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# SoMe Taxonomy

What are we talking about when we say "Social Media"?

MakerFLOSS · May 2026

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## Why a Taxonomy?

"Social Media" is a catch-all term that hides very different tools:

- A **group chat** is not a **blog**
- A **wiki** is not a **forum**
- A **video platform** is not a **microblog**

Understanding the categories helps us:
- Choose the right tool for the job
- Find FLOSS alternatives in each category

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## The Categories

| Category | Purpose |
|----------|---------|
| **Messaging** | 1:1 and group real-time chat |
| **Microblogging** | Short public posts, feeds |
| **Forums** | Threaded discussions, Q&A |
| **Wikis** | Collaborative knowledge bases |
| **Media Sharing** | Photos, videos, audio |
| **Professional Networks** | Career, business connections |
| **Collaboration** | Team workspaces, documents |

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## Messaging

Real-time 1:1 and group communication

| Platform | Owner | FLOSS Alternative |
|----------|-------|-------------------|
| WhatsApp | Meta | **Signal**, **Matrix** |
| Messenger | Meta | **Matrix**, **XMPP** |
| iMessage | Apple | **Signal** |
| Google Messages | Google | **Matrix** |
| Telegram | Telegram | **Matrix**, **Signal** |
| Teams Chat | Microsoft | **Mattermost**, **Rocket.Chat** |
| Slack | Salesforce | **Mattermost**, **Zulip** |

---

## Microblogging

Short posts, public feeds, social networking

| Platform | Owner | FLOSS Alternative |
|----------|-------|-------------------|
| Twitter/X | X Corp | **Mastodon**, **Pleroma** |
| Threads | Meta | **Mastodon** |
| Bluesky | Bluesky | **Mastodon** (federated) |

All FLOSS alternatives use **ActivityPub** or similar federation protocols.

---

## Forums & Discussion

Threaded discussions, communities, Q&A

| Platform | Owner | FLOSS Alternative |
|----------|-------|-------------------|
| Reddit | Reddit Inc | **Lemmy**, **Kbin** |
| Facebook Groups | Meta | **Discourse**, **Lemmy** |
| Stack Overflow | Stack Exchange | **Discourse** |
| Quora | Quora Inc | **Discourse** |

---

## Wikis & Knowledge Bases

Collaborative documentation and knowledge sharing

| Platform | Owner | FLOSS Alternative |
|----------|-------|-------------------|
| Wikipedia | Wikimedia | **MediaWiki** (same!) |
| Notion | Notion Labs | **Wiki.js**, **BookStack** |
| Confluence | Atlassian | **Wiki.js**, **XWiki** |
| Google Docs (collab) | Google | **Etherpad**, **HedgeDoc** |

---

## Media Sharing

Photos, videos, audio, streaming

| Platform | Type | FLOSS Alternative |
|----------|------|-------------------|
| YouTube | Video | **PeerTube** |
| Instagram | Photos | **Pixelfed** |
| TikTok | Short video | **PeerTube** |
| Spotify | Audio | **Funkwhale** |
| Twitch | Live stream | **Owncast** |
| Flickr | Photos | **Pixelfed** |

---

## Professional Networks

Career networking, business connections

| Platform | Owner | FLOSS Alternative |
|----------|-------|-------------------|
| LinkedIn | Microsoft | **OpenSocialLinked**? |
| Xing | New Work SE | (no clear alternative) |

This category has the weakest FLOSS alternatives — network effects are hard to overcome.

---

## Collaboration & Productivity

Team workspaces, project management

| Platform | Owner | FLOSS Alternative |
|----------|-------|-------------------|
| Microsoft Teams | Microsoft | **Mattermost**, **Rocket.Chat** |
| Slack | Salesforce | **Mattermost**, **Zulip** |
| Trello | Atlassian | **Wekan**, **Kanboard** |
| Asana | Asana | **OpenProject** |
| Google Workspace | Google | **Nextcloud** |

---

## Legacy / Classic

Still around, still relevant

| Platform | Type | Notes |
|----------|------|-------|
| **Email** | Messaging | The original! Federated by design |
| **NetNews (NNTP)** | Forums | Usenet — the original Reddit |
| **IRC** | Messaging | Still used by many FLOSS projects |
| **Mailing Lists** | Forums | Listserv, Mailman — still going strong |
| **RSS** | Feeds | Subscribe to anything |

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## The Big Picture

| Messaging | Microblog | Forums | Media |
|-----------|-----------|--------|-------|
| WhatsApp | Twitter/X | Reddit | YouTube |
| Messenger | Threads | FB Groups | Instagram |
| Signal | Mastodon | Lemmy | PeerTube |
| Matrix | Bluesky | Discourse | Pixelfed |

| Wikis | Professional | Collaboration | Legacy |
|-------|--------------|---------------|--------|
| Wikipedia | LinkedIn | Teams/Slack | Email |
| Notion | Xing | Mattermost | IRC |
| Wiki.js | | Nextcloud | NetNews |

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## Key Takeaways

1. **"Social Media" is not one thing** — it's many categories
2. **Each category has FLOSS alternatives** — some better than others
3. **Federation is the key** — ActivityPub, Matrix, Email
4. **Network effects are the barrier** — the tech exists, adoption is hard
5. **Legacy protocols still work** — Email, IRC, RSS are battle-tested

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# Questions?

_Slides made with [Marp](https://marp.app)_