Tag Archives: Fediverse

The Fediverse Has Arrived On WordPress.com



Matthias Pfefferie wrote on the WordPress website: Exciting times are here for all WordPress.com users! The revolutionary ActivityPub feature is now available across all WordPress.com plans, unlocking a world of engagement and interaction for your blog. You blogs can now be part of the rapidly expanding fediverse, which enables you to connect with a broader audience and attract more followers.

What is the “fediverse”?

The fediverse consists of federated platforms like Mastodon, which hare networks of independent websites or servers that can communicate with each other while still operating individually. It’s much like email; you can send emails to users with accounts on different services (like Gmail, Yahoo, etc.), yet all of them can interact seamlessly. Similarly, federated platforms enable users to follow, share, and interact with content across different services in a unified network.

What is the ActivityPub plugin?

ActivityPub is a WordPress plugin that facilitates seamless integration between your blog and a host of federated platforms, including Mastodon, Pleroma, Frendica, and more. This plugin empowers your readers to follow your blog posts on these platforms.

In addition, replies to your posts from these platforms are automatically turned into comments on your WordPress blog, creating a more interactive and dynamic conversation around your content. Synchronicity for the win!

Transform your blog into a fediverse profile

Your WordPress blog can now become a profile for the fediverse. This means your readers can follow you and receive all the latest posts from your blog directly on preferred platform. More so, they can engage in enriching conversation by replying to your posts, with their replies reflecting as comments on your blog post, creating a synchronized and interactive experience.

On Free, Personal, and Premium sites, you can enter the fediverse through your settings; for Business and Commerce sites, simply install the ActivityPub plug and follow the prompts to set up your profile.

The Verge reported bloggers and other publishers using WordPress to host their site can now use it to join the fediverse through an official ActivityPub plug-in.

ActivityPub allows social networks to talk across platforms, meaning users can see and engage with content on other platforms without making a new account. wordpress.com owner Automattic acquired the ActivityPub for WordPress plug-in earlier this year, and the feature is now available for anyone to install through WordPress settings.

According to The Verge, in the case of a WordPress.com blog, audiences will be able to follow a publisher through other federated platforms like Mastodon. Responses on other platforms will automatically turn into comments on a publisher’s WordPress post, allowing them to interact directly with off-platform audiences. The setting is available across WordPress sites on free, personal, and premium tiers – millions of blogs will now be able to join the fediverse in a few seconds.

In my opinion, the ActivityPub plug-in could potentially give WordPress blog creators more comments and views. As for me, I’m not against the plug-in. That said, I prefer placing some of my blog’s content onto the Fediverse by hand so I can choose for myself what goes there.