Not sure if this will be anything, but I like the idea of ActivityPub. I’ve been watching for a while to see if it gains traction, and it looks like that’s starting to happen:

It’s a protocol that allows people across different platforms to follow, like and reply to one another. No algorithms. No lock-in. No bullshit.

The open web is coming back, and with it returns diversity. You can both publish independently and grow faster than ever before with followers from all over the world & the web.

I’m obviously biased (I’ve been playing with the WordPress ActivityPub plugin and will report back), but The Verge is a cheerleader too:

…the fediverse [is] a lot of old ideas about the web being open and interoperable, but there’s still a lot of new things yet to be invented on top of that foundation. At this point I’m not sure any social platform that launches without an eye towards federation stands a chance, really.

What it really seems to mean is that platforms are going to compete on functionality and presentation, rather than content. If I can consume your threads, wordpress, and Ghost posts with one app (like Feedly I guess) but also get interactivity with comments and reposts and stuff, that’s a much more interesting internet.