Social Without Silos. Your Web, Your Way.

ActivityPub is a decentralized social networking protocol that powers the Fediverse. It's the backbone of platforms like Mastodon, PeerTube, and Pixelfed, enabling cross-platform communication and content sharing.

The protocol standardizes the way social networks can communicate with each other, allowing users on different platforms to interact seamlessly. It uses two layers: a client-to-server protocol for user interactions and a server-to-server protocol for federation.

The Authenticated Transfer Protocol (AT Protocol) is a new social networking protocol developed by Bluesky. It introduces innovative concepts like portable accounts and algorithmic choice, allowing users to maintain their identity across different providers.

Key features include cryptographic data integrity, federated architecture, and support for custom feed algorithms. The protocol emphasizes user choice and data portability while maintaining a robust security model.

Nostr (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays) is a simple yet powerful protocol for decentralized social media. It uses cryptographic keys for identity and a network of relays for message distribution, creating a censorship-resistant communication platform.

The protocol's simplicity and flexibility have led to a diverse ecosystem of applications, from social networks to payment systems, all built on the same fundamental protocol.

WebFinger is a protocol for discovering information about people, organizations, and other entities across different domains on the internet. Originally developed by Google and standardized by the IETF, it has become a cornerstone of federated identity and resource discovery in decentralized social networks.

The protocol enables the discovery of various resources and services associated with an account using email-style identifiers (acct:[email protected]). This capability is crucial for federated networks, allowing users to find and connect with others across different instances and platforms without a central directory.

In the Fediverse, WebFinger plays a vital role in user discovery and account federation. When you search for a user on a different server in Mastodon, for example, WebFinger is used behind the scenes to locate the account and retrieve its ActivityPub profile information. The protocol supports extensible metadata, allowing platforms to include custom attributes and links while maintaining interoperability.

The IndieWeb is a people-focused alternative to the corporate web, built on a collection of protocols that enable website-to-website interactions. These protocols allow individuals to own their content while participating in social interactions.

Core protocols include Webmention for cross-site interactions, Micropub for content publishing, and IndieAuth for authentication. Together, they form a framework for decentralized social networking based on personal websites.

Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) are a type of identifier that enables verifiable, decentralized digital identity. They are designed to be independent of centralized registries, identity providers, or certificate authorities.

DIDs can be used to identify any subject (person, organization, thing, data model, abstract entity, etc.) and allow the controller of a DID to prove control over it through authentication.