Oh my goodness, you wouldn't believe how dang excited I was when I first heard about this! I mean, can we just take a moment to appreciate the sheer brilliance of @dansup@mastodon.social?

I was all like, "Hey, buddy, can you do us a solid and create a sweet little animal mascot for @pixelfed@mastodon.social's fancy new logo?"

And you won't believe what he comes back with! This incredible artist went above and beyond, completely blowing me away with his amazing response.

He was all like, "Nah, forget about those old-fashioned mascots, my friend! Let's take it to a whole new level of cuteness and fluffiness!"

And oh boy, did he deliver! This absolute legend right here created something so mind-blowingly unique and special, it's like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm telling you, it's an absolute gem! We're truly blessed to have someone like @dansup@mastodon.social shower us with their unmatched creativity and talent. I can't even contain my excitement, my friend! This is truly a moment to cherish.

So folks, hold onto your hats because @pixelfed@mastodon.social is about to take the world by storm with this adorably fluffy masterpiece!

@fediversenews@venera.social

RE: https://mastodon.social/users/pixelfed/statuses/110771838375604896

Big news today! We've traded in the name #Calckey for a fresh, dynamic identity, #Firefish!

Over the past several months, we've been pouring our energy and focus into this thrilling rebranding journey, operating behind the scenes to orchestrate this metamorphosis for you. Can you believe it? Quite a transformation indeed.

Keeping this all a secret was a bit tough, but it was the right call. As much as I've grown attached to our good old 'Calckey', it was often mistaken for a math app rather than the social media powerhouse it really is. Plus, our project has beautifully evolved into a thriving, community-centric endeavor, so a name change to reflect that felt right.

Now let's talk about the new Firefish logo, which I'm absolutely fond of. Its bold yet approachable style resonates with me. I'm also really digging the vibrant red and orange hues. And have you visited joinfirefish.org? The interactive logo gives you a little wink and glug, as if it's happily swimming in the vast digital sea. It genuinely feels like it's diving into the deep corners of the #Fediverse.

But here's the best part: Firefish isn't just a name. It represents our welcoming and passionate community, underpinned by our robust, feature-filled software that never stops pushing boundaries. Firefish is like this friendly deep-sea explorer taking the plunge into the wild waves of the social media world. Ready to jump in with us? Let's make a splash!

@fediversenews@venera.social

WHOOHOO🎉

Major shoutout to my good friend @kainoa for his amazing tribute and video for our #Firefish (you know, the one we used to call #Calckey) squad!

Since last November, I've been right in the thick of things with @kainoa, getting my hands dirty in all things Firefish - you name it, server admin, testing, marketing, and all that jazz. And let me tell ya, it's been a rollercoaster ride of pure awesomeness!

I've had the best seat in the house watching Firefish morph from our little pet project into this super cool, community-driven software in the Fediverse realm. Like, we literally aimed for the stars and are heading that way!

And the magic of it all? Firefish isn't just about cool tech, it's all about YOU, our rock star community! No way this dream would have come true without your epic involvement.

Okay, let's hit the pause button for a second. Can we just take a moment to give a big round of applause for @kainoa? This dude just dropped this video trailer for our newly decked out Firefish. He's been sweating over this for more than a week, and it's the perfect snapshot of what gets him pumped about Firefish.

RE: https://calckey.social/notes/9hdlt3nut657tuzn

💥💫🚀BOOM! #CALCKEY HAS BLASTED THROUGH TO 500 SERVERS! 🚀💥🎈

Yes, you read that right, folks! The electric excitement can't be contained! We've catapulted into a new stratosphere with a staggering 500 #Calckey servers pulsating with activity across the entire Fediverse!

Hold on to your hats because this isn't just an increase, this is a jaw-dropping, gravity-defying DOUBLING of numbers in just a mere three months! We've not just reached the stars, we've become a galaxy of our own! 🎉💖🥳

@fediversenews@venera.social

It's really cool to see that the term "Fediverse" is starting to pop up in more mainstream newspapers, like the Toronto Sun. It seems like they're still getting a grasp on what exactly this whole Fediverse thing is, but the fact that they're making those connections is definitely a step in the right direction. Personally, I'm pretty happy that they're using the term "Fediverse" now instead of just sticking to "Mastodon."

https://www.thestar.com/business/opinion/2023/07/15/twitter-vs-threads-were-not-taking-sides-but-all-hail-the-fediverse.html

@fediversenews@venera.social

Hey, I saw a post by @tchambers@indieweb.social mentioning that the implementation of #ActivityPub in #Threads is going to be quite limited. Surprisingly, they don't have any plans to support rich text. Even Mastodon, which tends to be more conservative with these features, has plans to include rich text support.

