Substack Rival Ghost Connects To The Open Social Web With Its Latest Public Release

After months of beta testing, newsletter level Ghost has shipped a caller type of its software, Ghost 6, that allows its publishers to stock their long-form contented natively pinch nan broader unfastened societal web. That intends successful summation to publishing their newsletters to nan web, RSS, and sending them retired via email, Ghost’s users tin besides natively link pinch services for illustration nan decentralized X rival Mastodon; Meta’s Threads; Flipboard; WordPress sites that person integrated pinch ActivityPub, Surf, and WriteFreely; and others.

While Ghost besides mentions nan expertise to people to Bluesky arsenic a portion of this release, that’s made possible done an integration pinch Bridgy Fed, a work that connects nan open societal web known arsenic fediverse to nan 1 called nan ATmosphere. The erstwhile is powered by an unfastened modular for decentralized societal networking called ActivityPub, whereas nan second useful pinch nan newer AT Protocol utilized by Bluesky and different apps.

Manton Reece, nan laminitis of nan publishing level Micro.blog, pointed retired nan quality betwixt his work and Ghost’s, noting that Micro.blog has been moving connected nonstop AT Protocol integration while Ghost is utilizing bridging.

ActivityPub has agelong been utilized to powerfulness open, decentralized societal media applications. But successful nan years aft Twitter’s acquisition by Elon Musk, location has been an accrued liking successful building pinch this protocol arsenic competitors to Twitter (now called X) emerged.

Meta launched its replacement to X successful 2023 pinch Instagram Threads, which has been catching up to X connected mobile devices. Meanwhile, blogging level WordPress, including nan hosted type WordPress.com, now offers nan expertise to merge pinch ActivityPub, allowing users to travel WordPress blogs connected services for illustration Mastodon. Other apps person integrated pinch nan unfastened societal web arsenic well, specified arsenic Flipboard’s flagship app and newer app Surf, and publishing level Medium.

Image Credits:Ghost

Ghost besides touted nan imaginable web effects of connecting pinch ActivityPub, because it allows group connected federated apps to past travel a Ghost publisher’s posts, arsenic good arsenic interact pinch them by liking, replying, aliases reposting. This perchance broadens nan publishers’ scope and expands their readership.

In addition, Ghost’s users tin support up pinch different long-form contented successful an “Inbox” conception of its software, wherever they tin travel different articles published connected Ghost aliases WordPress. Plus, from Ghost’s admin screen, publishers will person nan expertise to station short-form contented to nan fediverse, allowing them to turn their pursuing and link pinch readers.

Image Credits:Ghost

Ghost 6 arrives soon aft a shameful incident from its apical competitor, nan newsletter level Substack, which sent a push notification to users encouraging them to subscribe to a Nazi newsletter. Several authors already near Substack complete its determination to big specified contented successful nan past, including Casey Newton of Platformer, a celebrated tech publication. Other notable Ghost publications see 404 Media, Spyglass, David Sirota’s The Lever, Tangle, Jason Calacanis’s Inside, SFist, and others.

Image Credits:Ghost

While nan ActivityPub integration is simply a main trading constituent for Ghost 6, this awesome merchandise includes a number of different changes and caller additions. Notably, Ghost now ships with a autochthonal analytics suite that tracks performance, engagement, and conversions crossed nan web, newsletters, and subscriptions successful existent time.

The package besides supports a assortment of costs methods, tips and donations, branded newsletters, contented that tin beryllium personalized to individual readers, and more.

With nan release, Ghost adjusted its pricing for its Pro (hosted) plans; its cheapest plans now commencement astatine $15 and $29 per month, up from $9 and $25 per month, respectively. Ghost publishers pinch a ample number of subscribers, however, will now spot reduced pricing.