Mastodon, Bluesky, Nostr, Threads: Since Elon Musk acquired X (the app formerly known as Twitter) in 2022, the use of X alternatives has continued to grow as people embrace decentralized social networking. Unfortunately, keeping up with all the new networks hasn't been easy, as currently they rely on a variety of protocols that aren't interoperable. This is a problem that a new app called Openvibe aims to solve. From a single interface, Openvibe lets you stay connected with your friends and followers on Mastodon, Nostr, Bluesky, and soon Threads, with a unified timeline. It also gives you the ability to crosspost to multiple networks at once.
According to CEO Matej Svansar, the company's mission is to provide a friendly, “easy-to-use gateway” to the open social web for new users.
The Czech Republic-based team originally began developing a Twitter client called Tweetoshi in 2022, but after Elon Musk acquired Twitter, many of the app's early adopters switched, so the team shifted its focus to the open social web. Previous efforts included the development of an app called Plebstr, which was powered by Nostr, but has now been integrated into Openvibe.
But the company's users were frustrated by the fact that there were multiple open social protocols to choose from and the networks couldn't communicate with each other.
“We've experienced this problem ourselves, and Openvibe is our answer to it,” says Svancer. “There are some existing bridges, but they require additional servers, mirror accounts, opt-ins, etc. We don't think this is the ideal way to go about it. With Openvibe, you can connect your existing accounts without any of that. Our goal with Openvibe is to lower the barrier of entry for new users in this space. I believe that the open social space, if unified, can compete with traditional social media.”
Image credit: Openvibe
The product answers a growing need among users for tools to keep up with an increasingly fragmented social web, where a multitude of startups and projects are challenging the tech giants. There's the open source project Mastodon, a decentralized open social network powered by the ActivityPub protocol, as well as startups like Bluesky, which currently has 6 million users and is built on the latest AT protocol, and Nostr, the decentralized social protocol currently favored by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
Smaller startups like Spoutible and Spill are also trying to compete with Twitter/X, but earlier efforts like Post and T2/Pebble have already failed. Still, the space continues to gain momentum, with the recent launch of noplace, a Twitter and MySpace mashup targeted at Gen Z.
Meanwhile, with an eye on where the social web is headed, Meta has adopted ActivityPub for its latest social network, Threads.
But with so many options, new aggregation tools are emerging that combine social and RSS feeds and other news sources: Iconfactory, the former developer of Twitter client Twitterrific, is now working on an app called Tapestry to help people keep up with the latest news, while Silvio Rizzi, developer of news reader app Reeder, is working on a Reeder replacement that includes social sources.
Ahead of these potential competitors comes Openvibe, a simple aggregator for the open social web.
Image credit: Openvibe
To use the app, simply log in to your existing account on any supported network. You can then instantly follow all your friends on a unified timeline. The app also features an integrated trends section and support for cross-posting.
You can follow linked Threads profiles through the app's Mastodon integration, but now that the Threads API is available, Svancer plans to add broader support for Threads in the future, starting with crossposting.
A version of Openvibe has been in development for some time, but the latest release adds support for Bluesky, so Svancer waited until now to promote the release.
The four-person team includes Svancer, two developers and a designer. The pre-seed stage startup is backed by angel investors and Wolf, the New York accelerator that Openvibe joined last year.
Openvibe is available as a free app on iOS and Android, with plans to experiment with a desktop version as well. The app plans to introduce subscription plans at a later date to generate revenue.