Snippet: Meta is Building a Decentralized, Text-Based Social Network ☇

Casey Newton for Platformer:

“We’re exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates,” the company told Platformer exclusively in an email. “We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.” […]

Adam Mosseri, who runs Instagram, is taking the lead on the project, sources said.

The most remarkable aspect of the project is that Meta plans for the network to be decentralized. While the company would not elaborate beyond its statement, in a decentralized network individual users are typically able to set up their own, independent servers and set server-specific rules for how content is moderated.

Building a decentralized network could also give Meta the opportunity for its new app to interoperate with other social products — a previously unheard-of gesture from a company known for building some of the most lucrative walled gardens in the industry’s history.

The service will use ActivityPub, which is also what powers Mastodon, Micro.blog, and others. I’m not sure how Facebook Meta will define “decentralized” but this is an interesting development, regardless of if you enjoy their products or not. At the very least, it seems that it’s going to be shoehorned into Instagram rather than the Facebook side of the house, which makes some sense for growth, too.