diff --git a/fedireads/activitypub_templates.py b/fedireads/activitypub_templates.py
index cb799d2fb..4d1bc208b 100644
--- a/fedireads/activitypub_templates.py
+++ b/fedireads/activitypub_templates.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ def shelve_action(user, book, shelf):
         '@context': 'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams',
         'summary': summary,
         'type': 'Add',
-        'actor': user.activitypub_id,
+        'actor': user.actor,
         'object': {
             'type': 'Document',
             'name': book_title,
@@ -30,6 +30,16 @@ def shelve_action(user, book, shelf):
         }
     }
 
+def follow_request(user, follow):
+    ''' ask to be friends '''
+    return {
+        '@context': 'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams',
+        'summary': '',
+        'type': 'Follow',
+        'actor': user.actor,
+        'object': follow,
+    }
+
 
 def accept_follow(activity, user):
     ''' say YES! to a user '''
@@ -38,7 +48,33 @@ def accept_follow(activity, user):
         '@context': 'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams',
         'id': 'https://%s/%s' % (DOMAIN, uuid),
         'type': 'Accept',
-        'actor': user.actor['id'],
+        'actor': user.actor,
         'object': activity,
     }
 
+
+def actor(user):
+    ''' format an actor object from a user '''
+    return {
+        '@context': [
+            'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams',
+            'https://w3id.org/security/v1'
+        ],
+
+        'id': user.actor,
+        'type': 'Person',
+        'preferredUsername': user.username,
+        'inbox': 'https://%s/api/%s/inbox' % (DOMAIN, user.username),
+        'followers': 'https://%s/api/u/%s/followers' % \
+                (DOMAIN, user.username),
+        'publicKey': {
+            'id': 'https://%s/api/u/%s#main-key' % (DOMAIN, user.username),
+            'owner': 'https://%s/api/u/%s' % (DOMAIN, user.username),
+            'publicKeyPem': user.public_key,
+        }
+    }
+
+
+def inbox(user):
+    ''' describe an inbox '''
+    return 'https://%s/api/%s/inbox' % (DOMAIN, user.username)
diff --git a/fedireads/federation.py b/fedireads/federation.py
index 782e526e8..6f1027f03 100644
--- a/fedireads/federation.py
+++ b/fedireads/federation.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ def webfinger(request):
     if not resource and not resource.startswith('acct:'):
         return HttpResponseBadRequest()
     ap_id = resource.replace('acct:', '')
-    user = models.User.objects.filter(activitypub_id=ap_id).first()
+    user = models.User.objects.filter(full_username=ap_id).first()
     if not user:
         return HttpResponseNotFound('No account found')
     return JsonResponse(format_webfinger(user))
@@ -29,12 +29,12 @@ def webfinger(request):
 def format_webfinger(user):
     ''' helper function to create structured webfinger json '''
     return {
-        'subject': 'acct:%s' % (user.activitypub_id),
+        'subject': 'acct:%s' % (user.full_username),
         'links': [
             {
                 'rel': 'self',
                 'type': 'application/activity+json',
-                'href': user.actor['id']
+                'href': user.actor
             }
         ]
     }
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ def format_webfinger(user):
 def actor(request, username):
     ''' return an activitypub actor object '''
     user = models.User.objects.get(username=username)
-    return JsonResponse(user.actor)
+    return JsonResponse(templates.actor(user))
 
 
 @csrf_exempt
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ def handle_add(activity):
     book_id = activity['object']['url']
     book = openlibrary.get_or_create_book(book_id)
     user_ap_id = activity['actor'].replace('https//:', '')
-    user = models.User.objects.get(activitypub_id=user_ap_id)
+    user = models.User.objects.get(actor=user_ap_id)
     shelf = models.Shelf.objects.get(activitypub_id=activity['target']['id'])
     models.ShelfBook(
         shelf=shelf,
@@ -92,11 +92,7 @@ def handle_follow(activity):
     following = activity['object'].replace('https://%s/api/u/' % DOMAIN, '')
     following = models.User.objects.get(username=following)
     # figure out who they are
-    ap_id = activity['actor']
-    try:
-        user = models.User.objects.get(activitypub_id=ap_id)
-    except models.User.DoesNotExist:
-        user = models.User(activitypub_id=ap_id, local=False).save()
+    user = get_or_create_remote_user(activity)
     following.followers.add(user)
     # accept the request
     return templates.accept_follow(activity, following)
@@ -125,7 +121,7 @@ def broadcast_action(sender, action, recipients):
         action['to'] = 'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public'
         action['cc'] = [recipient]
 
