I'm still trying to figure out how to use Mastodon from a philosophical level. I like that mastodon.social is diverse, but the firehose is overwhelming.

A more focused instance seems like it'd be more manageable, but could lead to silos, or pigeonhole me into one specific interest group.

I thought maybe federation was the answer to this, but I think it just adds to the deluge of toots?

What is the Right Way to handle this? I keep thinking I'm missing something obvious.