nope. WordPress ⧉ is the free open source software that powers many blogs and websites, and it is available to use as standard on thousands of web hosting companies. It’s so common that hosting companies usually let you install it on their plans by just clicking a button.
WordPress.com is the most famous WordPress hosting company because it offers free blogs, in the hopes that people upgrade to a paid blog with them. However, because they offer free blogs they also have to charge a lot more for their paid tiers in order to cover their costs.
If you switch to an indie hosting company instead of wordpress.com, the indie companies’ monthly fees are usually a fraction of the price because they don’t need to cover the cost of any free users.
No. The plug-in turns the blog into its own Fediverse server, and the author accounts on the blog become Fediverse accounts with their own account addresses that include the domain name of the blog (such as @user@example.com).
Because Fediverse platforms are compatible with each other, people on Mastodon etc will be able to follow the blog’s authors, and they will see the blog posts on their home timelines as if they were ordinary Mastodon etc posts.
To find people to follow on Pixelfed, you can use most of the same techniques and directories that Mastodon etc. users use.
Pixelfed is not just about Pixelfed accounts! You can also follow non-Pixelfed accounts from elsewhere on the Fediverse like Mastodon etc. To follow a non-Pixelfed account, paste its Fediverse address into the search box within Pixelfed. The account’s profile will then appear in the search results and you can click Follow to follow it.
After you follow them, non-Pixelfed posts will start appearing in your timeline but they will look just like Pixelfed posts, and you can interact with them in exactly the same way. The process is so seamless you probably won’t notice they’re from another type of server.
By default, Pixelfed only shows posts that include an attached image. If you want to see text-only posts as well, log into your Pixelfed account and go to Settings > Timelines > Show text-only posts, tick the box and click Submit.
Pixelfed is a photo and image sharing network on the Fediverse with a photo-oriented interface that includes albums, filters, moments etc. You can follow Pixelfed accounts from Mastodon, and Mastodon accounts from Pixelfed.
See the official site at pixelfed.org ⧉ to find out more.
The official site has a curated list of servers to join ⧉.
Server website interface:
You don’t have to use an app at all if you don’t want to. Pixelfed can be used entirely through a server’s website on computers and smartphones, and has a good web interface. If you do want to use an app, there are a number of options (see below).
Dedicated Android apps:
Dedicated iPhone apps:
Mastodon apps:
Pixelfed is compatible with the Mastodon API so you can also use Mastodon apps with PixelFed accounts if you want. However, some Pixelfed-specific features may not be available.
If you are not technical you can host your own Pixelfed server through managed hosting ⧉, or if you are slightly techy you can use tools like YunoHost ⧉. If you are very techy and just want to install and maintain a server without any help, see the official documentation here ⧉.
PeerTube is a video server for the Fediverse, and allows anyone to start their own independent video site.
PeerTube videos are distributed using clever peer-to-peer technology which means the more people watch a video the more bandwidth it will receive. This allows even smaller servers to host viral videos without needing data centres.
If you just want to watch, like, comment and subscribe to PeerTube video accounts, you can do all of those things entirely from within Mastodon. You can follow PeerTube accounts the same way you follow Mastodon accounts, and they have similar account addresses too.
When you follow a PeerTube account from Mastodon, new videos published by that account will appear in your Mastodon timeline, and they will look exactly like ordinary Mastodon posts but with a video embedded in them. If you like one of these posts, it will show as a thumbs up for that video on PeerTube, and if you reply to one of these posts it will show up as a comment on PeerTube.
Of course, you can do all these things within PeerTube as well, but then you would have to have a PeerTube account. Having a PeerTube account also lets you create playlists, save videos for later and upload your own videos.
You can discover interesting PeerTube videos and accounts by following FediVideo on Mastodon ⧉. There’s a also a playlist of all the recommended videos here ⧉.
If you want to publish videos on PeerTube, you will need a PeerTube account. These can be requested from PeerTube servers which are open for new sign-up requests.
