With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!!
-
@taylorlorenz one thing, the decentralized nature means there is perhaps too much choice. Do you get an account on mastodon.social, mstdn.ca, mastodon.com, tusky.whatever.... And also what app do you use to access it? When there was Twitter, there was one official app. With Mastodon, there are a multitude. Sometimes too much choice is counterproductive.
@hfinyow @taylorlorenz I hear what you're saying. You're not wrong about the "there's no one app" thing. But at the same time:
It's not an app. It's a web site. It works great on a browser. My solution, then, would be to make an "app" that's really just a web app. It leads you to a browser instance of Mastodon. Your app will get "upgraded" when Mastodon is upgraded because it's just a website. That should be the default.
-
@taylorlorenz Black users have consistently reported hostility
If the fedi were more popular it'd be more diverse and the lack of diversity bothers me more than any "hostility" ... which every online space has.
I worry that the focus on "hostility" points to a problem that's hard to solve.
There are some good idea for moderation that could help, such as better reporting and sharing tools between servers. But I think the login/sign-up issues are much bigger.
-
There really is a HOA here even if it's not fashionable to mention it. And there is a harassment problem that is made worse by no reply controls and the terrible, terrible misfeature of followers-only replies.
@taylorlorenz@osma @taylorlorenz That's a big part of it, yes. Not to get all corporate marketer on this, but if Mastodon actually made a space that was positively welcoming to Blacksky (formerly Black Twitter), that would pull huge amounts of people on, and not just Black users (although it would be fantastic to have more Black users!).
The "problem" is Black users talk to each other, and Mastodon fucked up hard when they first came here. It would take a LOT to get them back.
-
@taylorlorenz one thing, the decentralized nature means there is perhaps too much choice. Do you get an account on mastodon.social, mstdn.ca, mastodon.com, tusky.whatever.... And also what app do you use to access it? When there was Twitter, there was one official app. With Mastodon, there are a multitude. Sometimes too much choice is counterproductive.
@hfinyow @taylorlorenz I think I'd suggest people to just start on mastodon.social. don't worry about instances to start with, as it's very easy to migrate later. And then once they got the basic hang of it, tell them like "oh, btw as you're really into literature/art/music/tech/... did you see this other instance? I think it'd match really well with your profile. And it'd help the network, too, if you'd chose a smaller, more individual instance!"
Keep it simple to start with, don't overwhelm. -
With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!! I love this app and I really think the decentralized model is the best for social media.
Still, people don’t want to join! What do you think Mastodon’s biggest barriers are to courting new users? What could be done to improve the product and grow the user base in a positive way?
Maybe change the name Mastodon to something lighter.
Compare the mental image Mastodon produces to TikTok, Twitter, BlueSky.
-
With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!! I love this app and I really think the decentralized model is the best for social media.
Still, people don’t want to join! What do you think Mastodon’s biggest barriers are to courting new users? What could be done to improve the product and grow the user base in a positive way?
@taylorlorenz i think at heart, most people don't want to out in that much effort to lurk. I wonder what proportion of social media use is passive consumption.
-
@taylorlorenz honestly? The chance of becoming a famous and/or wealthy internet influencer is much lower here. I think that is a big deterrent for people, whether they're willing to admit it or not.
As for what can be done about that? Nothing, really, because I think that's what makes it so appealing to the rest of us.
@brandonscript @taylorlorenz This is the one angle that I'll agree that it ain't broke so don't fix it. Mastodon is designed to resist viral posts. I have *conversations* on Mastodon. On Twitter, I ~performed~, and the same is true of Bluesky because it was deliberately a Twitter clone.
-
@taylorlorenz Have you heard/read about the Forkiverse? The Mastodon server started by three popular podcasters that has grown to almost 10k members in just about two weeks.
I actually put together https://stefanbohacek.com/blog/fediverse-an-overview-for-community-organizers/ using it as a case study, hoping to maybe start reaching out to people who already have a following and could be interested in replicating this experiment.
Once influencer realize that an own instance as a paid subscription service for their fans means income, the fedi becomes a rocket that goes of like "a divers fart".
Imagine Taylor swift charging the price of a cheeseburger a month for having a profile on social.taylorswift.com being able to get exclusive content by following her #castoPod podcast server cast.taylorswift.com?
Years ago hosting an instances was complicated, today you get it with a few clicks.
-
With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!! I love this app and I really think the decentralized model is the best for social media.
Still, people don’t want to join! What do you think Mastodon’s biggest barriers are to courting new users? What could be done to improve the product and grow the user base in a positive way?
@taylorlorenz I love Mastodon and I completely agree with you about decentralization being the way to go. People are fiercely addicted to the big apps, and for good reason, so I can't push. I just float the idea and let them consider it.
It may be partly a matter of critical mass, partly because it's too different, but perhaps it's also because Twitter-like apps like Mastodon just aren't everyone's cup of tea. So I've started matching their style: Loops for TikTok fans, Pixelfed for Instagram fans, etc.
The fediverse is still pretty young so I'm excited to see it grow.
-
The first hurdle for a new user is deciding on what server to join, without knowing what that means or how to decide between them.
