With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!!
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Answering this in the off chance you read replies 🤪
Biggest barrier to courting new users: we are culturally hostile here to influence peddlers and people who are trying to broadcast and don't want to interact. (ie, we treat them like the person invited to the small cocktail party at the house, who jumps up on a table and starts yelling).
Technically, users are used to being force fed content (through viral algorithms and suggested content)... i.e. passive (like TV). Mastodon is not built like that, which means people don't know how to find things they like or people to follow.
Finally (deliberately so), Mastodon is not built to tickle the endorphins... i.e. "likes" "followers" "virality" and that often turns people off, who really would like to use social media like a gambling junkie uses a slot machine (pull the lever, hope for a big payoff!). Fundamentally, non-addictive to that kind of thing.
I don't know if we want to fix any of that, though 🤪
@taylorlorenz @ai6yr Yeah and also there's the racism. The lack of safety features like limiting replies. But if we solved the racism we'd have solved the other safety issues too because Black people don't hang around when it's not safe for them.
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Answering this in the off chance you read replies 🤪
Biggest barrier to courting new users: we are culturally hostile here to influence peddlers and people who are trying to broadcast and don't want to interact. (ie, we treat them like the person invited to the small cocktail party at the house, who jumps up on a table and starts yelling).
Technically, users are used to being force fed content (through viral algorithms and suggested content)... i.e. passive (like TV). Mastodon is not built like that, which means people don't know how to find things they like or people to follow.
Finally (deliberately so), Mastodon is not built to tickle the endorphins... i.e. "likes" "followers" "virality" and that often turns people off, who really would like to use social media like a gambling junkie uses a slot machine (pull the lever, hope for a big payoff!). Fundamentally, non-addictive to that kind of thing.
I don't know if we want to fix any of that, though 🤪
@ai6yr @taylorlorenz It is refreshing for me that it is not status or achievement (tick) centric. Gives wider scope for critical thinking.
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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 i am so glad I didn't get tiktok account now.
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@OrionKidder @bitpickup @taylorlorenz additionally pressuring people to open their own instance from the start will inevitably lead to poorly moderated instances, or people giving up and leaving dead instances, which does not help anyone.
Hope you don't mind if I don't feel addressed by your statements as they don't refer in any way to what I expressed.
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What if we had a kind of mini-app where users could create their own algorithms and then share combine and trade them?
I might design a mix of hashtags, users, and hand picked posts and call it "Ant News" someone else might pick a group of users and hash tags and create "Italian Football Bloopers"
Then we could share and rate these feeds and new users could just click on the popular ones?
@futurebird @aurochs The ability to make custom Feeds is my favorite thing about BlueSky! Overall tho, they seem to be a "power user" feature; the vast majority of people only use the "default" ones (chronological "Following", and an algorithmic one that's trained by your interactions and interest tags) and fewer still actually build their own.
I think they're a great feature, but I don't think they'd draw many younger users.
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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?
Recommending Mastodon as a TikTok replacement is nonsensical; like saying "I'm sorry your Honda Accord has died, but you can get a street sweeper."
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@Beldarak @taylorlorenz on my phone, I've been using Tusky. I found multiple apps for Mastodon on Google play, and just went with the one that seemed to have the best rating at the time.
Yeah, I really don't think chosing the app is a big barrier.
To me the biggest obstacle is chosing an instance, understanding how instances interract with each others and the begining when you're stuck in your very small bubble and have to extend outside of it.
For the longest time, I tought Mastodon had very few users and was a very dead platform. I had no understanding that I actually couldn't see the whole thing. I'm still a little confused about that
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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 I think it’s the need to choose an instance. With the other things you just sign up and that’s it. Really, it’s just a marketing problem, yeah?
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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 in no way do I want ads on Mastodon! But that is the issue I see. On other platforms it is possible to monetise your posts so the big names are not going to move away and lose money. One of my family members used the TikTok shop all the time, buying stuff influencers post about and earn commission.