Honestly, I think it's not a great decision on Meta's part and it could lead people to explore alternative social software that offers more features. Take #Calckey (soon to be rebranded), for example, it has gained a lot of support because it's user-friendly and packed with features. People are looking for more than just a 500-character limit; they want quotes, rich text, a cloud drive, and the ability to share photo galleries, among other things.

Maybe Meta is trying to control the situation, but I doubt it will be successful in containing the demand for these features.

@fediversenews@venera.social

RE: https://indieweb.social/users/tchambers/statuses/110714053178069073

Hey there! I wanted to share some interesting news I came across from @alexeheath@mastodon.social. It seems like #Meta has decided to postpone the integration of #ActivityPub for #Threads. So, it looks like federation within the next three months might not be happening after all.

Now, I have a strong belief that ActivityPub is still part of their plans. I mean, why else would a Meta employee join the W3C working group for ActivityPub, right?

However, I can't help but put on my strategist hat and express my opinion that postponing ActivityPub integration might not be the best move on Meta's part. Every time they delay it, smaller players like #Misskey and Lemmy/Kbin gain more influence in the Fediverse. And let's not forget that despite the tech press labeling other Fediverse server software as "fringe," they are actually gaining recognition and importance by the day.

The thing is, Big Social would love to paint the entire Fediverse as "Mastodon" and ignore the reality: the Fediverse is made up of a diverse network of interconnected nodes running different software. This conveniently fits their narrative.

But you know what? With each mishap by Big Social, more and more people are seeking a social network that cannot be controlled by any single entity. And that's exactly what the Fediverse offers.

That's why when #Twitter messes up, people turn to Mastodon. When #Reddit has issues, they head to #Lemmy or #Kbin.

Now, imagine if #Instagram were to make a major blunder. Where do you think people would flock to? Yep, you guessed it: #Pixelfed. It's only a matter of time before Meta slip up again.

If Instagram does something really unpopular and sparks a user revolt, we'll see an #InstagramMigration to Pixelfed. Meta better hope that doesn't happen while they're still not federated. Even if only a few hundred thousand people make the move to Pixelfed, it will still give Pixelfed even more influence in the Fediverse, and their positive reputation will only grow stronger.

RE: https://mastodon.social/users/alexeheath/statuses/110713788758597963

So, I tried installing #Threads to check it out, but I ended up uninstalling it pretty quickly. Here's the deal: it's just another Twitter clone that's all about algorithms.

I get it, that's what most people are into. I understand that influencers, media, and celebrities attract a lot of attention. But that's just not my thing.

I might sound a bit "weird," but I actually prefer my reverse chronological feed where I have complete control over what and who I see. If I want to discover more stuff, I'll just use #Calckey's search feature, which may not be the best but works well enough for me.

Oh, and I deleted my Meta accounts for a good reason. Whenever I'm there, I feel this weird sense of discomfort, like I need a good shower afterwards.

I know I'm not your typical user. I've been part of the Fediverse since 2018 and have genuinely enjoyed it, even when it was just a small community of a few thousand people. We have a nice little community going on over here, and I don't need all the fancy stuff that Threads is offering right now.

I'm not trying to bash Threads or judge anyone who uses it. It's just not the right fit for me, plain and simple.

To me, @pixelfed@mastodon.social’s new comment controls are an incredibly big deal, and something I’ve been pleading for Fediverse developers to implement.

It was always a big oversight that, while Fediblock exists, you’ve never been able to control comment permissions. This has created unfortunate situations where, when harassment and dogpiling suddenly happen, there’s little the original poster can do about it.

Well, this will soon change.

@dansup@mastodon.social has pioneered comment controls and we can all use #Pixelfed as a model to build a safer #Fediverse.

Thank you to Pixelfed for this big step in community safety!

@fediversenews@venera.social

RE: https://mastodon.social/users/pixelfed/statuses/110610994877181313

If you want the most accurate stats on the #Fediverse, then @dansup@mastodon.social's https://fedidb.org really is the best stats tracker for the Fediverse.

How do I know this?

Well, let's take #Calckey for a moment.

The federation-info only lists 3,470 Calckey users and does not count the biggest Calckey server, which is calckey.social. And calckey.social has over 2,000 accounts. That's a pretty big server to miss.

And now let's consider fediverse.observer. They report a drop in Calckey users despite there being a big increase in sign-ups for May on calckey.social alone. Even more befuddling, they report 0 comments from Calckey. This is not possible. I'm seeing comments on Calckey daily.

https://fedidb.org reports an accurate count, which is that Calckey has over 9,000 accounts spread over 315 servers.

I’m autistic.

Most people are surprised by this. This is because I’m generally good at communication, and I generally know when to display empathy when called upon it.

