President Joe Biden’s Threads account @potus is federating on the Fediverse!
And I’m following him from atomicpoet.org!
Wow! This is as monumental as Barack Obama joining Twitter! A truly historic day for the #Fediverse!
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Chris Trottier
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •And by joining #Threads, @potus has pretty much forced the hand of the Fediverse to federate with Threads.
In the USA, if the Fediverse is going to be used for political organization, you need to receive and boost messages from @potus.
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Stefan Bohacek
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Mindboggling, given that this is already being worked on:
https://stefanbohacek.online/@stefan/111978315030059050
Stefan Bohacek (@stefan@stefanbohacek.online)
Stefan's Personal Mastodon Serverreshared this
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Olivier Forget
in reply to Stefan Bohacek • • •Stefan Bohacek
in reply to Olivier Forget • • •reshared this
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Null
in reply to Stefan Bohacek • • •I mean in reality
* Campaigns / officials have used multiple services in the past to reach the widest possible audience.
* Likely, those involved with the POTUS arriving on threads know little about the difference between mastodon and Threads and how (and if) they communicate.
* The core problem of validating government officials identities is not solved by threads since you cannot bring a domain to threads.
So really this kinda seems like a big ol' Nothing Burger, unless you're a threads user 
Even saying 'the fediverse is FORCED' is hyperbolic. His ass wasn't here before, and huge swaths of the fediverse aren't American.
reshared this
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Chris Trottier
in reply to Null • • •Seeing how the EU and the German government run a Fediverse server, I think it’s highly likely that the U.S. government also knows about the Fediverse. Especially since you must manually turn on federation right now in order to federate from Threads.
The bigger question is why the U.S. government decided to join Threads instead of run their own Fediverse server.
And while I acknowledge the U.S. is not the world—I’m Canadian—the U.S. remains an economic and cultural power, and it is unavoidable.
Artemesia
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •@NullNowhere @stefan
> The bigger question is why the U.S. government decided to join Threads instead of run their own Fediverse server.
User count.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Artemesia • • •Artemesia
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •@NullNowhere @stefan
The total usercount is relevant.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Artemesia • • •Mastodon
Mastodon hosted on mastodon.socialmorph
in reply to Stefan Bohacek • • •@stefan We have that yet. See the historical post when the government declares marijuana as legalized*.
➡️ https://social.bund.de/@Bundesregierung/112139495304415295
*) feat. a bit of bureaucratic limitations
Bundesregierung (@Bundesregierung@social.bund.de)
social.bund.deStefan Bohacek
in reply to morph • • •Colby
in reply to Stefan Bohacek • • •Stefan Bohacek
in reply to Colby • • •https://gigatexal.blog -he/him
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Chris Trottier
in reply to https://gigatexal.blog -he/him • • •Then you might as well leave the Fediverse entirely.
You can definitely block Threads, but it’s near impossible to block all servers that don’t block Threads.
Rachel T. says ceasefire now
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Rachel T. says ceasefire now • • •LAUREN
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •reshared this
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Chris Trottier
in reply to LAUREN • • •@noondlyt No one’s forcing you to follow Threads but the illusion that the majority of the Fediverse will de-federate Threads is over. That’s simply not realistic anymore.
I don’t make the conditions. I just report them.
Oblomov
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •This is essentially the nail in the coffin for the Fediverse. Nothing to rejoice at all.
https://sociale.network/@oblomov/112203725365230339
Oblomov
2024-04-02 21:22:57
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Lillian Violet
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •reshared this
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Chris Trottier
in reply to Lillian Violet • • •Misuse Case
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Not directly, people can make bots that do it, the way there are bots that will rebroadcast certain people’s Twitter posts. You can basically have a DMZ for it and let the rest of us defederate from Threads.
It’s not like the POTUS account is going to reply to us if we comment on it anyway!
knova
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •@potus Not to be an ass, but have you done a temperature check of how many people on the fediverse: 1) don’t care about US politics, 2) if they do care, don’t care for the President, or following politicos in general?
My point is, not sure if anyone has a “forced hand” to federate w/ Threads.
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Chris Trottier
in reply to knova • • •@knova The people who use the Fediverse now are not representative of the people who will use the Fediverse in the future.
And like it or not, nobody controls ActivityPub.
knova
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •I don't disagree with either of those points, but I don't think they touch on what I stated either.
Even if a million new instances are spun up that all federate w/ Threads, there will be an island of connected instances that route around it (ie. block it).
Personally I don't think we should be championing Meta doing anything, but again, I agree with your point re: nobody controlling ActivityPub.
Chris Trottier
in reply to knova • • •@knova I’m not rooting for Meta. If I were, I’d have a Threads account. And I likewise am not happy that @potus is not using a government-owned Fediverse server.
But at the same time, this is tangibly better than @potus being on Threads and not federating or staying on X where his posts are not publicly available.
Nevertheless, @potus will motivate more people to join the Fediverse – even if the means by which he does this is not ideal.
Artemesia
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •> @potus has pretty much forced the hand of the Fediverse to federate with Threads.