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@kelvin0mql As a GenX, I can't be made to give a shit about anything I don't have a stake in, and every stake I have ever had in anything was later taken away, without compensation or apology. Even now, I fully expect my race to retirement to be like Xeno's Paradox. When I'm 67, they'll raise the age to 70. When I'm 69, they'll raise it to 72. When I'm 71, they'll raise it to 75. When I'm 74, they'll arrest me for serial arson and armed robbery, and raise it to 78.
@log
You're not wrong.Not one word.
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@killick all of this - so true. I chose c.im because of the shortness, yknow, brevity, soul, wit haha. But yeah I like to see people finding their place, even jumping around. There's so much to explore with Sharkey, Misskey, all the rest.
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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 simply dopamine.
It's like trying to convince people to drink water instead of alcoholic beverages: Water keeps your mind clear and sharp, but alc gives you a "good" time.
Let us enjoy the quality of this true social media. No need to convince/force anyone to come to the bright side. Simply stop listening to their complains/drama.
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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 Yes, a default "favorited by people you follow" feed would be great. We may dislike algorithms like those used by e.g. Linked-In, but it is effective: When you only have the time to open it once a week, important stuff (for you) still appears at the top. Many of my colleagues joined Mastodon, but became completely inactive. Why? If they did have something important to say, it was snowed under by all the other posts....
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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 so much good stuff mentioned in this thread. Had we had groups similar to Facebook groups, I see how one could move lots of people to the Fediverse. You'd set up your profile for friends and family to follow you and you them, and you'd join groups similar to what's been locking people into FB. Here in Sweden FB groups for your local town or city district is the number one reason people who hate FB stay there. That and birthdays/parties.
Most people don't want to "toot" everyday. -
@Viss @taylorlorenz I can't recall ever getting hoa shamed on mastodon, tbh.
But the decision paralysis is real.
@taylorlorenz @ryanc ive been shamed a bunch. for not adding alt text to memes
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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 concept is confusing. Join a server, but you're connected to other servers, and if you get booted off a server you can still use another server... I think for a lot of people it sounds like a thing for people who are into tech.
I reckon the way to bring people over is at the community level.
Forget the fediverse, forget the tech, just come and join community X/Y/Z over here, its just like signing up for any other social platorm and it's not owned by a megalomaniac tech bro.
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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 Picking servers adds to the perception that it's a complicated or a "tech" thing. There are good mobile clients - I've been using ivory for ages. Some of the default designs on the web feel dates and overly complicated.
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@taylorlorenz so much good stuff mentioned in this thread. Had we had groups similar to Facebook groups, I see how one could move lots of people to the Fediverse. You'd set up your profile for friends and family to follow you and you them, and you'd join groups similar to what's been locking people into FB. Here in Sweden FB groups for your local town or city district is the number one reason people who hate FB stay there. That and birthdays/parties.
Most people don't want to "toot" everyday.That's Friendica though, not Mastodon
I would rather see a "fediverse authentication scheme" than the different services evolving into eachother.I would be very happy if the fact that I have an account on any Fediverse instance means I can authenticate and use any other.
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That's Friendica though, not Mastodon
I would rather see a "fediverse authentication scheme" than the different services evolving into eachother.I would be very happy if the fact that I have an account on any Fediverse instance means I can authenticate and use any other.
@troed @taylorlorenz I'd love that too, that would be the dream. That people could use "Login with
Mastodon" instead of google, FB, apple... -
@killick @jake4480 remember how MySpace worked, we could design out own little corner of the web with widgets and favorite friends? And then we took our info to meta and decorated our corner with pics of family and friends. And then we took our info and decorated and connected through tiktok or whatever and at some point we grow tired of having to grow new connections or learn new formats for something that doesn't grant us easy access or connection. Displaced again and again, then feeling concerned with whether our new server choice will disband when a moderator gets a new job. It's challenging to root into for an internet refugee. Still we persist, of course. I really do love the fediverse and am happy to have found my way within it. It's a pilgrimage of sorts, the journey not the destination or whatever. But every time I recommend it to someone I get stuck with what server to suggest they begin with. Mastodon.social is an often times blocked server by regular users of the fediverse.
