The Fediverse is growing: After Threads, Bluesky can also be linked to Mastodon
First Threads accounts can be opened for Mastodon, now this is also possible - even in both directions - with Bluesky. This makes interesting scenarios possible.
(Image: issaro prakalung/Shutterstock.com)
After the short message service Threads has already been connected to its competitor Mastodon for two months, the link with Bluesky has now also been working for a few days. This means that content can now be exchanged between the three most important alternatives to the short messaging service X (formerly Twitter), and further connections are being prepared. While there were initially heated debates about what the bridge between Bluesky and the Fediverse (to which Mastodon belongs) should look like, the introduction has now gone smoothly. However, it is still quite rudimentary in parts, but the developer responsible updates it regularly and fixes bugs.
With the connection between Bluesky and Mastodon, a vision of social networks continues to take shape that has been demonstrated by the so-called Fediverse for years, but only gained greater support outside of it after the Twitter exodus a year and a half ago. It is about the promise that different social networks will be made compatible with each other to such an extent that content can be exchanged between them and communication can take place across portals. In the so-called Fediverse, where Mastodon is by far the largest software, this has been possible for a long time. Nevertheless, the network has long led a rather niche existence. Soon, however, tens of millions of accounts could be connected to each other.
The bridge between Bluesky and Mastodon was programmed by US developer Ryan Barrett. He has taken the criticism to heart and only connects accounts that explicitly agree to this. All you need to do is follow the account @bsky.brid.gy@bsky.brid.gy on Mastodon and @ap.brid.gy on Bluesky. Participating accounts can then be subscribed to (search for "@[Name].[Instance].ap.brid.gy" in Bluesky, or "@[Handle]@bsky.brid.gy" in Mastodon). The posts then appear in the timeline, but sometimes there is no context. Links sometimes disappear. Certain posts to which reference is made also disappear if they originate from an account that does not participate in the bridge. Barrett collects information about these and other problems on GitHub.
On Mastodon, you can now follow - and in the case of the Bluesky bridge, even interact with - accounts created on Threads and Bluesky. Meta's service has more than 150 million users in total, while Bluesky has several million. However, the shared network is still much smaller. For example, "Bridgy Fed" only connects around 2000 Bluesky accounts, and you have to explicitly select the Fediverse connection on Threads. So far, this is only possible in the USA, Canada and the UK. Nevertheless, the first posts from Threads and Bluesky are populating the timelines in Mastodon, and this number is only likely to increase in the future. The Twitter alternative Nostr, for example, has already been connected for some time.
More and more networks are growing together
The linking is slowed down by the consent requirement on Threads and Bluesky. As a result, there are repeated requests in both networks for accounts to connect to Mastodon or the Fediverse. Nevertheless, interesting usage scenarios can already be implemented. For example, you can follow US threads accounts in Mastodon and add them to a list. This then functions as a strictly chronological timeline, as is the case on Threads, but it tends to be hidden there. A Bluesky timeline can also be created in a similar way. You can even interact with the accounts collected there, for example by showing them replies and likes from Mastodon.
(Image: Screenshot)
The promise of interconnected networks associated with Fediverse, in which accounts retain control over their connections, has recently met with considerable interest, particularly in the USA. More and more services have introduced a connection or are working on it. The magazine app Flipboard, for example, has started to federate its own content, i.e. link it to Fediverse. The first accounts can already be followed, for example by heise online. The blogging and newsletter platform Ghost is also working on such a link, and WordPress blogs have been connected for some time. Soon, for example, complete articles from Ghost could be shared via Mastodon and then received directly in Bluesky or Threads.
(mho)