With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!!
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@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.
I think that the http://dropout.tv fandom would be a great one to try what the forkiverse did but don't know who to suggest it to.
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@jbd @hfinyow @taylorlorenz Counter to your counter: most people use one of, what, four different email services? Email hasn't been captured like social media was, but they're working on it.
I do agree, though. Mastodon is anti-commercial, and people are used to for-profit social media, which has its own structures. People are accustomed to that, and even if it's crap, it's what they know.
The reason people flock to a few email services is largely because they are bundled in packages or office suites, and used in businesses and therefore easily used at home. There are still many providers and even more clients, plus the option to self host.
I do not foresee businesses using Mastodon for internal or client communication. -
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 People just dismiss it right away, and I never understood it why. Worst case they come up with excuses that they maybe heard from a person who heard it from another person's cat that it was cumbersome.
"It doesn't work, I hate it" has been a response from people with exactly 0 experience too many times and I cannot fathom why. They haven't even given themselves a chance to get angry at clumsy federation and they're already dismissive
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@taylorlorenz@mastodon.social Lack of celebrities, in my experience.
@mzedp @taylorlorenz and that's great
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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 selection of server still seems to be a big deal.
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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 recommending a server is always a barrier but https://fedi.garden/fediverse-servers-sorted-by-topic/ helped in my recent fedi-evangelist efforts
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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 There are a million little friction points for non-technical people. Example: somebody links somebody else's post, I click on it and I am brought to their server. Which means I am no longer recognized as logged in and can't follow/comment/like etc.
To me this is a minor bump on the road, and in two clicks I can sort it out. For my mother it is an impossible wall of confusion (my father gave up on understanding any technology that appeared after the '80s). -
@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.
Isn't the Mastodon app on Google Play an official one? I've always used that on mobile and it works great.
On PC I just open my instance on my browser
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@OrionKidder
> "Refuse" implies she has a responsibility to do itImplies it for you.
That's fine with me.> Setting up an instance takes time
Time is money.
> technical skill,
Not any more.
> and money.
Much less than you think.
~6 bucks a month is actually an amount of money anyone should be willing to spend to support, the ownership of your very own data, your re contacts, your independence an democracy itself.If freeriding suits you, that's your choice.
@bitpickup @OrionKidder @taylorlorenz Maybe she has already paid some money (to Mastodon).
I don't think just setting up an instance will attract more users from other place, but thank you for mentioning. It's indeed very cheap. If one day my current instance somehow discontinue, I would consider setting up one on my own.
Personally I see this as a place to make new friends. I don’t expect people I already know to use it for they think there’s no clear benefit.
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@bitpickup @OrionKidder @taylorlorenz Maybe she has already paid some money (to Mastodon).
I don't think just setting up an instance will attract more users from other place, but thank you for mentioning. It's indeed very cheap. If one day my current instance somehow discontinue, I would consider setting up one on my own.
Personally I see this as a place to make new friends. I don’t expect people I already know to use it for they think there’s no clear benefit.
@bitpickup @OrionKidder @taylorlorenz For me, the benefit is that there aren’t so many bots user pretending to be human users here.
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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?
I think the main problem is discoverability, at least for new users, it's hard to get started. When you don't know anybody here, your timeline is just empty and you can feel quite lost. Having a good onboarding experience that would help you find people that one would find interesting would help a lot to retain people I think.
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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 are you really sure you want more people?
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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
They aren't spoon fed Mastodon like all the other corporate social media.I hope Loops takes off due to TikToks new maga ownership but last time I tried it out the android app wasnt a very good experience.
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@ai6yr "Biggest barrier to courting new users: we are culturally hostile here to influence peddlers". I'd say that is Mastodon's biggest appeal!
@n @ai6yr resistance to influence peddlers may also be why newcomers are baffled (I was).
Other platforms have a lot of marketing before anyone actually signs up: a combination of hand-holding instructions and (yes) boosterism that promises all kinds of marvels.
Could individuals with accounts here in the Fediverse be *a bit* more willing to provide something *a bit* like marketing to friends and family outside - cheerful #fediverse #howto #guide for #newcomers?
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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 effective action against misogyny and racism would help, as well as toning down the reply guys and OSS liturgy perhaps.
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@OrionKidder That's how I use Mastodon on my phone: I made the web page an "app". It's still accessed through Firefox Mobile, but without the obvious address bar and other browser components. It works really well that way too.
@ElBeeToots @OrionKidder @hfinyow @taylorlorenz Same. I personally use https://elk.zone as a PWA (Progressive Web App)
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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 It's just a case of it being not as trendy. Mainly a marketing issue. Even when a product is identical there is no guarantee of equal market share because of human nature to judge anything based on social cues, especially when a product isn't novel or offering something significantly different. (short term material gains).
As distasteful as it is to me what is missing in this case is high profile celebrity endorsement. People go where their idols are. What does Taylor swift use?
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@taylorlorenz It's just a case of it being not as trendy. Mainly a marketing issue. Even when a product is identical there is no guarantee of equal market share because of human nature to judge anything based on social cues, especially when a product isn't novel or offering something significantly different. (short term material gains).
As distasteful as it is to me what is missing in this case is high profile celebrity endorsement. People go where their idols are. What does Taylor swift use?
@taylorlorenz Another issue with marketing is the split nature of the product. It has different names and different options. It doesn't present itself as a coherent brand.
If someone asks their friend "are you on mastodon" or "are you on the fediverse" to most people these seem like two totally different networks. Even though people are *capable* of understanding how it works simplicity will always win out in terms of marketing. People generally don't think. Or don't want to think.
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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 name
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@raymierussell @taylorlorenz and no carefully optimised serotonin loop.
