President Biden’s @Potus Account Embraces the Fediverse on Instagram Threads
The fediverse, a network of interconnected social media platforms like Mastodon, received a significant endorsement on Tuesday when the @Potus (President of the United States) account on Instagram Threads shared its inaugural federated post. President Biden’s team utilized the platform, a rising competitor to Twitter/X, to express his support for reproductive rights.
Threads Users Spot Fediverse Sharing Logo
Observant Threads users quickly noticed that the president’s post featured the app’s fediverse sharing logo, resembling planets orbiting a star, symbolizing the interconnected nature of the fediverse.
Image Credits: Threads screenshot
The Fediverse: A Growing Part of Social Networking’s Future
Although the term “fediverse” may be unfamiliar to many users, it is poised to become an increasingly important aspect of social networking in the near future, particularly given Meta’s adoption of the technology and the underlying ActivityPub protocol.
Interconnected Servers and Diverse Platforms
The fediverse refers to a network of interconnected servers hosting various social media platforms that can communicate with each other. Prominent members of the fediverse include:
- Mastodon: An open-source, Twitter-like posting service
- PeerTube: A video-sharing platform
- Pixelfed: An Instagram alternative
- Lemmy: A discussion forum software company
- WriteFreely: A publishing platform
Together, these services (excluding Threads) form a “social web” with 9.9 million total users, approximately 1.08 million of which are active monthly. With over 130 million monthly active users as of Meta’s latest earnings report, Threads is set to become one of the largest nodes in the fediverse.
Meta’s Plans for Threads Integration
When Meta launched Threads, it announced plans to federate the app, allowing users on Mastodon and other networks to view and interact with Threads users’ posts. In December 2023, Threads began testing this integration, and in March 2024, it opened up fediverse sharing to Threads users in beta.
Current Limitations and Future Improvements
While the fediverse sharing functionality is not yet fully rolled out and has some limitations, such as the inability for Threads users to see who liked or replied to their posts from other servers or to share posts with polls, Meta has stated that these features will be added in the future.
Broader Reach for @Potus’ Posts
By embracing federated sharing, the @Potus account’s posts will have a wider reach, as they can be viewed by users who are not currently on Threads, X, or other unfederated social apps.
3 Comments
Biden on Threads? Guess politics officially entered the chat, buckle up for some presidential posts!
Looks like Biden’s diving into the digital fray, wonder if he’ll drop some spicy memes?
Ah, so President Biden’s embracing the age of social media chic, how very modern of him!