stux⚡️Nov 24, 2022

Elon's take over of Twitter has set a lot of things into motion in the digital world  

Tumblr and now also Flickr are thinking about intergrating ActivityPub so it will be able to connect to the Fediverse!  

A lot of lay offs in the mainstream social media but the Fediverse is only growing!

The world is waking up  Social media can be fun but also privacy friendly at the same time, you got the proof now!❤️

No billionaires needed ✅

Show threadRobert WhitneyNov 24, 2022
@stux inb4 one of them pulls the rug on #ActivityPub to replace it with a new, proprietary, protocol that they control because it's "better" and "supports their platform better". "Hey folks! #Tumblr is phasing out ActivityPub but register your instance for an API key here to integrate with us using our new protocol, [TumblPub?idk/c]".
Would it destroy #mastodon ? No. But it would put a significant divide in people coming from #TwitterMigration who would then funnel off to tumblr in the end.
Show threadRobert Whitney
@stux Why else would #tumblr be so quick to jump on the #ActivityPub bandwagon? How many platforms integrate with other, competing, platforms? If they jump in now, they will catch so much more of the crowd flocking from #twitter than #mastodon simply because of their existing reputation & status in social media. Then they can just pull out of the federation whenever they see fit.
Nov 24, 2022 at 2:13pmWeb
Show threadProgGrrlNov 24, 2022
@Rob @stux I know that’s a valid fear, but OTOH, Tumblr wants more users. So I think they’re reaching out to get them. I’ve hopes that alienating them later and losing them again is not their goal.
Show threadCactusNov 24, 2022

@Rob @stux I'd have to wonder if the community backlash of such an action would be worth it. On some date, half your feed goes away? People will be furious, but maybe some corporate money drone will figure out the loss and deem it "acceptable."

You raise a valid concern, it's definitely an interesting decision on their part and I'm curious as to how it'll play out.

Show threadML2Nov 24, 2022
@Rob
The current owners of Tumblr (Automattic) have also enabled ActivityPub support for WordPress. While it's possible that they might do such a thing as you describe, such an action would *very significantly* hurt the brand image they have cultivated, and unlike Twitter they are not run by an incompetent nitwit.
Plus, if more social media companies beside Tumblr join in, any one of them doing that would become harder to pull off.
@stux
Show threadRobert WhitneyNov 24, 2022
@mathlover @stux well, let's think more generalized. I used #tumblr as more, an example, of what could happen of ANY corp getting involved. But I do think that #Automattic is a good one that would not intentionally exploit or cause harm to the community.. but how many out there would? What can the community do as a whole to discourage it & make it not worth their while?
Show threadML2Nov 24, 2022
@Rob
That's a good question. I'll have to think about that. I'm pretty sure there are some things I and others can come up with, and I wouldn't be surprised if others have discussed this as well.
@stux
Show threadRobert WhitneyNov 24, 2022
@mathlover @stux I'm fairly certain there must be similar discussion. I've seen quite a bit about whether brands should have accounts here. omg could you imagine... talking to your #instagram friend through #tumblr in a group dm with a buddy on #flickr? This seems pretty weird..
Show threadRobert WhitneyNov 24, 2022
@mathlover @stux I just want to note that I do notice some slight attention deficiency in that toot.... notably the big shift in topic halfway through.
It's like I was typing a thought then got really excited about another thought.
Show threadML2Nov 24, 2022
@Rob
Heh.
I'm tired and haven't had caffeine. ADHD doesn't help.
@stux