About Open Social Directory
Open Social Directory is an independent, community-focused initiative based out of San Francisco, California. We are dedicated to mapping, indexing, and highlighting businesses, creators, and platforms operating on the decentralized social web. We also help businesses that are still on traditional, siloed platforms to get noticed & establish a presence on the Open Social Web.
Bridging Federation and Commerce
As the web transitions from centralized walled gardens to open, federated networks (like the Fediverse and AT Protocol), discovering commercial entities, publishers, and independent services has become a challenge. Unlike traditional directories that scrape and aggregate without consent, we focus on establishing a hand-curated catalog of verified federated profiles.
Our mission is to help small businesses, independent publishers, artists, and software platforms establish discoverability, own their direct audience connections, and bypass gatekeepers.
Our Core Principles
- Consent-First Indexing: We believe in user agency. We only list profiles that have explicitly requested to join or have confirmed direct outreach.
- E-E-A-T & Quality Standards: We verify all listings manually. We do not support spam, mass-produced low-quality profiles, or automated scraper bots.
- Protocol-Neutral: Whether you operate via ActivityPub (Mastodon, Pixelfed), AT Protocol (Bluesky), or relays (Nostr), we welcome and support all open standards.
Independent and Transparent
Open Social Directory is built to support the open social web. We focus on transparent platform reviews, open standards, and helpful tools for creators. We are not backed by venture capital, nor do we sell user data. Our operational costs are supported via transparent affiliate slots, partnerships, and premium sponsorships.
Support for the Entire Open Ecosystem
We believe that a truly open internet cannot be built on a single protocol or locked under a single ecosystem. That’s why the Open Social Business Directory supports and works with creators/businesses across multiple modern decentralization movements:
The Fediverse (ActivityPub)
The standard powering Mastodon, Pixelfed, Lemmy, and federated WordPress blogs. It enables interconnected communities where servers talk to each other seamlessly.
The Atmosphere (AT Protocol)
Driven by Bluesky, this high-performance protocol enables schema-driven, algorithmic choices and user-owned data streams.
Censorship-Resistant Tech (Nostr)
A simple, cryptographic relay protocol that allows you to sign content with a private key, ensuring no centralized party can silence you.
The IndieWeb Movement
Focuses on personal homepages, POSSE (Publish on Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere), Webmention, and Microformats to keep control on your own domain.
The Small Web Movement
Advocates for a human-scale, personal web of self-hosted, lightweight sites free from surveillance capitalism and commercial trackers.
The Web3 & Cryptographic Web
Utilizes public-key cryptography, decentralized identifiers (DIDs), and trustless storage protocols to verify identity and own digital assets securely.
Ready to transition your business to the Open Web?
Book a strategic consultation with our team in San Francisco. We'll help you audit your current platforms, establish an owned web presence, and federate your brand.