Dear Mark, I hope this finds you well. I noticed something interesting today - it seems Instagram is blocking links to my little open-source project. You know, the one that lets people share photos without harvesting their personal data or forcing algorithmic feeds on them. I have to admit, I'm flattered. Who would've thought a small team of volunteers could build something that would catch your attention? We're just trying to give people a choice in how they share their memories online. No VCs, no surveillance capitalism, just code and community. Remember when Facebook started? It was about connecting people, not maximizing engagement metrics. Our project might be tiny compared to Instagram, but we're staying true to that original spirit of social media - giving people control over their online presence without turning them into products. You could've ignored us. Instead, by blocking our links, you've given us the best endorsement we could ask for. You've confirmed what we've been saying all along - that big tech is more interested in protecting their walled gardens than fostering genuine innovation. Every time you block a link to our platform, you remind people why we built it in the first place. Your action tells them there are alternatives worth exploring, ones that respect their privacy and agency. So thank you, Mark. You've turned our little project into a symbol of resistance against digital monopolies.

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[–] ad_on_is@lemm.ee 7 points 3 hours ago

While I really wish for PixelFed to take off, like Mastodon and Lenmy did, the current situation, IMHO, is just confusing to say the least.

So, here are two pixelfed mobile apps, an older one which is just a wrapper of the web version, and a newer polished one.

I've the new "polished" one installed for a few months now, and it seemes as if it's development has stalled. The app just feels unfinished at this point.

Now, I get it, it's a volunteer project, and there are probably just a handful of people working on it. And this is totally fine, I'm not expecting them to deliver an Instagram clone anytime soon.

However, a few months ago, they announced "Loops", with pre-signups and some marketing yada yada... All this, while there's still an unfinished app for their core product. But, I went ahead and signed up, just to find out, it was just crickets for a few months.

Then, recently I logged in again (on the web), and saw an they have an App for Loops which seems to be in the works, and upon testing it, I came to the same conclusion, it's just an unfinished barebones TikTok.

Again, I'm not ranting about PixelFed, but IMHO, if they want to get serious, they should focus on one thing, until time and resources allow them to explore other things.

I would love to see it succeed as an alternative.