These skills weren’t easy to acquire. They took a lot of effort. But the net effect is that I’ve largely built a career on communications, being able to relate to technical and non-technical people alike.

But there’s certain things I’m not good at.

For example, stuff pertaining to social status. Last night, I said that I wanted to use certain software but was leery about the price of data.

The dev replied back, saying I was talking down his project to 16,000 people, and felt that I was somehow angry or upset about something I don’t have a clue about.

And stuff like this happens quite often. I say something I think is innocuous. I unexpectedly piss someone off. People assign to me motivations where there is none.

So I know this is hard to believe but there’s no subtext with me. There’s no “read between the lines”. I’m generally a literal person who tends to mean things literally—unless specified otherwise.

I have no axe to grind. I try not to get involved in personal Fedi drama. I’m not trying to make life difficult for anyone because life can be difficult as it is.

Cheers 🍻

This is great for the #Fediverse!

In addition to #Mastodon, @Flipboard@flipboard.social now supports #Pixelfed and #Bluesky. In doing so, it's one of the first major apps to go beyond Mastodon, and support more of the Fediverse.

First, let's talk about Pixelfed. I've been using this app, both on iOS and Android, for quite some time. It's made great technical strides over the past three months, and I'm amazed at how far it's come.

In fact, one Pixelfed arrives in app stores, I have no doubt this could be a contender as an Instagram challenger.

Now some people might not be so happy about #Bluesky support, but from the perspective of Flipboard, it's the right decision to make. The more sources that app has, the better for its use case -- which is news.

I meant to talk about this last week, but I had other commitments that needed my attention. Still, it's worth talking about even now.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/23/flipboard-becomes-first-to-support-bluesky-mastodon-and-pixelfed-all-in-one-app/

According to @mastodonusercount@mastodon.social, there are now 12 million #Mastodon accounts.

This is good news for the growth of the #Fediverse, but there's a caveat.

Other than on mastodon.social, Mastodon sign-ups are slowing down. In my own estimation, the majority of Mastodon servers aren't experiencing any growth -- and many are losing servers.

At one point, https://joinmastodon.org was critical to driving sign-ups amongst many Mastodon servers. But from what numerous admins tell me, sign-ups from there have slowed to a trickle.

With https://home.social closing down soon, I fear this is a harbinger for more big server shutdowns. That is, unless something is done.

However, Mastodon isn't the entirety of the story.

It looks like *key apps are spurring more user adoption.

#Misskey is now the 2nd most used Fediverse software after Mastodon.

And within a month, #Calckey has nearly doubled in size -- despite the flagship server (which I admin) overcoming a few key challenges.

Of course, the arrival of #Barcelona will change everything. How? I don't entirely know.

But now with 12 million Mastodon users, it's time for the next chapter of the Fediverse.

#Barcelona, #Meta's Twitter competitor, will be ready by summer.

And lest you believe #ActivityPub integration was just some rumour, think again. In a slide, Meta confirms that Barcelona will indeed be decentralized and will be compatible with Mastodon.

Everyone who thought that AT protocol would easily win over ActivityPub, and that #Bluesky would kill Mastodon just because a few influencers joined doesn't understand the sheer marketing power and pull that Meta has at its disposal.

But believe me, I'm not exactly cheering on Meta here. Generally, where Meta goes, shenanigans happen. I simply don't think Meta is capable of releasing a product without dark patterns.

Nevertheless, I don't think the Fediverse is even close to preparing for what will happen once Barcelona starts federating.

We should all be taking Barcelona very seriously.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/19/23730070/instagram-twitter-app-competitor-leak

@socialmedianews@venera.social

We got to be honest. A lot of people new to the Fediverse experience Mastodon almost like as @mattblaze@federate.social describes here.

People I know, very tech savvy, have a near allergic reaction to Mastodon’s UI. And you’re not going to convince them to be fans.

This is why I’m so hellbent on working with #Calckey devs to make it a better experience. @kainoa and others actually listen to feedback. Which is huge.

Sometimes things don’t go 100% the way I like them to but we’re making significant progress, and I hope https://calckey.social becomes a great showcase for what is possible on the Fediverse.

RE: https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/110380682264183219

#Calckey now lets you edit your posts!

To edit, follow these steps:

1. Go to a post that you want to edit

2. Click the "..." button on lower right corner of your post

3. From the menu that pops up, click "Edit"

4. A compose box will appear with your post contained inside. Make your edits

5. Click the "Edit" button when you finish composing your edit

After clicking the "Edit" button, your post will update, and there will be an indicator on the top right corner of your post that it is edited.

Just like #Mastodon, Calckey now allows you to edit your posts!

@fediversenews@venera.social