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+++
title = "Federation is the one new concept which excites me"
author = ["Michał Sapka"]
date = 2024-07-01T23:55:00+02:00
categories = ["blog"]
draft = false
weight = 2001
abstract = "The tech is here, we just need a good product"
+++
While it seems you can't even open a [fridge without some AI jumping at you](https://www.samsung.com/us/home-appliances/refrigerators/bespoke/bespoke-4-door-flex-refrigerator-29-cu-ft-with-ai-family-hub-and-ai-vision-inside-n-stainless-steel-rf29db9900qdaa/), or [your computer coming with hardware enabled spyware](https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2024/06/07/update-on-the-recall-preview-feature-for-copilot-pcs/), somewhere in the dark something cool lurks.
Not much in the dark, as ActivityPub is an open standard, and millions of peoples are using it via Mastodon, but the idea behind _federation_ doesn't get near enough attention.
For decades, The Open Web was under attack by shady companies, like Zuckernet or Muskitter.
There is a generation now who was raised on the web, but has no experience of even the simplest of Bulletin Boards, even though they were raised on the web.
They know the internet as "Wi-Fi", and the web is just a series of apps on their phones.
All attempts to educate them failed because it needed a yet another login on a platform none of their friends use.
Unless you have just finished investing in VC money, your app will not be a hit.
Kids won't join them because they want their celebrities, their YouTubers, their pop idols.
XMPP has no chance for a wide acceptance in this Discord riddled word.
Federation may be just what we need.
You get a single account, which becomes your identity across the entire federated web.
Want to send some shitpost to Lemmy?
If you're already using mastodon.social, then you've already got what you need.
It's a technology built _for people_ instead of [yet another one](https://michal.sapka.me/blog/2024/are-llms-worth-it/) designed to give money to Big Tech.
But federation requires significant effort to be easy enough for the _common folk_.
Twitter can paint your homepage with millions of cool posts because it has them (sadly).
Your Mastodon server does not, as the sexy girl from 3rd class may be on a different server.
It may seem like a no-problem, but if you are reading this, chances are you're familiar with dad-platforms, like Email and IRC.
We're seeing people returning to Twitter because the entire multiserver/service idea is not easy to get a grasp on, and even harder to effectively use.
You need _active work_ to build a network.
There is no algorithm that will fill in the blanks.
For me, this is a plus, but I am old.
Kids don't want to do anything more than swipe right (or whatever they do on tiktalk).
Federation is a fantastic idea, it's a technological solution to a social problem.
It's ready for prime time, but only for nerds.
And we're seeing it on Mastodon - there is a bigger chance to meet someone rocking a Linux desktop than to see a celebrity in between flights in her private jet.
Yes, we've got [William Gibson](https://mastodon.social/@GreatDismal), but he is not Taylor Swift.
We're now seeing the [Threads opening itself to federation](https://engineering.fb.com/2024/03/21/networking-traffic/threads-has-entered-the-fediverse/), but most of us see it more as a thread than a risk.
How will they enshitify it to make money?
Google was also happily [supporting XMPP](https://support.google.com/code/answer/62464?hl=en), but this was since discontinued and replaced with a mediocre product.
Even Microsoft now has [a significant saying in Linux](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/members).
Federation is great for the people, not for the gatekeepers.
DMA is failing here because it allows Facebook to choose who they make Messenger interoperable with.
There will be no official XMPP bridge anytime soon, and therefore there will be no real interoperability.
_We've got the technology_, but will it be enough?
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