Sure, Mastodon is a replacement for X, but the open-source platform represents something even more significant: the move towards decentralized social media. People fed up with walled-garden social networks are adopting new homes in the Fediverse, where they’re finding stronger engagement, better community, and systems that are more closely aligned to their values. 

We’re on the precipice of a new wave of innovation, and it’s important that even established organizations listen up and see what’s unfolding.

One person watching closely is the BBC’s Ian Forrester. As the Senior Firestarter in the broadcaster’s R&D Lab, Ian susses out new technologies and opportunities so that the public service broadcaster can stay current and true to its values. Among those values is trust, so the chance to verify its own journalists and run a social media server according to its own rules is a big reason for the BBC to even swim in these waters.

What has the BBC learned so far from its experiments in the Fediverse? What will decentralized systems unlock for innovation? And how is all this like the early days of the Internet?

That’s the subject of this week’s episode of Dot Social, the first podcast to explore the world of decentralized social media. Each episode, host (and Flipboard co-founder and CEO) Mike McCue talks to a leader in this movement; someone who sees the Fediverse’s tremendous potential and understands that this could be a significant shift for the internet. 

You can find Dot Social on Flipboard, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and anywhere else you might listen to podcasts. We’re also uploading episodes to YouTube:

Please subscribe so you never miss an episode, and don’t forget to rate, review and share, especially if you like what you hear. We’ll have a new episode coming out each Tuesday through January. 

— Mia Quagliarello, head of creator community, also has a podcast, about the art of curation