A movement is crowdfunding a set of social media apps built around Pixelfed, an increasingly popular alternative to Instagram. The campaign promises “no ads, no algorithms, no tracking” and has already raised twice its goal within six days.
Pixelfed’s creator, Daniel Supernault, aims to expand the platform beyond Pixelfed, offering a portfolio of fediverse-based social media applications. Beta-testing is underway for Loops, a challenger for Tiktok, and Sup, a messaging app designed to integrate with other diverse-based messaging clients.
The campaign’s primary goal is to speed up development on Pixelfed and Loops, while expanding their platforms for moderation/safety/security and privacy. However, some observers worry that Supernault may be taking on too much too soon.
The Kickstarter campaign has raised over $81,000 from 1,773 backers, with supporters receiving early access to the apps and potential future applications. The funds have enabled faster development and moderation updates, including a new API for moderators.
International support is evident, with backers from Europe, North America, and Australia. Unlocked stretch goals include additional developers, a cloud platform, and potentially a Tumbler-like blog service. A Pixelfed Foundation registration is also in the works to support other fediverse projects.
Source: https://thenewstack.io/pixelfed-crowdfunds-more-open-source-social-alternatives-for-the-fediverse