How does decentralised social media work?

Since Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022, many users have looked for alternatives, fuelling a wave of online migration from the social media platform.

How do alternative platforms such as Mastodon or Bluesky differ from traditional social media, and what does the future hold for these online spaces? In this episode, we speak to Robert Gehl, Ontario Research Chair of Digital Governance at York University, Canada, about the evolving landscape of decentralised social media.

This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Mend Mariwany with assistance from Katie Flood and Gemma Ware, Sound design was by Michelle Macklem, and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.

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Further reading:

• Bluesky isn’t the ‘new Twitter,’ but its resemblance to the old one is drawing millions of new users
• Decline of X is an opportunity to do social media differently – but combining ‘safe’ and ‘profitable’ will still be a challenge