Tumblr so as to add assist for ActivityPub, the social protocol powering Mastodon and different apps

Tumblr will add assist for ActivityPub, the open, decentralized social networking protocol that immediately is powering social networking software program like Twitter alternative Mastodon, the Instagram-like Pixelfed, video streaming service PeerTube, and others. The information was revealed in response to a Twitter consumer’s grievance about Mastodon’s complexities. Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg — whose firm acquired Tumblr from Verizon in 2019 — suggested the consumer “come to Tumblr” as the positioning would quickly “add activitypub for interconnect.”

“Don’t stress,” he mentioned, earlier than clarifying that Tumblr first has to take care of the waves of recent customers coming in proper now from Twitter however that assist for “interop and activitypub” have been resulting from come “ASAP.”

In brief, this announcement means Tumblr would transfer from being solely a distinct segment running a blog platform to turning into part of a bigger, decentralized social community of kinds — and one whose consumer base has grown in dimension in latest days as individuals flee Elon Musk’s Twitter in quest of new communities.

The ActivityPub protocol, its website explains, gives a client-to-server API for creating, updating, and deleting content material, in addition to a federal server-to-server API for delivering notifications and subscribing to content material. In follow, which means Mastodon customers can work together with and comply with customers on different situations (independently run nodes) and on different social apps (like PeerTube), which additionally assist the implementation of ActivityPub. It makes for an online of social networks the place customers can discover and comply with one another with out having to arrange new accounts on every new service.

That is the alternative method to immediately’s “walled backyard” social networks, the place a submit on one platform can’t be seen by these on others, except you re-upload or repost the content material instantly or share a hyperlink to the opposite website the place the content material may be discovered.

If Tumblr have been so as to add ActivityPub assist, it means customers on Mastodon might comply with Tumblr customers’ posts from their very own Mastodon occasion — with out having to make use of the Tumblr app. It might additionally present Tumblr customers with an entry level into the so-called fediverse with out having to face a number of the complexities which can be concerned with signing up for Mastodon for the primary time.

Tumblr was already benefiting from the Twitter exodus, having grown its U.S. app installs 7% week-over-week from the week previous to the acquisition and the 7 days after, data.ai had reported earlier this month. And, as of 12 days after Twitter’s acquisition, Tumblr’s worldwide downloads surged 77% to 301,000 up from 170,000 within the 12 days earlier than the acquisition, Sensor Tower recently said.

Mullenweg later supplied a glimpse into Tumblr’s metrics, noting to The Atlantic that iOS downloads of the Tumblr app have been up 62% the week after Musk took over Twitter.

However even earlier than Musk took Twitter’s helm, Mullenweg had been considering about how Tumblr could better compete with Twitter in the future.

“I simply need there to be an open different, I would like you to have the ability to select your algorithm…we’re making an attempt to make Tumblr an area for artwork and artists…,” he had mentioned earlier this 12 months, one the place “you’re not doomscrolling, you’re joy-scrolling.”

Extra just lately, Mullenweg has been making an attempt to instantly recruit former Twitter employees to come work for Automattic, organising a devoted web site for the aim.

Automattic, we must always observe, already has some expertise with ActivityPub.

Along with Tumblr, Automattic runs the running a blog service WordPress.com and contributes to the open supply WordPress running a blog software program platform. The latter immediately gives an ActivityPub plug-in for self-hosted WordPress websites. This permits a WordPress weblog’s readers to comply with their posts on Mastodon and different federated social platforms. One might think about an analogous state of affairs for Tumblr, if ActivitiyPub assist was added.

Mullenweg didn’t provide an ETA as to how “ASAP” this assist can be added.

Tumblr was not capable of present a direct remark when reached.