ActivityPub vs Open Social Web

Developers should learn ActivityPub when building or integrating social networking features that require decentralized, federated communication, such as in Mastodon, PeerTube, or other fediverse applications meets developers should learn about the open social web when building social applications that prioritize user privacy, data ownership, and interoperability, such as in projects involving decentralized social networks, community platforms, or tools for content sharing across services. Here's our take.

ActivityPub

Nice Pick

Developers should learn ActivityPub when building or integrating social networking features that require decentralized, federated communication, such as in Mastodon, PeerTube, or other fediverse applications

Pros

• It is essential for creating platforms that prioritize user control, data portability, and censorship resistance, as it enables cross-platform interactions without relying on a central authority
• Related to: mastodon, fediverse

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Open Social Web

Developers should learn about the Open Social Web when building social applications that prioritize user privacy, data ownership, and interoperability, such as in projects involving decentralized social networks, community platforms, or tools for content sharing across services

Pros

• It is particularly relevant for use cases like creating federated social media apps, integrating with the Fediverse, or developing systems that require cross-platform communication without relying on proprietary APIs, as it fosters innovation and reduces dependency on single providers
• Related to: activitypub, mastodon

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. ActivityPub is a protocol while Open Social Web is a concept. We picked ActivityPub based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

ActivityPub wins

Based on overall popularity. ActivityPub is more widely used, but Open Social Web excels in its own space.