Bring together people and content on the social web
Social websites unite conversations around everything from popular podcasts to shared interests and hobbies. Each social website is powered by a Surf feed, with sources, filters and moderation controlled by the creator. This new model decentralizes the value of social media, giving power back to the millions of independent creators and communities that, until now, have been stuck in walled gardens. Examples include verge.surf.social wired.surf.social and filmfeed.surf.social
I'm just back from the AtmosphereConf, where I traveled with @mmccue and Ryan Barret by overnight train to join others in work to decentralize the social web!
And now Mike and @marci_mccue are here to launch something that's been over a year in the making: Social Websites.
The idea should be familiar, but the implementation and the scale is what's new.
Using surf.social, anyone can make a Surf feed, publish it with a subdomain and launch it as their own social website.
Feeds can include sources from Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, YouTube, podcast services, blogs and newsletters (RSS). Users can also assign a community hashtag, allowing people to contribute to the feed simply by using the hashtag. They can also set filters and exclude profiles or terms to keep the conversation on topic.
More tools to customize (e.g., adding custom headers and colors) and manage feeds are coming soon. Most importantly, social websites can now be shared outside of Surf, with online communities or linked in websites.
I'm just back from the AtmosphereConf, where I traveled with @mmccue and Ryan Barret by overnight train to join others in work to decentralize the social web!
And now Mike and @marci_mccue are here to launch something that's been over a year in the making: Social Websites.
The idea should be familiar, but the implementation and the scale is what's new.
Now anyone can build and launch their own corner of the internet and pull in social content from @Bluesky , @Mastodon , @Pixelfed, @Threads (and more!) with familiar publishers like The Verge, Decoder, Vergecast, Version History, WIRED, Rolling Stone Politics, 404 Media, Shutdown Fullcast, The MMQB, Defector: Sports!, All Net, FilmFeed, and The Oregonian participating.
Making a Social Website
Using surf.social, anyone can make a Surf feed, publish it with a subdomain and launch it as their own social website.
Feeds can include sources from Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, YouTube, podcast services, blogs and newsletters (RSS). Users can also assign a community hashtag, allowing people to contribute to the feed simply by using the hashtag. They can also set filters and exclude profiles or terms to keep the conversation on topic.
More tools to customize (e.g., adding custom headers and colors) and manage feeds are coming soon. Most importantly, social websites can now be shared outside of Surf, with online communities or linked in websites.
The Android app is now available and the iOS app is coming soon.