Bridgy Fed Transitions to Nonprofit to Unite the Open Social Web
Bridgy Fed, a pioneering project bridging Bluesky with the broader fediverse, is now becoming the flagship initiative under a new nonprofit organization called A New Social. Announced this week, the nonprofit aims to foster collaboration among developers, researchers, and industry leaders working on open social web infrastructure.
The Vision Behind A New Social
Founded by Bridgy Fed creator Ryan Barrett (CTO) and engineering leader Anuj Ahooja (CEO), A New Social seeks to:
- Support interoperability between decentralized platforms like Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky
- Promote adoption of open protocols like ActivityPub and AT Protocol
- Provide organizational structure for sustainable growth of fediverse projects
Why a Nonprofit Model?
Barrett explains that as Bridgy Fed evolved from a personal project to critical infrastructure, the need for a formal framework became clear. While venture funding was an option, the lack of a clear business model made the nonprofit route more viable.
“The business model wasn’t clear to me,” Barrett admits. “We needed structure and diverse voices to guide development.”
Strategic Partnerships and Funding
A New Social is currently:
- Assembling a board of directors
- Exploring funding through grants, crowdfunding, and industry partnerships
- Engaging with major platforms including Meta (Threads), Flipboard, and Mastodon to ensure alignment
“Our existence depends on platform cooperation,” notes Ahooja. “An organization provides the credibility to facilitate these conversations.”
The Expanding Fediverse Ecosystem
The nonprofit joins other initiatives like the Social Web Foundation (co-founded by ActivityPub co-author Evan Prodromou) in advancing open social web standards. Future focus areas may include:
- Supporting projects that connect disparate ecosystems
- Exploring emerging protocols like Farcaster and nostr
- Collaborating with trust/safety organizations like IFTAS
Challenges and Opportunities
The fediverse landscape has seen both experimentation and attrition, with services like sub.club and Mammoth shutting down due to funding challenges. However, A New Social represents a long-term commitment to building sustainable infrastructure for the open social web.
“We envision a future where these networks combine to create something greater,” Ahooja reflects. “That potential drove our partnership.”
As decentralized social media gains momentum, A New Social positions itself as a neutral hub for innovation—one that could help shape the next generation of online interaction.
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