-        inbox_fragment = sender.actor['inbox'].replace('https://' + DOMAIN, '')
+        inbox_fragment = '/api/%s/inbox' % (sender.username)
         now = datetime.utcnow().isoformat()
         message_to_sign = '''(request-target): post %s
 host: https://%s
@@ -133,12 +129,12 @@ date: %s''' % (inbox_fragment, DOMAIN, now)
         signer = pkcs1_15.new(RSA.import_key(sender.private_key))
         signed_message = signer.sign(SHA256.new(message_to_sign.encode('utf8')))
 
-        signature = 'keyId="%s",' % sender.activitypub_id
+        signature = 'keyId="%s",' % sender.full_username
         signature += 'headers="(request-target) host date",'
         signature += 'signature="%s"' % b64encode(signed_message)
         response = requests.post(
             recipient,
-            body=action,
+            data=json.dumps(action),
             headers={
                 'Date': now,
                 'Signature': signature,
@@ -148,8 +144,40 @@ date: %s''' % (inbox_fragment, DOMAIN, now)
         if not response.ok:
             return response.raise_for_status()
 
+def broadcast_follow(sender, action, destination):
+    ''' send a follow request '''
+    inbox_fragment = '/api/%s/inbox' % (sender.username)
+    now = datetime.utcnow().isoformat()
+    message_to_sign = '''(request-target): post %s
+host: https://%s
+date: %s''' % (inbox_fragment, DOMAIN, now)
+    signer = pkcs1_15.new(RSA.import_key(sender.private_key))
+    signed_message = signer.sign(SHA256.new(message_to_sign.encode('utf8')))
+
+    signature = 'keyId="%s",' % sender.full_username
+    signature += 'headers="(request-target) host date",'
+    signature += 'signature="%s"' % b64encode(signed_message)
+    response = requests.post(
+        destination,
+        data=json.dumps(action),
+        headers={
+            'Date': now,
+            'Signature': signature,
+            'Host': DOMAIN,
+        },
+    )
+    if not response.ok:
+         response.raise_for_status()
+
 
 def get_or_create_remote_user(activity):
-    pass
+    actor = activity['actor']
+    try:
+        user = models.User.objects.get(actor=actor)
+    except models.User.DoesNotExist:
+        # TODO: how do you actually correctly learn this?
+        username = '%s@%s' % (actor.split('/')[-1], actor.split('/')[2])
+        user = models.User.objects.create_user(username, '', '', actor=actor, local=False)
+    return user
 
 
diff --git a/fedireads/migrations/0001_initial.py b/fedireads/migrations/0001_initial.py
index f3caea47c..5a1eac172 100644
--- a/fedireads/migrations/0001_initial.py
+++ b/fedireads/migrations/0001_initial.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Generated by Django 2.0.13 on 2020-01-27 02:41
+# Generated by Django 2.0.13 on 2020-01-27 03:37
 
 from django.conf import settings
 import django.contrib.auth.models
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
                 ('is_staff', models.BooleanField(default=False, help_text='Designates whether the user can log into this admin site.', verbose_name='staff status')),
                 ('is_active', models.BooleanField(default=True, help_text='Designates whether this user should be treated as active. Unselect this instead of deleting accounts.', verbose_name='active')),
                 ('date_joined', models.DateTimeField(default=django.utils.timezone.now, verbose_name='date joined')),
-                ('activitypub_id', models.CharField(max_length=255)),
+                ('full_username', models.CharField(blank=True, max_length=255, null=True, unique=True)),
                 ('private_key', models.TextField(blank=True, null=True)),
                 ('public_key', models.TextField(blank=True, null=True)),
                 ('api_key', models.CharField(blank=True, max_length=255, null=True)),
-                ('actor', django.contrib.postgres.fields.jsonb.JSONField(blank=True, null=True)),
+                ('actor', models.CharField(max_length=255)),
                 ('local', models.BooleanField(default=True)),
                 ('created_date', models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)),
                 ('updated_date', models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)),
diff --git a/fedireads/models.py b/fedireads/models.py
index 9c474f9c9..7022c3181 100644
--- a/fedireads/models.py
+++ b/fedireads/models.py
@@ -10,11 +10,11 @@ import re
 
 class User(AbstractUser):
     ''' a user who wants to read books '''
-    activitypub_id = models.CharField(max_length=255)
+    full_username = models.CharField(max_length=255, blank=True, null=True, unique=True)
     private_key = models.TextField(blank=True, null=True)
     public_key = models.TextField(blank=True, null=True)
     api_key = models.CharField(max_length=255, blank=True, null=True)
-    actor = JSONField(blank=True, null=True)
+    actor = models.CharField(max_length=255)
     local = models.BooleanField(default=True)
     created_date = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
     updated_date = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)
@@ -29,27 +29,9 @@ class User(AbstractUser):
             self.public_key = key.publickey().export_key().decode('utf8')
 
