The FediForum conference, held virtually over the past two years, continues to showcase innovations within the realm of the open social web. Last year, the introduction of Threads into the fediverse was a highlight. This year’s event maintained that tradition, featuring developers who unveiled new applications aimed at enhancing the decentralized social network ecosystem.
Bonfire Social emerged as one of the standout applications, designed to facilitate the creation of digital communities with tailored governance and characteristics.
At the conference, Bonfire revealed the launch of Bonfire Social 1.0, the platform’s initial offering. This version includes a tailored bundle of extensions, which determine the available features such as customized feeds, user profiles, threaded discussions, and more, enabling users to share posts and follow others.
The Bonfire team is also developing additional versions, including Bonfire Community for private groups and Open Science for academic collaboration. Additionally, Bonfire Social is designed to work with platforms like Mastodon, Peertube, and Mobilizon. Interested users can install Bonfire Social or explore the demo.
Also unveiled during FediForum was Channel.org, a new service aimed at customizing content consumption on the open social web. Users can refine their feeds according to specific hashtags and users, which includes bridged Bluesky accounts and RSS sources. Channels created by users can be followed across the Fediverse, Bluesky, and RSS, with options to filter keywords and mute irrelevant accounts. Built-in features also exist to block NSFW content and hate speech.
Channel.org operates on a customized Mastodon server managed by the Newsmast Foundation, a UK-based charity dedicated to the fediverse. The platform is currently in an invite-only beta phase, but users can join a waitlist for further updates. More information and examples of available channels can be found on Channel.org’s website.
Another key service featured at the forum was Bounce, an application designed to facilitate the migration of Bluesky accounts to Mastodon while preserving followers. Developed by A New Social, creators of the Bridgy Fed tool utilized by Bounce, this functionality allows users to move their data seamlessly between platforms, retaining their follower connections throughout the transition.
