#HotTake: the ability to follow hashtags defies the purpose of thematic instances and their Local timelines. There’s less incentive to move to a thematic instance which will result in a few big ones and reduce decentralization.
EDIT: one might argue the reverse as well, see my reply below.
@simeon I think there is a balance to be found - being able to follow hashtags will speed up adoption and make it easier for those used to Twitter.
However, I think once regulation kicks in and the logistics of complying with DCMS and GDPR when running a server becomes more apparent we will see fewer small scale thematic instances.
I imagine we’ll see universities and large companies running instances including large media companies so reporters can be name@publication
@ryanmorrison @simeon
The name@publisher pattern has limitations... journos may prefer IDs that span multiple concurrent publishers, and that will outlast any one contract.
The pattern I think we'll more likely see emerge: journos use most convenient host, publications authenticate them via rel="me" as employees, and users follow individuals and/or news@publication (which boosts their staff's material).
Simeon Nedkov
Ryan Morrison
Daniel Hugo