Move Slowly and Build Bridges

Paperback, 240 pages

Published by Oxford University Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-19-777668-1

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 …

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.

1 edition

Zoyander Street reviewed Move Slowly and Build Bridges by Robert W. Gehl

An essential survey of the covenantal fediverse

5 stars

This book isn't quite the introduction I'd like to give everyone who doesn't know what the Fediverse is, though it probably includes enough information to onboard a total beginner. Instead, it is a sociologically rigorous examination of the Fediverse's history and culture. It's clear that while the book was being written, its subject was rapidly changing in unpredictable ways, but the author manages to stay grounded while also keeping up.

I've been participating in the open social web for several years now, and started to invest more energy into it a couple of years ago when recovering from my first bout of long COVID. This book has deeply enriched my understanding of the context, controversies, and potential of federated social media and, to some extent, its rivals - not only corporate social media, but also the indie web movement. I've come away from it more inspired and committed than …

This book isn't quite the introduction I'd like to give everyone who doesn't know what the Fediverse is, though it probably includes enough information to onboard a total beginner. Instead, it is a sociologically rigorous examination of the Fediverse's history and culture. It's clear that while the book was being written, its subject was rapidly changing in unpredictable ways, but the author manages to stay grounded while also keeping up.

I've been participating in the open social web for several years now, and started to invest more energy into it a couple of years ago when recovering from my first bout of long COVID. This book has deeply enriched my understanding of the context, controversies, and potential of federated social media and, to some extent, its rivals - not only corporate social media, but also the indie web movement. I've come away from it more inspired and committed than before, and ready to try out new things in the Fediverse even though the risk of failure is high.

I was particularly impressed by the chapter on how the ActivityPub standard was established, which manages to capture the heartache and human conflict behind these events even though it wouldn't have been possible to anonymise the interviewees. Participants put a lot of trust into the author, and I am very grateful for that as a reader, because without this part I wouldn't really understand the sacrifices people have made or what was at stake in the establishment of the protocol. Being able to discuss conflict is part of what makes the open social web less alienating, and more social, than corporate social media, which treats conflict as a pyre for disposable micro-celebrities.

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