Move Slowly and Build Bridges : Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media

Move Slowly and Build Bridges tells the story of activists, software developers, artists, and everyday people who have built the fediverse -- a large, noncentralized, alternative social media system.In contrast to big tech corporations like Meta, TikTok, or X, the fediverse is comprised of thousands of small, independent communities who use a powerful internet protocol to communicate with one another.These small communities can govern themselves and moderate content at the human scale -- in stark contrast to the global and advertiser-friendly interests of Meta or X.The Mastodon network is perhaps the most notable and successful platform in the fediverse.Founded in 2016, Mastodon has positioned itself as an alternative to Twitter -- one that can be completely under the control of its members, from it to its daily operations to it underlying software. Making a noncentralized, ethically-run social media system is no easy task.The people building the fediverse have faced burnout, bigotry, angry debates, and death threats. And they face constant, nagging doubts: can we really do this?Can noncentralized social media survive? Can we -- all of us -- have our own social media? In this thoroughly researched book, Robert W. Gehl argues that the answer is yes -- but it won't be easy.