Nonsense. I'm perfectly capable of receiving the president's messaging via other means, of which there are hundreds.
The threads.net domain will remain blocked by my account. I want nothing to do with a company that sold out its userbase to russia to influence the 2016 election.
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Chris Trottier
in reply to Artemesia • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to Artemesia • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
JohnW
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •reshared this
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Chris Trottier
in reply to JohnW • • •@the_Effekt You’re on a server that federates with Threads. The likelihood that universeodon.com stops federating with Threads has drastically diminished.
Like it or not, this changes everything.
Universeodon Social Media
Mastodon hosted on universeodon.comJohnW
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Have to disagree with you there. Even though universeodon.com changed hands, it was unlikely they would defederate anyway. I personally am neither for nor against my admin's decisions. If I don't like it I can move.
universeodon was taken over by mastodonapp.uk (non US) anyway.
I don't believe that one noteworthy person who per government policy can only post generalities on social media can drastically change anything.
Chris Trottier
in reply to JohnW • • •@the_Effekt I’ve long learned that social media is only as strong as its network effect, and that influential people are key to building a stronger network effect. Most people only join services if they perceive them as popular. However, to be popular, someone of consequence must be there first.
@potus is the most influential person on the planet.
JohnW
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Remember we're talking about the Fediverse here. There are a lot more people of my ilk who value discussions with friends, deep dives into news snippets, and art over occasional non-committal comments by famous people.
Not to mention Threads is still (at this point) a partially disconnected entity that builds overlay protocols to keep it's commercial interests as a priority over true federation.
Potus would never even see our replies, and this could go on for months or years.
Chris Trottier
in reply to JohnW • • •@the_Effekt To me, it’s not about famous people. It’s about building a large network effect.
I don’t care for the Fediverse if it becomes a small social bubble of mostly tech nerds.
JohnW
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Well, good luck with that.
The Fediverse grows organically. It has a more solid foundation than other platforms seeking eyeballs for eyeballs sake.
There might be a lot of techies here, but my feed is packed with great variety. It's more interesting than any other social media. Anyone else can do the same because they can choose for themselves.
Chris Trottier
in reply to JohnW • • •@the_Effekt This isn’t about eyeballs for eyeballs sake. It’s about building the practicality of the technology.
Email is only good because everyone has email. A phone is only good because everyone has a phone.
Once we get to the point where it’s assumed everyone is on the Fediverse, then my server here becomes that much more useful.
crossgolf_rebel 🤍 on Calckey :calckey:
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •The nerd network argument was no longer valid 5 years ago.
Boden's account on threads is more likely to result in more people creating an account on threads than on any real Fediverse service. The network effect is there, just in the wrong direction.
Biden is strengthening Meta rather than the Fediverse
What the federation from Fediverse to threads will look like is not yet foreseeable. And I dare to doubt that even a fraction of threads users will even activate the federation to the Fediverse
@the_Effekt@universeodon.com@potus@threads.net
Chris Trottier
in reply to crossgolf_rebel 🤍 on Calckey :calckey: • • •Flippin' eck, Tucker!
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Cotopaxi
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Cotopaxi • • •Mastodon 🐘
Mastodon hosted on mstdn.socialCotopaxi
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to Cotopaxi • • •@Cotopaxi To put things simply, when you post something, a copy of your posts gets duplicated on every server that federates with your own.
I have copies of your posts on atomicpoet.org. You even have a profile here.
Now mstdn.social federates with 10,000s of servers. This means your posts are duplicated that many times.
Mastodon 🐘
Mastodon hosted on mstdn.socialChris Trottier
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Cotopaxi
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Cotopaxi
in reply to Cotopaxi • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to Cotopaxi • • •@Cotopaxi You can’t say that the Fediverse doesn’t collect data and aggregate it for sale to third parties because the Fediverse is not one singular entity.
Anyone can take your public posts and sell it if they wish. Blocking Threads does not prevent this.
Aaron A Brown 🌱
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •MARGARET D
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier likes this.
argumento :socialiststar:
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Joe Biden is guilty of facilitating genocide, and he shouldn't be welcomed anywhere.
Not only the US used it's veto power in the UN SC 4 times (if memory doesn't fail me), the US government just approved a billion dollars arms shipment to Israel (who is plausibly committing genocide according to the ICJ AND disregarding the las UN SC resolution calling for a cease fire).
No sympathy for genocide nor for the people that fund it.
Katrina Katrinka :donor:
in reply to argumento :socialiststar: • • •I do like that we can comment on his posts and he can see what we're saying about his policies.
Adam Dalliance
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •There goes the neighbourhood.
Hope Fedi doesn't go downhill as quickly as Twitter did after Obama joined.
dracoling
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Chris Trottier
in reply to dracoling • • •@dracoling Twitter has killed API access. And Threads’ federation won’t be one way forever.
Whatever the case, it’s nice to receive posts from @potus.
