Newsletter platform and Substack rival Ghost made waves earlier this year when it announced its plans to join the fediverse, an open social network of interconnected servers. The fediverse includes popular apps like Mastodon, Pixelfed, PeerTube, Flipboard, Instagram Threads, and others. Now, Ghost has taken the first step by launching its own federated newsletter.
In recent days, Ghost achieved two significant milestones in its transition to becoming a federated service. Most notably, it federated its newsletter, making it the first federated Ghost instance on the internet.
Users can follow the newsletter on their preferred federated app at @index@activitypub.ghost.org. However, the company cautions that there may be bugs and issues as it continues to integrate with ActivityPub, the protocol that powers Mastodon and other federated apps.
Ghost shared its excitement in a recent announcement, stating, “Having multiple Ghost instances interact with the wider fediverse marks a significant step for us.”
Furthermore, Ghost’s ActivityPub GitHub repository is now fully open source. This allows interested parties to track Ghost’s progress toward federation in real-time. Developers are also invited to collaborate with the company following this move.
Ghost detailed the benefits of ActivityPub integration as an alternative to closed platforms like Substack. By offering a federated version of the newsletter, readers will have more options for subscribing through platforms like RSS and ActivityPub-powered apps.
ActivityPub integration is gaining traction in the media industry as writers and publishers seek alternatives to traditional platforms. Ghost has attracted high-profile users, including Casey Newton of The Verge, who migrated from Substack due to moderation concerns. Other popular Ghost-powered publishers include 404 Media, Buffer, Kickstarter, and David Sirota’s The Lever and Tangle.
