From what I understand about Mastodon now, the more people I follow, the better chances I have to find discussions I'm interested in.
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@gptreb Thank you! This sounds really helpful and promising.
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@iwritelike I don’t know if you also want others to find you, but it helps to have an intro post (with the hashtag # intro) pinned at the top of your profile.
You already have info in your bio which is great. Just elaborate a bit on that in the intro post with relevant hashtags for your interests (like the ones you included in this post).
Many people in the Fediverse boost intro posts because we all know this is the best way to find mutuals.
Also, for some servers the pinned posts are the only posts that show up on a profile if your server is muted (mastodon.social has some major moderation issues so some people have reduced your server’s visibility to avoid harassment or bots).If in the future you move to a smaller server that pinned post might also be the only post people see because their server hasn’t yet federated with your server.
So don’t fret if an account looks empty or only shows your posts they’ve interacted with (it doesn’t necessarily mean they are fixated on only your account which is what I thought when I was new to mastodon), this just means the two servers haven’t yet been introduced and need more interactions. That’s why some people’s profile photos only show up once you follow them.
@stephaniepixie Oh, what a guide! Thank you so much! It answered so many of my questions. I did notice all those things you mentioned, including the accounts that looked empty, which made me think there was no reason to follow them, and the changing profile photos.
Everything is so new and intricate here. Your reply is a real treasure! -
My fav tag is #DogsOfMastodon
@justbob What a great tag! It'll be the first tag I follow
Thank you! -
@iwritelike @justbob@kolektiva.social
Search is, uh, a work in progress on Mastodon. There are so many servers, and not all of them index their posts, so it's best not to depend on it. But it looks like you've gotten a lot of good suggestions!
@jztusk It's so good to know, really. I gaslit myself into thinking I was doing something wrong because I believed in the power of the search box
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@justbob @iwritelike yep, follow hashtags in addition to accounts!
@Tim_Eagon Thank you! I will now.
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From what I understand about Mastodon now, the more people I follow, the better chances I have to find discussions I'm interested in. Not that it's a complete Catch-22, but it’s certainly hard to start discovering things when your following list is quite short. Does anyone have recommendations from the world of literature, science, or art?
@iwritelike #bookstodon is where it's at
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@iwritelike It’s like gold digging here: first you need to follow a lot and have a messy time line (by following hashtags), then you can sort things out and find the gold
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From what I understand about Mastodon now, the more people I follow, the better chances I have to find discussions I'm interested in. Not that it's a complete Catch-22, but it’s certainly hard to start discovering things when your following list is quite short. Does anyone have recommendations from the world of literature, science, or art?
@iwritelike
Once you follow a few people, go through the list of people they follow (available from their profile). There's a good chance you have shared interests.When someone you follow boosts an interesting post, check out the profile of the person who made that post.
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From what I understand about Mastodon now, the more people I follow, the better chances I have to find discussions I'm interested in. Not that it's a complete Catch-22, but it’s certainly hard to start discovering things when your following list is quite short. Does anyone have recommendations from the world of literature, science, or art?
Definitely take a look at the hashtag WritingCommunity. That's where a lot of authors organize, and you'll also find a few writing games there with daily prompts or questions. Follow those hashtags, as well.
Mastodon has an awesome writer community, seriously.
So yes, follow often, weed out later. Don't feel bad about muting people (or just muting their boosts). Here, you have to curate your timeline, there's no algorithm doing it for you.
Also, welcome! Glad you're here!
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From what I understand about Mastodon now, the more people I follow, the better chances I have to find discussions I'm interested in. Not that it's a complete Catch-22, but it’s certainly hard to start discovering things when your following list is quite short. Does anyone have recommendations from the world of literature, science, or art?
@iwritelike
For books and writing, check out the wandering.shop instance? (Browse the timelines there and find a few people to follow?) -
From what I understand about Mastodon now, the more people I follow, the better chances I have to find discussions I'm interested in. Not that it's a complete Catch-22, but it’s certainly hard to start discovering things when your following list is quite short. Does anyone have recommendations from the world of literature, science, or art?
@iwritelike you can follow hashtags. That will expose you to accounts no one recommends that may have value to you.
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From what I understand about Mastodon now, the more people I follow, the better chances I have to find discussions I'm interested in. Not that it's a complete Catch-22, but it’s certainly hard to start discovering things when your following list is quite short. Does anyone have recommendations from the world of literature, science, or art?
Be patient and don't despair.
Here is a great guide on how to search
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From what I understand about Mastodon now, the more people I follow, the better chances I have to find discussions I'm interested in. Not that it's a complete Catch-22, but it’s certainly hard to start discovering things when your following list is quite short. Does anyone have recommendations from the world of literature, science, or art?
@iwritelike mostly what other folks are saying, check hashtags to find people and follow hashtags you really like. For example, I don't follow #science as it would overwhelm my feed but I check it regularly and follow #astronomy and #Astrodon since I like that niche. Good luck!
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@jaz This sounds intriguing but I'm not sure what it means
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@iwritelike mostly what other folks are saying, check hashtags to find people and follow hashtags you really like. For example, I don't follow #science as it would overwhelm my feed but I check it regularly and follow #astronomy and #Astrodon since I like that niche. Good luck!
@AstroHyde Thank you for your advice! I'd love to find something about physics and biology. I wonder if I should search for "physicsdon" then
I have a feeling I have a much better chance of discovering something interesting now. -
Be patient and don't despair.
Here is a great guide on how to search
@fae2535 Thank you so much for the link!
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@iwritelike you can follow hashtags. That will expose you to accounts no one recommends that may have value to you.
@infoseclogger Thank you! I will now.
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@iwritelike
For books and writing, check out the wandering.shop instance? (Browse the timelines there and find a few people to follow?)@sabik I wasn't even aware I could browse other instances! Thank you for letting me know!
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Definitely take a look at the hashtag WritingCommunity. That's where a lot of authors organize, and you'll also find a few writing games there with daily prompts or questions. Follow those hashtags, as well.
Mastodon has an awesome writer community, seriously.
So yes, follow often, weed out later. Don't feel bad about muting people (or just muting their boosts). Here, you have to curate your timeline, there's no algorithm doing it for you.
Also, welcome! Glad you're here!
@Firlefanz Thank you for such a warm welcome! The writing games sound exciting! It's so much easier to create when you channel the energy toward a defined task.
I was so careful with my following, trying not to overwhelm my feed. I'll try the opposite way now.
