This feels like irrational fear. The subversion of the original Web took decades to happen, a lot of complacency, lack of reflexes and the moral degeneration that allowed surveillance capitalism to become hugely profitable.
For sure Meta cannot be trusted to be up to anything kosher especially since social media tech is close to the money spinning core of the Death Star.
But what "stolen" audience are you worried about? The existing million or so fediverse users that will be lured back into the lethal embrace of the move-fast-and-break-things brigade? Future fediverse users that cant tell whether they are joining a surveillance apparatus or, e.g. their local community instance? Threads is currently cannibalising Instagram in the hope, pressumably, of grabbing some pieces from the decaying corpse of Twitter. All quite morbid affairs that dont have overlap with the migrants escaping to build a new life in the fediverse.
The issue of subverting the fediverse standards is more serious - in principle. But the tangible threat is not clear (to me at least). E.g., the protocols are low level, minimum interop standard, they specify nothing about how server platforms can (ab)use their users. This is all down to implementations.
In any case if you dont want corporate control of a standard make sure you dont take any corporate money and if they insist to join the fediverse party give them one vote like every other solo fediverse pioneer.
The fediverse is being noticed. Thats a good thing. Savvy PR by fediversians could spin Meta's "interest" in the project to open doors that they could not dream of. Granted PR and marketing is not the fediverse's strong point. Its better this way even if it makes the job of adoption harder. But lets not get scared by shadows.
For sure Meta cannot be trusted to be up to anything kosher especially since social media tech is close to the money spinning core of the Death Star.
But what "stolen" audience are you worried about? The existing million or so fediverse users that will be lured back into the lethal embrace of the move-fast-and-break-things brigade? Future fediverse users that cant tell whether they are joining a surveillance apparatus or, e.g. their local community instance? Threads is currently cannibalising Instagram in the hope, pressumably, of grabbing some pieces from the decaying corpse of Twitter. All quite morbid affairs that dont have overlap with the migrants escaping to build a new life in the fediverse.
The issue of subverting the fediverse standards is more serious - in principle. But the tangible threat is not clear (to me at least). E.g., the protocols are low level, minimum interop standard, they specify nothing about how server platforms can (ab)use their users. This is all down to implementations.
In any case if you dont want corporate control of a standard make sure you dont take any corporate money and if they insist to join the fediverse party give them one vote like every other solo fediverse pioneer.
The fediverse is being noticed. Thats a good thing. Savvy PR by fediversians could spin Meta's "interest" in the project to open doors that they could not dream of. Granted PR and marketing is not the fediverse's strong point. Its better this way even if it makes the job of adoption harder. But lets not get scared by shadows.