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Social media, in its current form, is broken and chaotic. A new organization, the Social Web Foundation, aims to change that. This initiative has launched with a clear mission: fuel the growth of the fediverse and make the social web a better place for everyone.

Automattic, WordPress.com’s parent company, is excited to be part of this movement and to support the Foundation’s vision for a healthier, more diverse social web.

What is the Social Web Foundation?

Founded by leaders in the open social networking space, including Evan Prodromou, Tom Coates, and Mallory Knodel, the Social Web Foundation is focused on fostering a financially sustainable, decentralized social web. It will empower users and creators by enhancing platform diversity, encouraging innovation, and promoting user safety across the fediverse.

The Social Web Foundation’s immediate focus is on building the infrastructure needed to connect users and developers across platforms. The Foundation will also work to educate the public, policymakers, and developers about the benefits of the fediverse while continuing to improve the ActivityPub protocol and the tools that power it.

Automattic’s role in supporting the Social Web Foundation

Automattic has a long history of championing open source software and open standards, and we believe the fediverse plays a critical role in shaping the future of the web. That’s why Automattic is eager to collaborate with the Social Web Foundation to ensure a stronger, more open ecosystem for all users.

Matthias Pfefferle, Open Web Lead at Automattic, said, “We’re excited about the launch of the Social Web Foundation and its mission. We’re eager to collaborate with the Foundation to expand platform diversity and enhance the support for various content types—especially long-form content—within the fediverse, fostering greater interoperability across the ecosystem.”

Alongside Automattic, companies like Mastodon, Flipboard, Ghost, and Meta have expressed their support for the Foundation’s mission. As Eugen Rochko, Founder and CEO of Mastodon, states, “Mastodon is committed to the fediverse and proud to back the Social Web Foundation’s efforts to build a stronger, more open, and dynamic social web for all.”

Federating WordPress.com with ActivityPub

For creators using WordPress.com, there’s already an easy way to join the fediverse. The ActivityPub plugin federates your WordPress.com site, allowing readers on other fediverse platforms like Mastodon and Pixelfed to follow your site directly. This integration gives creators even more control and reach, offering a seamless way to distribute content across multiple networks while maintaining ownership of what you publish.

Why this matters

As the Social Web Foundation builds out its program, Automattic and WordPress.com are proud to be part of the next wave of social networking. The ability to control your own data, interact across platforms, and have a say in the future of the social web aligns perfectly with our own values as an organization dedicated to empowering creators and users worldwide. And with the ActivityPub plugin, WordPress.com users can easily join in, helping to build a more open and federated web.

To learn more about the Social Web Foundation, visit their website, or follow them at @swf on the fediverse.

Also be sure to catch up on all things fediverse with our five-part YouTube series, The Fediverse Files.

Our Contributions Towards a Stronger Open Source Future

As an open source project, the WordPress software relies on contributions from individuals and businesses alike to remain a healthy and innovative ecosystem.

Individuals can contribute in a number of ways, from writing code to organizing meetups to working on WordPress’s accessibility. Companies can contribute by permitting their employees to allocate part-time or full-time hours to WordPress.

For the latest WordPress release Automattic provided over 3,500 core contributions—over half of all WordPress 6.6 contributions—at the hands of 105 individual contributors.

WordPress core contributors, by company. Image source: WordPress.org.WordPress core contributions, by company. Image source: WordPress.org.

Given that WordPress powers over 40% of your favorite websites, it’s in the best interest of every company that benefits from WordPress to give back to the project and community.

This idea is codified in WordPress’s Five for the Future initiative. Any company that profits from the software—including every business offering hosting for WordPress—is encouraged to put 5% of its resources back into WordPress development.

At Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com, we take this responsibility very seriously.

Automattic employs just under 2,000 people. Over 100 of them work on the WordPress project full-time. In terms of workforce hours, this puts the company at almost exactly 5%.

Contributor day at WordCamp Europe 2024.

Though this is not a requirement and it is not policed by the WordPress Foundation, every company that profits from WordPress should think about the long-term health and vibrancy of the WordPress ecosystem. At Automattic and WordPress.com, we’re proud to give back and to constantly be thinking about bettering WordPress as a whole when we’re working on features, squashing bugs, and generally doing our best to democratize publishing for the entire world.

As a customer—whether you’re a developer at an agency or an aspiring creator—you have a say in the future of WordPress. You have options when it comes to hosting. We recommend that the dollars you spend go towards a WordPress host that acts as a good steward of open source philosophy—like WordPress.com.

Get started with WordPress.com

2025 DSF Board Nominations

Nominations are open for the 2025 Django Software Foundation Board of Directors.

In 2023 we introduced a staggered term for directors. Of our 7 directors, there are 4 positions currently open, with each position serving for two years.

Decisions around the 2025 officer roles will be made during the meeting of the new board. You don’t need to specify which position you are nominating for.

As you know, the Board guides the direction of the marketing, governance and outreach activities of the Django community. We provide funding, resources, and guidance to Django events on a global level. Further we provide support to the Django community with an established Code of Conduct and make decisions and enforcement recommendations for violations. We work with our corporate and individual members to raise funds to help support our great community.

In order for our community to continue to grow and advance the Django Web framework, we need your help. The Board of Directors consists of seven volunteers who are elected to two year terms. This is an excellent opportunity to help advance Django. We can’t do it without volunteers, such as yourself. Anyone including current Board members, DSF Members, or the public at large can apply to the Board. It is open to all.

2025 DSF Board Nomination Form

If you are interested in helping to support the development of Django we’d enjoy receiving your application for the Board of Directors. Please fill out the 2025 DSF Board Nomination form by October 25, 2024 Anywhere on Earth to be considered.

If you have any questions about applying, the work, or the process in general please don’t hesitate to reach out via email to [email protected].

Thank you for your time and we look forward to working with you in 2025.

The 2024 DSF Board of Directors.