Ghost Connects Creators Across the Social Web
The Internet is evolving, and Ghost is at the forefront of an exciting new shift. On 17 March, the content management and blogging platform announced the public beta of its social web – a ground-breaking move that allows creators and publishers on the paid Ghost(Pro) platform to seamlessly connect and interact across the fediverse.
If you're a Ghost(Pro) user, as I am, you can now follow, be followed, and engage with others not only within Ghost but also across fediverse platforms like Mastodon, Threads, Flipboard, Bluesky, WordPress, Pixelfed, WriteFreely, and more.
This brings a new layer of discoverability and engagement, making it easier to build an audience and community beyond the confines of traditional social media.
What is Ghost's Social Web?
Ghost has integrated ActivityPub, an open protocol that powers federated networks like Mastodon, enabling Ghost publishers to exist natively within the social web. This means that every Ghost(Pro) site is now a potential node in a wider interconnected ecosystem, allowing posts and interactions to flow freely across multiple platforms.
Once you've enabled the social web beta from within Ghost(Pro), your Ghost publication essentially becomes a social profile. Readers can follow you from their Mastodon accounts, for instance, interact with your posts, and even have your updates show up in their feeds – just like any other federated account.
Notably, you can also do this with Bluesky, which operates on the AT Protocol, a different standard for building social apps, not directly for now but by a workaround – if you follow @bsky.brid.gy@bsky.brid.gy from your Ghost site, you can get your posts showing up on Bluesky.
How Ghost's Social Web Beta Works in Practice
When you publish a new post on your Ghost blog, it will automatically appear in fediverse feeds for your followers. Users on platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and others can follow your Ghost site just as they would a user profile.
Readers on those fediverse platforms can like, reply, and share your content directly from their preferred platform.
Your Ghost handle (expressed as @yourname@yourdomain.com) functions just like a Mastodon handle, making it easy for people to find and connect with you. Mine is @index@www.nevillehobson.io – feel free to connect! Every handle currently starts with 'index'; I'm sure customisation options will come soon.
One thing I do like is how seamless Ghost says the fediverse connectivity already is from when you enable the beta in your Ghost(Pro) account:
This post will be the first I will have published after enabling the social web beta. I'll be keeping a close eye on what happens.
Why This Matters
For independent publishers, newsletters, bloggers, and creators, this is a game-changer. Instead of relying solely on email subscriptions, search engines, or siloed social media platforms, you can now tap into a truly open and decentralised network where discovery and engagement are built into the ecosystem.
For communication professionals, Ghost’s integration with the fediverse marks a significant shift in how content is discovered and engaged with.
Traditional social media platforms operate within walled gardens, limiting organic reach and audience ownership. By embracing ActivityPub and the broader social web, communicators can tap into a more open, decentralised ecosystem where content flows freely across networks like Ghost, Mastodon, WordPress, and Bluesky.
This presents new opportunities for brand storytelling, audience engagement, and reputation management – all while reducing dependency on algorithm-driven platforms.
The online communication landscape is fast evolving, and professionals who adapt to these emerging decentralised networks will be better positioned to cultivate authentic connections and long-term audience relationships.
As someone who has just signed up for this beta, I’m excited to explore how it works in practice. At the moment, you can integrate posts you publish on your Ghost site, but not yet for your Ghost newsletter. It's a beta, and an early one, so I expect things to change and glitches to happen.
If you’re on Ghost(Pro), I highly recommend checking it out – it could redefine how we connect with audiences in the years ahead. Do read Ghost’s official guide to the social web.
As Ghost notes in its announcement:
If you're on Ghost(Pro), have you signed up for the beta? What do you think of it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
