Brony Fediverse

What is the Fediverse?

The "Fediverse" is a collection of independent social media websites that can connect with each other. Think of it like a bunch of different neighborhoods in the same city, where you can visit friends and make new connections easily. You can call of any number of different neighborhoods home on the Fediverse, whether you want to live in a big apartment building with lots of other people and amenities or set up your own server all by itself in the countryside. If you ever want to move elsewhere, you can even freely take your follows and followers with you. Pretty neat, right?

The Fediverse acts as roads between everyone so you can interact with other users others no matter where you call home. It's a lot like email, but for social media. Compare email to the way most social media platforms work for example. Imagine if Gmail users could only email other Gmail users. Imagine if Outlook users could only email other Outlook users. That system would absolutely not be tolerated for email, yet we tend to accept that's just the way social media has to work.

Why can't an account on Facebook be followed on Twitter/X? Why can't you browse YouTube Shorts in the Instagram app? The simple answer is that these companies don't want to work together because it's in their best interests to keep you comfortable [and monetized] inside their walled gardens, isolated from competitors. The Fediverse is a revolutionary new way to look at social media where that garden is shared and cultivated by all!

Understanding Mastodon

One of the most popular parts of the Fediverse is Mastodon. It's for making micro-blogging posts similar to Twitter/X, but with a big difference: it's not just one website or company. Instead, Mastodon is software that anyone can use to create their own social media site, often called an instance or server. All these instances can connect, so you can follow friends across different sites. You're invited to choose an instance that aligns with your interests, moderation priorities, and community. However, you're not locked into just one instance. You can follow other accounts and be followed by others across the Fediverse! For example, if you want to follow a video creator on PeerTube [the Fediverse alternative to YouTube], you don't need to make another account. You can simply paste the user ID into your Mastodon search bar to follow them and see new posts on your timeline. That's just one of the many perks of Fediverse!

The best way to learn more is to jump in, and getting started is easy. First, you’ll need to choose a home instance. I linked some brony ones I've come across below, or you can browse the official server list on the Mastodon website. You can always migrate followers/follows to another server in the future, but posts usually remain on the server they're made to. Most servers are run by small teams and new members may need to be approved manually. You can join a large public server, a medium-sized community, or even make your own server if you know how to. Once you’ve chosen a home server, registered an account, and have been approved by a moderator, you can start using Mastodon! 

Unlike centralized social media, you may need to take some time to find accounts to follow. This is because there is no pushy algorithm on Mastodon and you only see posts in your home feed from people you specifically follow. A great way to find people to follow is to look in the local feed of relevant servers, or look at the follows/followers of existing accounts related to your interests. Remember: you can only log in with your username and password into the one server you call home. If you'd like to interact with an outside server, copying and pasting user IDs or post URLs into your search bar is probably the way to go. There are many different Mastodon clients and different ways to use Mastodon.

Scroll down for more information, including a helpful video and list of brony instances!