Second, they have to figure out who to follow and how to curate their feed to the point where it's rewarding, before losing interest.
Third, Mastodon doesn't have communities / groups, which is what a lot of users use especially Facebook for.
Fourth, the tools for discoverability are weak. Sure, there's /explore and hashtags, but not much else.
@skjeggtroll @taylorlorenz I do not disagree with you broadly speaking, but the one thing I will say is that we do have communities in the form of your instance's feed, which is why it would be great if there were a truly user-friendly way to match people to instances.
-
@taylorlorenz I feel like the only way left is to set up huge armadas of influencer bots from the established social networks to draw people in and then delete them all once we've reached a certain threshold of network effect.
We have a winner
-
@taylorlorenz I love this app. When I tell other people about it they say the image it conjures up is massive, slow and extinct and that's not instantly appealing. You have to get to know this place. The exploration, the finding and discovering is what's so exciting. But it's not a shiny bauble.
@Jude_theone479001 @taylorlorenz This is very well said. It does actually take work to *build* your place, here, and that's rewarding in a way that "user friendliness" often is not.
I will say this, though: Bluesky users created "starter packs" and block lists and stuff like that, partly because, like Twitter before it, at least at first, when users innovated (eg, hasghtags), the admins embraced it. I'm not seeing that on Mastodon. I do hope the new governance model makes that better.
-
With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!! I love this app and I really think the decentralized model is the best for social media.
Still, people don’t want to join! What do you think Mastodon’s biggest barriers are to courting new users? What could be done to improve the product and grow the user base in a positive way?
@taylorlorenz The majority of people can not and will not accept anything that frees them from conformist slavery. They never have, and never will. We'll always be cursed by kings, churches, record labels, whatever force there is that allows people to be conformists. It's literally what most people want.
This sort won't try Mastodon any more than they would stop buying number one records or skip watching the Superbowl even if they don't care about football.
-
@bitpickup @futurebird @IveyJanette @taylorlorenz
ButBlack users still consistently report hostility
@NickGates @bitpickup @futurebird @IveyJanette @taylorlorenz Yup. Generally speaking, if there are no Black people in your space, then you have not made a space in which they feel welcome. That's not on them.
-
@mzedp @taylorlorenz which is also my favorite thing about it
Well, lot's of positive things that make the fedi is that it isn't mainstream ..
Always remember, the biggest celebrity has it's own mastodon server spreading asocial truths. And guess what, he not only doesn't federate, if he would, he'd be as blocked as gab by the rest of the community.
-
#fediTips
> What could be done to .. increase the user base ..?Our problem @taylorlorenz?
The fact that influencer like you refuse to setup their own instances.You can do that with a few clicks from where you are right now, for example with @mastohost and offer your followers a profile on your server. They become your community member, supporting your work with a modest yearly fee.
And don't go big is beautiful!
Exclusiveness is key and moderation the bottle neck of healthy social media.@bitpickup @taylorlorenz @mastohost
"refuse" ?
-
The lack of an algorithm is the biggest advantage and the biggest disadvantage - it makes it hard to discover new content and people to follow. I know people are working on "starter packs" for Mastodon like they have on BlueSky, which I think will help.
But I wonder if we could find other ways to make discovery easier - a "followed by people you follow" or "favorited by people you follow" feed, or something. Also, I wonder if the interface shouldn't suggest boosting a post when you favorite it... We need more people boosting more stuff, with no algorithm.
You have to follow 200+ people to get a decently full feed on Mastodon, and everyone has to boost a lot. Reducing the effort required to do those things would increase engagement on Mastodon, I'm pretty sure.
@marymessall @taylorlorenz Following hashtags really should be packaged as less technical and more fun. As in, "here are some keywords, tap the ones that interest you!" and then automate that so that they're following those hashtags.
Also, for the love of GOD, make it so I can follow a hashtag in a list. I *need* an exclusive #Linux feed to escape the world.
-
@taylorlorenz Also, specifically for TikTok users, we actually do have a federated alternative, not sure if you heard of it, https://joinloops.org?
I wonder if Mastodon's reputation has been too tarnished by all the gatekeeping and scolding. Maybe we could get more people into the fediverse sneakily through another platform?
@stefan @taylorlorenz I have the feeling that some ppl were afraid of the new, "fragile" Fediverse to get overrun/"destroyed" by asocial behavior. And then got a bit overprotective, like parents.
Maybe it's just me and my bubble, but I have the feeling that such behavior might have toned down a bit? -
With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!! I love this app and I really think the decentralized model is the best for social media.
Still, people don’t want to join! What do you think Mastodon’s biggest barriers are to courting new users? What could be done to improve the product and grow the user base in a positive way?
My own take is that the US fascists consolidate power to the point that every US-based social media platform turns to shit so people will flock here.
I've got half a dozen news articles of that happening right now, and it's going to get much worse before November.
We warned this would happen.
-
With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!! I love this app and I really think the decentralized model is the best for social media.
Still, people don’t want to join! What do you think Mastodon’s biggest barriers are to courting new users? What could be done to improve the product and grow the user base in a positive way?
@taylorlorenz Its own community. The purity tests they demand are impossible for the masses. Just look at what happened when Instagram federated.
