I’ve been asked on TV hits and interviews lately to explain why decentralized social media is better, especially re: Mastodon.

[tchambers@indieweb.social]

@taylorlorenz The open social web brings the same benefit the open web once did: nobody owns it, so nobody can take it away. On centralized platforms, your speech exists at the pleasure of a private entity's business model — they can change the rules, throttle your reach, or shut you down overnight. The fediverse puts that power back in your hands: you own your presence, you choose and build your own community with no intermediaries, and no single entity can pull the plug on you, or them.

[janeishly@beige.party]

@taylorlorenz Billionaires don't own it, and they never can.

[diekehrseite@mastodon.social]

@taylorlorenz the fediverse feels like the neighborhood of better days. When you ask for help, you get it. When you need support, you get it. You can share and discuss your thoughts, learn and improve. This is media becoming social. This is how it should be.
Community not business. This is the real thing.

[ehay2k@mastodon.social]

@taylorlorenz

It takes more work on Mastodon to find what you want, but it's not actually hard. You just don't spoon fed similar things once you view a category of content.

And once you get going, you will get the information you want in your feed, and are always free to explore to find (and instantly add) new content/interests.

But NO SINGLE ENTITY controls your content.

[mmol@mastodon.social]

@Ehay2k @taylorlorenz

Mirrors exactly my experience!

[dincargi@mastodon.social]

@taylorlorenz
No American (or other) CEOs, nor algorithms, to tell you what to think !

[scottish@datasci.social]

@taylorlorenz
* it's easier to "find your tribe" of people sharing common interests or geography - broad by server, narrow by following hashtags.
* Can only speak personally, as a woman I''ve experienced by far the least harassment/spam on Mastodon of any platforms and any abusive accounts reported have been dealt with very promptly. Feels 'safer' than other platforms.

[jorgecandeias@mastodon.social]

@taylorlorenz Well, for me it's quite simple, really.

On other networks, I feel manipulated by algorythms that may or may not have hidden agendas (but somehow it seems to me they always end up having them, sooner or later).

Here, I don't.

And that's absolutely freeing.

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@futurebird @benroyce @taylorlorenz

Ants are a big selling point.

Don't forget ants .

[robotbrain@uwu.social]

@taylorlorenz Social media is too important to leave in the hands of one of the billionaire assholes that can shadowban or kick you off with a whim if you annoy them or go against one of their pet causes.

There's no black box algorithm that the billionaires can nudge to affect your thinking or mood (as Facebook admitted experimenting on us with)

You're not held hostage to network effects after enshittification.

They're not trying to monetize your outrage and misinformation.

[ncw413@mastodon.social]

@taylorlorenz As an American it is safer for me, also I get to see more of the world than just U.S.

[lauerhahn@sfba.social]

@mastodonmigration @futurebird @benroyce @taylorlorenz Come visit Fedi, we have ants and grandmas!

[vlrny@disabled.social]

@taylorlorenz I like the ability to community build. Like a mesh of relationships and connections I am a part of, as opposed to the influencer-follower paradigm of commercial social platforms.
Toots are little touches that connect, not commodities to be consumed.

[texan_reverend@kind.social]

@taylorlorenz
Algorithm-free chronological feeds.

Ad-free.

Ability to follow hashtags and have those posts show in your Home feed which can foster communities.
(On many but not all Fediverse software)

No billionaire data extraction or "features" just to please investors.

No single entity can decide to shut it all down. Even if specific servers end up closing, users can migrate.

It can be messy or have issues, but there are often community-driven fixes or alternatives created.

[suzannealdrich@hachyderm.io]

@taylorlorenz its just like having your own website, except it’s your own social media.

[too_little_caffeine@dotnet.social]

@taylorlorenz No censorship. No paranoia that comes with wondering whether your posts are being suppressed. No algorithm changes that limit your reach.

[n_dimension@infosec.exchange]

@taylorlorenz

Why not corporate #socialmedia?

1. Algorithm - pushes specific ideology, causes depression in young adults, distorts reality.

2. Owners propagandise their ideology (see above)

3. Certain voices are censored, just like in communist China. YouTube kicked off Aljazera news. TikTok US censors anti-#ICE sentiment, anti-genocide voices.

4. At election time, owners and the wealthy change the outcome of actual elections with social media.

If you haven't seen the outstanding #fediverse promo video by @_elena (4m)
Highly recommend it;

https://peertube.c44.com.au/w/tiwUDBzdYW8CWkNU1fgMqW

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@taylorlorenz

Nobody owns Mastodon, and there is no algorithm. In this era of algorithmic information warfare amplifying and suppressing everything, it is great to find a place where you are not constantly being manipulated by billionaire owners.

[mastodonmigration@mastodon.online]

@lauerhahn @futurebird @benroyce @taylorlorenz

Don't tell then about all the cats. Let's keep that a surprise.

[too_little_caffeine@dotnet.social]

@taylorlorenz Stability. When centralized services go offline, everyone goes offline. On the fediverse, only those on a downed instance suffer and they can make a backup account on a different server if necessary.