Some good servers to sign up on include spectra.video ⧉, diode.zone ⧉, makertube.net ⧉ and tilvids.com ⧉. There are lots more servers out there, but it’s best to stick to responsibly run ones.
Bear in mind you can only request an account, there is no guarantee your request will be accepted. Videos take up a lot of space on servers, and the server owners are generally supported by donations from users, so they may not always have room to accept new users.
PeerTube accepts uploads in lots of different video and audio formats. Here’s a complete list:
.webm, .ogv, .ogg, .mp4, .mkv, .mov, .qt, .mqv, .m4v, .flv, .wmv, .avi, .3gp, .3gpp, 3g2, 3gpp2, .nut, .mts, .m2ts, .mpv, .m2v, .m1v, .mpg, .mpe, .mpeg, .vob, .mxf, .mp3, .wma, .wav, .flac, .aac, .m4a, .ac3
If you upload an audio file, you can optionally add a still image as artwork. if you don’t add artwork, the audio file will play over a black background.
There’s lots of info on the official PeerTube website ⧉. If you just want to see an example of a working PeerTube server, TILvids.com ⧉ is a pretty good one.
You can use PeerTube servers through web browsers on any platform, and there are also Android apps such as FediLab and TubeLab ⧉.
You can follow any PeerTube account through RSS if you prefer. Just go to the account’s web page on PeerTube and open the options menu next to the “Subscribe” button. One of the options will be to subscribe via RSS, which will include the account’s feed address.
If you want to start your own PeerTube server, the easiest option by far is to use a managed hosting service ⧉ as that requires no technical knowledge. If you are techy though, a trickier but cheaper option is to use YunoHost on a VPS ⧉. The most difficult but most flexible option is to install it manually using the official documentation ⧉.
OwnCast is sort of the Fediverse’s alternative to Twitch, and lets people set up their own independent live streaming servers which form part of the Fediverse. People can follow OwnCast accounts from Mastodon etc. and they’ll see a post in their timeline when the stream goes live.
You can find out more about it on the official OwnCast website ⧉. If you just want to see what it looks like in action, there’s a demo server that streams 24/7 ⧉.
To discover streamers, there’s an official directory of streamers ⧉, there’s a bot you can follow ⧉ which posts about new streamers, and you can follow FediVideos ⧉ which boosts interesting streams (as well as other kinds of videos on the Fediverse).
If you want to try following a stream from Mastodon etc, click on the stream’s Follow button (the one with the rainbow Fediverse logo on it). This button is usually just below the video window in the desktop view. Alternatively, you may see people mentioning a stream in posts, and clicking on the mention will bring up its profile including a follow button.
OwnCast runs on free open source software, so anyone is allowed to set up their own server. You will need a bit of technical knowledge to do this, but there are various options to make it easier explained at the quickstart guide ⧉.
Mobilizon is an event platform for the Fediverse which lets people and groups create events pages where participants can sign up, even if they don’t have an account. There’s lots more info on the official Mobilizon website ⧉.
Organisers can create a Mobilizon account on an existing server, or even start their own server if they prefer. Once an account is created, the organisers can use it to post event info pages where participants can say whether they are attending.
Mobilizon accounts can be followed from Mastodon etc, and when new events are added these will appear in followers’ timelines. They can then click through to the info page where they can find out more and say if they are interested.
Microblog.pub is a lightweight privacy-friendly single user ActivityPub server with a minimalist interface, whose accounts can be followed from other ActivityPub platforms including Mastodon etc. The platform features both short form notes and long form articles, and supports markdown formatting.
You’ll need some technical knowledge to install it as it’s not yet available through managed hosting. There’s more info about it on the official microblog website ⧉ and if you are familiar with server software you can find installation instructions here ⧉.
GoToSocial is a new kind of Fediverse server which emphasises user safety, and is currently under development in alpha testing. If you’re a techy person, you can find out more from the official GoToSocial technical documentation site ⧉. It is still in its very very early stages though, not ready for prime time yet, and they would appreciate support in order to get to a release version more quickly ⧉.