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foxyloxy
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Threads
ThreadsTwitter_expat ✅(Fedi Resident)
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •TheJen - Jen Wojcik
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to TheJen - Jen Wojcik • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
TheJen - Jen Wojcik
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Rairii
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •TheJen - Jen Wojcik
in reply to Rairii • • •eatyourglory
in reply to Rairii • • •EU Voice
Mastodon hosted on social.network.europa.euCassandraVert
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •They're working on it. They are also building out an online repository for federal reports/journals /scientific info.
TheJen - Jen Wojcik
in reply to CassandraVert • • •CassandraVert
in reply to TheJen - Jen Wojcik • • •Not the normal Library of Congress material. It's the stuff they were putting into commercial repositories for academic papers. They seem to be going by dept/area, so you can find some locally already, but not all. I don't know if the new repository is considered part of the Library of Congress.
TheJen - Jen Wojcik
in reply to CassandraVert • • •Timo
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •js
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to js • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
js
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •shellsharks
in reply to js • • •js
in reply to shellsharks • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to js • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
damon
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Julian Andres Klode 🏳️🌈
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •billy joe bowers is tired 🇺🇦
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •eatyourglory
in reply to billy joe bowers is tired 🇺🇦 • • •Hunterrules
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •(((Jann Gobble)))🏳️🌈
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to (((Jann Gobble)))🏳️🌈 • • •@jann He can see our likes and boosts which are responses. As far as comments, he can’t see them yet.
Threads is still beta testing ActivityPub.
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Maggieci democracy enjoyer
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier likes this.
Colin Cogle :verified:
in reply to Maggieci democracy enjoyer • • •@MaggieCi Why are they on X or Facebook? They want to be where the people are.
Of course, a government-run Mastodon server could federate into Threads, but that’s a whole other story (and expense).
js
Unknown parent • • •J.H.Noyes
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Dave Tapley
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •fabulous, I can liberate myself from @potus@bird.makeup
... which makes me think: @vincent I wonder if you could inject 'now verified in fediverse at...' posts? 🤔
Chris Trottier likes this.
Fahri Reza
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Callie: Reloaded
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •AlisonW ♿🏳️🌈
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •stib
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •@fediversenews
gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay:
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •C.W. Smith
in reply to gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay: • • •@gme
@fediversenews @atomicpoet @potus
Accounts like @potus are gonna be used as a one way broadcast layer no matter what service they are on. It's pretty much just for announcements and statements, not direct interaction with people.
Which, when we are talking any political office might be best.
gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay:
in reply to C.W. Smith • • •2) Kind of defeats the entire "social" purpose of "social media" then doesn't it?
C.W. Smith
in reply to gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay: • • •@gme
Have you ever known a Politicians X, Meta, or whatever account to answer commentors like us?
It's post the statement, get it out there, set and forget.
I don't remember any account talking back and not causing the politico more problems.
gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay:
in reply to C.W. Smith • • •Nice deflection.
If a politician isn't willing to engage with their constituents, do they really deserve my vote?
Chris Trottier
in reply to gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay: • • •@gme @CWSmith It’s ultimately not up to you to decide who is or is not worth following on the Fediverse.
Maybe your admin can make that decision for you, but they certainly don’t make that decision for me.
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C.W. Smith
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Agreed. It's why I spun my own instance in the first place.
Chris Trottier likes this.
C.W. Smith
in reply to gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay: • • •That's a completely different discussion.
gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay:
in reply to C.W. Smith • • •Fine. Then how about answering my questions?
C.W. Smith
in reply to gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay: • • •@gme
Do you need it? Our politicians take every opportunity they can to push out whatever their message is at any time. If anything we need them to do it so we can at least know what they are saying and keep track.
And it doesn't defeat the social part of social media. Making a statement and letting the masses discuss is just as socially valid as answering every post.
gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay:
in reply to C.W. Smith • • •Maybe if Biden was forced to hear from his constituents he might learn that his policies towards Israel are woefully unpopular. Instead he's insulated himself and only hears from his sycophants.
At least Obama got out there and talked to the people. Before this campaign season started when was the last time Biden actually sat down and met with his constituents?
If I want to just hear what the White House says there are a multitude of avenues to be spoon fed the spin.
My point is it's not really that great that @potus@threads.net is here. Not when Threads is only broadcasting Threads users to the Fediverse and not taking any of the replies. (And I'm a staunch supporter for Threads being on the fediverse!)
But another broadcast channel is the absolute last thing we need.
C.W. Smith
in reply to gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay: • • •The one directional nature of the Threads Federation right now is just out of everyone on Threads hands. That's gonna be on Meta to eventually address and put up. Otherwise there is no benifit for a Threads user to hit that Fediverse switch. Why would they care what people they can't see think or how many follow them if they can't even follow back?
Cătă
in reply to C.W. Smith • • •@C.W. Smith that's the case with pretty much every political/important person account that I know of (and on everything social media). They only keep their account for posting and not much else. Following them is like using a glorified feed reader.
@Chris Trottier @gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay: @President Joe Biden
Chris Trottier
in reply to gme :heart_pride: :heart_trans: :verified_gay: • • •Fediverse News reshared this.