         if self.local and not self.actor:
-            self.actor = {
-                '@context': [
-                    'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams',
-                    'https://w3id.org/security/v1'
-                ],
-
-                'id': 'https://%s/api/u/%s' % (DOMAIN, self.username),
-                'type': 'Person',
-                'preferredUsername': self.username,
-                'inbox': 'https://%s/api/%s/inbox' % (DOMAIN, self.username),
-                'followers': 'https://%s/api/u/%s/followers' % \
-                        (DOMAIN, self.username),
-                'publicKey': {
-                    'id': 'https://%s/api/u/%s#main-key' % (DOMAIN, self.username),
-                    'owner': 'https://%s/api/u/%s' % (DOMAIN, self.username),
-                    'publicKeyPem': self.public_key,
-                }
-            }
-
-        if not self.activitypub_id:
-            self.activitypub_id = '%s@%s' % (self.username, DOMAIN)
+            self.actor = 'https://%s/api/u/%s' % (DOMAIN, self.username)
+        if self.local and not self.full_username:
+            self.full_username = '%s@%s' % (self.username, DOMAIN)
 
         super().save(*args, **kwargs)
 
diff --git a/fedireads/openlibrary.py b/fedireads/openlibrary.py
index e9d4b0bfa..64f0401da 100644
--- a/fedireads/openlibrary.py
+++ b/fedireads/openlibrary.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import requests
 def get_or_create_book(olkey, user=None, update=True):
     ''' add a book '''
     # check if this is a valid open library key, and a book
-    olkey = '/book/' + olkey
+    olkey = olkey
     response = requests.get(OL_URL + olkey + '.json')
 
     # get the existing entry from our db, if it exists
diff --git a/fedireads/templates/user.html b/fedireads/templates/user.html
index 9c4413f3f..8c8928788 100644
--- a/fedireads/templates/user.html
+++ b/fedireads/templates/user.html
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
     <div>
         <h2>Followers</h2>
         {% for follower in user.followers.all %}
-        {{ follower.activitypub_id }}
+        <a href="{{ follower.actor }}">{{ follower.username }}</a>
         {% endfor %}
     </div>
 
diff --git a/fedireads/views.py b/fedireads/views.py
index 26fdbc1b2..e389fc138 100644
--- a/fedireads/views.py
+++ b/fedireads/views.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ from django.template.response import TemplateResponse
 from django.views.decorators.csrf import csrf_exempt
 from fedireads import models
 import fedireads.activitypub_templates as templates
-from fedireads.federation import broadcast_action
+from fedireads.federation import broadcast_action, broadcast_follow
 
 @login_required
 def home(request):
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ def shelve(request, shelf_id, book_id):
 
     # send out the activitypub action
     action = templates.shelve_action(request.user, book, shelf)
-    recipients = [u.actor['inbox'] for u in request.user.followers.all()]
+    recipients = [templates.inbox(u) for u in request.user.followers.all()]
     broadcast_action(request.user, action, recipients)
 
     return redirect('/')
@@ -87,29 +87,13 @@ def shelve(request, shelf_id, book_id):
 @login_required
 def follow(request):
     ''' follow another user, here or abroad '''
-    followed = request.POST.get('user')
-    followed = models.User.objects.get(id=followed)
-    followed.followers.add(request.user)
-    activity = {
-        '@context': 'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams',
-        'summary': '',
-        'type': 'Follow',
-        'actor': {
-            'type': 'Person',
-            'name': request.user.get_actor(),
-        },
-        'object': {
-            'type': 'Person',
-            'name': followed.get_actor(),
-        }
-    }
+    to_follow = request.POST.get('user')
+    to_follow = models.User.objects.get(id=to_follow)
 
-    models.Activity(
-        data=activity,
-        user=request.user,
-    )
+    activity = templates.follow_request(request.user, to_follow.actor)
+    broadcast_follow(request.user, activity, templates.inbox(to_follow))
+    return redirect('/user/%s' % to_follow.username)
 
-    return redirect('/user/%s' % followed.username)
 
 
 @csrf_exempt
diff --git a/rebuilddb.sh b/rebuilddb.sh
index fa1c014f4..9792e8335 100755
--- a/rebuilddb.sh
+++ b/rebuilddb.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,6 @@ echo "from fedireads.models import User
 User.objects.create_user('rat', 'rat@rat.com', 'ratword')
 User.objects.get(id=1).followers.add(User.objects.get(id=2))" | python manage.py shell
 echo "from fedireads.openlibrary import get_or_create_book
-get_or_create_book('OL13549170M')
-get_or_create_book('OL24738110M')" | python manage.py shell
+get_or_create_book('/book/OL13549170M')
+get_or_create_book('/book/OL24738110M')" | python manage.py shell
 python manage.py runserver