If you want JSON, then try Nostr
Nostr, a simple protocol for decentralizing social media that has a chance of working.
Smart-client/dumb-server architecture that can create the free and open internet we were promised.
About
Some people appear to be influenced by a current hype about a spinoff of XMPP.
That spinoff is sponsored by a middle eastern spy company which has obvious relations with intelligence agencies, and it also discloses all the metadata of all of its participants, and is also centered around a single server.
It is needless to mention that JSON and XML are not the same, and the JSON lacks various of features which XML provides.
So, that JSON-based system should really be realized as XEP, if it has any actual new feature to offer.
Henceforth, I will not detail of this concern.
Nostr
There is a new protocol which is called Nostr, and it appears to be a genuine system to publish and selectively subscribe in that system, without the need for servers.
The only type of servers are relays.
Nostr is a simple, open protocol that enables world, decentralized, and censorship-resistant social media.
Nostr, acronym for “Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays”, revolutionizes social networking and online communication by eliminating dependency of centralized servers.
It employs a client-relay model, where people run clients, and anyone can operate relays.
This protocol ensures tamperproof communication through cryptographic keys and signatures.
By enabling people to establish pathways and publish notes to relays and incentivizing relay operators, Nostr addresses many shortcomings of existing systems.