The aim of GTS is protect users from trolls and other nasty people through either traditional blocklists or allowlists instead. Allowlists mean that all other servers are blocked automatically, and only servers specifically named in the allowlist are allowed access. Allowlists are the safest possible option for a federated server, though they do make it harder to discover new servers. It’s up to a server’s owner to decide where the balance between safety and discovery lies, and GTS aims to give them more options when deciding on a good balance.
GTS is also unusual because it doesn’t include a website interface, it can only be used through third party apps. Fortunately, it supports the Mastodon API which means it can be used through any Mastodon app, and there are lots of those for all platforms ⧉.
Friendica is a sort of Swiss Army knife of the Fediverse: it lets you follow and interact with Mastodon accounts, but it also lets you do a lot of things that other Fediverse server types can’t do. It can be more complicated to use, but if you can get the hang of it it offers features that other server types don’t have.
The website version of Friendica has an interface a bit like Facebook from a few years ago, lets you make long posts with no character limits, and follow accounts from all across the Fediverse including Mastodon etc. As well as posts, Friendica lets you create and share calendars, photo galleries and groups (though the groups work very differently to those on Facebook).
You can also follow RSS feeds, and each RSS post will appear in your home timeline as if it was from a normal account on the Fediverse, so it can be replied to or shared with others (the original RSS feed creator will not know about it though). Additionally, you can turn RSS feeds into specific Fediverse accounts that people on other Fedi server types can follow.
If you’re on the old Diaspora social network, you can use Friendica as a stepping stone to the Fediverse as it has compatibility with both. From Friendica you can follow Fedi accounts on Mastodon etc. and also Diaspora accounts, with everything displayed in one feed.
There is no dedicated Friendica app, but you can use it with most Mastodon apps, and if you have an Android device you can use the Fedilab app ⧉.
More info is available from the official Friendica website ⧉, and there are lists of servers to join on the Friendica directory ⧉.
You can bring your account data from many other book services into BookWyrm. Here’s how:
BookWyrm is the Fediverse’s alternative to Amazon’s GoodReads. You can find out more about it on the official website at JoinBookWyrm.com ⧉ and there’s a project account on the Fediverse at @bookwyrm@tech.lgbt ⧉ (also on RSS here ⧉).
BookWyrm servers let users keep track of which titles they’ve read, discover new books to read based on human recommendations (instead of algorithms), and publish their own reviews.
BookWyrm users can import their data from GoodReads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, OpenLibrary and Calibre, and there’s also a book catalogue built-in (based on information from Wikidata ⧉ and another Fediverse service Inventaire ⧉) if people want to add titles by hand. There’s also support for barcode scanning.
Because it’s part of the Fediverse, people on Mastodon etc. can also follow BookWyrm users’ accounts and see BookWyrm reviews appear in their timeline.
Under the terms of the BookWyrm project software, anyone (except corporations) can start their own BookWyrm server, and there’s a list of existing servers to join at joinbookwyrm.com/instances ⧉. If you are a top tier patron, you can also get a managed hosting service ⧉ where BookWyrm’s lead developer personally maintains your BookWyrm server so that you don’t have to do any technical stuff.
Mastodon uses an open API for its servers, which means that anyone can write a Mastodon app and it can make full use of all of Mastodon’s features. This openness means third party Mastodon apps get just as much access to Mastodon’s features as official apps do, and many third party Masto apps are actually better than the official one.
However, a side-effect of this openness is that non-Mastodon Fediverse platforms can also make themselves compatible with the Mastodon API. This means that Mastodon apps will work with those non-Mastodon Fedi platforms too. For example, you can sign in on a Mastodon app using your PixelFed account.
Not every Fedi platform supports this, but many do. The easiest way to find out whether it works is to download a free Mastodon app and try signing in.
(It should be noted that Mastodon’s developers don’t officially support this, and if it stops working you need to check with the maintainers of your Fediverse platform. They probably need to update their software so that it remains compatible with the Masto API.)