Benjamin WittesI am beginning to like Mastodon.
Rebuilding my follower base is going to be a project. But fuck it. Let’s do this.
Stephen Tatton@benjaminwittes my thoughts exactly
knowncitizen@benjaminwittes it’s precisely my problem with any new platform. My Twitter set up was years of work (since 2007)
Robert A. HillI was an early twitter user too, but let me tell you half of that follower base you had was a net negative. I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s true. I have been on Twitter since it was invite only and got my first account via an IRC invite but it’s just time to let go IMO
@robert @benjaminwittes possibly. For me it was who I followed they was curated over more than a decade
I can commiserate with that. The people I followed were the real value I got out of the site, but truth be told I had a bunch of garbage there too. Nihilistic shitposters and “nothing matters” types that felt right when I was 18 and unaware of just how life would change, lots of “hai guise what if I random” stuff, etc. maybe I am biased because my entire internet life has been staccato and peppered with failed sites (the only site I wish I could recover data from is MySpace tbh) but I am ready for a clean break at this point.
AlgoCompSynth by znmeb #MaskUp@benjaminwittes Already following you! And @AVindman!
Chance The Lawyer ⚡︎@benjaminwittes it won't be easy but it will be worth it
John Minnihan
Jessica Craven@jbminn @benjaminwittes thank you I just used it. Helpful indeed!
TheJenExcellent. This way, you are not subject to the whims of one idiotic rich infant. :)
Alex Wild@benjaminwittes for what it’s worth, I’m getting about the same level of engagement here (2K followers) as at Twitter (30K), and after being here for a couple weeks it feels more normal.
The Febrile Muse@benjaminwittes in all seriousness it is actually exhilarating for me. A bunch of dead weight has been lifted in my case, and the interaction and thoughtful commentary is like a breath of fresh air. My block list isn’t even used often.
octobermoon2@benjaminwittes Try https://fedifinder.glitch.me/ worked for me
Olav@octobermoon2 @benjaminwittes this is what I used as well. I'm going to run it again in a couple days ~ when you import the people you follow, you can merge the two.
@olavf @benjaminwittes Really easy to use! :)
Pat@benjaminwittes we are here for you
Angie@benjaminwittes well you are at the cool table, so ... 😎
In all seriousness, yeah same. Need to find my hockey people, my news people, my husky people, etc etc etc. But change is good for the soul.
Jonah B. Gelbach@benjaminwittes got to do something in lieu of fun
PamelaS@benjaminwittes My words exactly!
Jackie S@benjaminwittes I did it!!
Karim@benjaminwittes quality over quantity. And if you hate this comment, I’ll just say I’m rooting for you!
Wendy White@benjaminwittes I’m here for it.
BduzBoop
KSKathy@benjaminwittes
It will take a while for sure. I've spent many hours working on the project of rebuilding my bird site list of people I follow. But every time I check in there I recognize how toxic it is becoming. And I have the chance to rebuild with a decade's worth of increased perspective and wisdom.
It will take a while for sure. I've spent many hours working on the project of rebuilding my bird site list of people I follow. But every time I check in there I recognize how toxic it is becoming. And I have the chance to rebuild with a decade's worth of increased perspective and wisdom.
Siun@KSKathy @benjaminwittes There are tools you can use to create an import list but I find this a much less clout driven home … which is leading to way more interesting and enjoyable conversations.
Dianne Hackborn@ChristinaSiunOConnell @KSKathy
This is the best tool I have found so far, which takes care of adding the followers to your account: https://www.movetodon.org/
tobie@benjaminwittes Thanks for making the migration! Warm weather awaits you!
lousha@benjaminwittes I like your attitude!
Orange Coast Huddle@benjaminwittes Most of us are working on just learning how to use this platform. Followers will come.
Tim Bray@benjaminwittes
I'd be optimistic. I had 45K over on Twitter but had been building that up since 2007. Many were inactive. A few were dead as in deceased, RIP. I'm at 7.3K here already and the quality of engagement is better. (Mind you, I've been super noisy. Try calling for a holy war or something.)
I'd be optimistic. I had 45K over on Twitter but had been building that up since 2007. Many were inactive. A few were dead as in deceased, RIP. I'm at 7.3K here already and the quality of engagement is better. (Mind you, I've been super noisy. Try calling for a holy war or something.)
Dan Turner@timbray @benjaminwittes There are more people on social media now, which might influence how quickly you pick up followers. There're more folks in the world generally, a bigger % have access, and "microblogging" is no longer a weird niche.
rick@benjaminwittes @timbray I think one follower here is worth a lot more than one follower on Twitter because the chron timeline makes it much more likely that someone will actually see what you wrote.
MacCruiskeen@benjaminwittes If you have any good pictures of moss, that might help.
MarkJurva@benjaminwittes Many have migrated and following.
♀️ Shelly 🐯⚜️@benjaminwittes YAY!!!!!!
WriteOrDie@benjaminwittes You got me! Yeah, the work. It'll worth it.
stiffelman
Nigel J. Terry 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇺🇦@benjaminwittes Already found you!
©
Pippi & ObiJuan Pups@benjaminwittes i suspect it will be smaller, but higher quality, stringer interactions, less noise, less of a hollow feeling. At least that's been my experience so far. Joined 11/10.
Md.Poppa@benjaminwittes who do you follow?
hannahshouse2 🇺🇸 California@benjaminwittes
You'll also find new and different folks here who have never seen you there because of the algorithms. I am one of them. Hello!
You'll also find new and different folks here who have never seen you there because of the algorithms. I am one of them. Hello!
Tofu Golem@benjaminwittes
This isn't Twitter. The number of followers could be leveraged into money or influence in a variety of ways because that platform was built around advertising.
Here, everything is funded by donations, so other than reconnecting with people you like, there's little reason to care about the same things over here as back there.
c.gerrishI don’t think it will be that hard. You’ll also get more quality instead of pure quantity.
@benjaminwittes hard agree. It took me years to get where I did on Twitter—even my relatively small following was hard won. Sucks to have to start over, but to stick it to the Nazis I’m happy to try.
Ajwseven@jesscraven101 @benjaminwittes totally agree and glad I can follow you here too.
parislady1492I moved here from the bird site. On both for now till I learn how to get around .
Tom Maxwell@benjaminwittes same here. Loving the horizontal hierarchy.
Jordan Wightman@benjaminwittes it’s nice here.
GrnLakeRunnr
Dan Bauer@benjaminwittes welcome aboard
David 
+It takes a bit to get use to a self-driven feed, rather than relying on algorithms. But it's much more rewarding. The interactions are more genuine.
Following important hashtags, hobbies and such, helps so much.
Emese@benjaminwittes The key is creating a good feed. I only need a few more people I still miss from Twitter to actually start posting here and I could avoid logging in to the other place.
@egaal i can’t stop logging in there, because there are many important news sources that are there and not here. For example, there is MUCH more on the ground stuff on #ChinaProtests over there than here. That said, maybe that will change over time.
Joe Calhoun@benjaminwittes @egaal Totally. China, Iran, Ukraine. Not here yet. And I remember watching Jan6 in real time well before the cable networks started covering it. But I hope we’ll get there!
MichelleL@benjaminwittes Funny. Me too. Post will be great for news. Maybe we will have to go to different places for different communities. At least for awhile. I would miss certain communities I follow on the bird.