“Do you remember the first time you thought
the web was magic?”
Old social is fragmented, walled gardens, billionaires owning what you do online. New social is for us all, a digital commons, where we can choose our channels and own our content and communities.
It’s a return to the early days of the web, when websites were springing up everywhere, and content flowed freely. Blogging, RSS and Podcasts are all a part of that.
Content creators and independent publishers are creating new social relationships through POSSE: Publish on Own Site, Syndicate Everywhere. That means having a content base which you own, where you have a direct relationship with your audience.
From the boardroom down, social media is becoming increasingly politicised. Users are getting a worse deal – but there is hope.
That’s why we began an ambitious campaign in January 2025 to promote New Social.
We’ve launched a digital campaign and posted physical ‘X-scape’ kits to leading voices at charities, media orgs and universities.
Its a great moment for the UK’s leading institutions to get ahead and commit to ethical social media.
There’s a bunch of old and new platforms where organisations and individuals can own and control their social media presence, making this an exciting and dynamic space:
The Fediverse
A network of connected platforms, including Mastodon, Pixelfed and Lemmy with over 10 million accounts and around a million monthly active users.
Federated platforms
Including WordPress, Flipboard, and Ghost, the blogging platform. Meta’s Threads has also introduced one-way federation – with two-way federation promised.
Bluesky
A Twitter alternative built on a decentralized protocol, ATProto.
Nostr and Farcaster
Two radically decentralised networks emerging from blockchain technology.
Blogs and RSS
Two of the original parts of the web – are making a comeback. Websites are federating too, through their CMS.
Podcasts and Forums
Different media forms hooking up with new social, adding new dimensions.
Channel.org is here to help you catch this new wave, establish a presence and start posting content across new social.