Sheril KirshenbaumNov 28, 2022

Having now been on #Mastodon for 1 month, a few observations:

- Mastodon makes me realize how much the #Twitter algorithm maximized user outrage to boost engagement for profit. Gross. Here, my feed is interesting & supportive.

- There's a culture of kindness - at least so far. It's extremely appealing & should be normalized on & offline.

- Beyond reactions to toots, people share songs, poetry & ask great questions. I can't remember the last time I found social media to be fun.

Show threadFallon Stone

@Sheril I feel the same way. The other thing I've noticed is more interactions of substance. Twitter normalized snark as a ploy to gain visibility.

More often than not my tweets disappeared into the void.. it felt like shouting in a hurricane. For me, social media is about connecting with people and that what Twitter was more than a decade ago but it has since lost its purpose of connection for clicks and likes.

Nov 28, 2022 at 11:28pmWeb
Show threadBelinda PollardNov 29, 2022
@FallonStone "shouting into a hurricane" - such an apt description. I was actually tempted over here by the thought that it might be more like Twitter back when I joined in 2011. Back then, I was connecting with other writers, and we retweeted things that were genuinely interesting to writers, so that those were the things that got amplified... not random opinions and snark and anger and manipulative hashtaggery...
Show threadFallon StoneNov 29, 2022
@Belinda_Pollard I agree. Early bird app was a wonderful place. I had such great meaningful exchanges with people and the same is true here. Mastodon has the potential to be the app Twitter would have become if it hadn't been commercialized. I think current bird users will have to make a conscious effort to pull away from the addictive behavior the bird app creates ... which is hard.
Show threadBelinda PollardNov 29, 2022
@FallonStone I'm still on Twitter as well for now, but kind of excited by the potential to break free of it at last... even though I put so much work into building connections there.
Show threadFallon StoneNov 29, 2022
@Belinda_Pollard new beginnings, new connections 
Show threadIanDec 22, 2022
@FallonStone @Belinda_Pollard I agree wholeheartedly with both of you. Twitter was brilliant - I originally joined in 2009 - but a few years later it changed and it became harder to avoid the ugly side of it.
I really hope this app can develop in a better way. I am still making connections but everyone I have had so far has been positive. It’s refreshing.
I deactivated my Twitter account & this time I think it’ll stick. Once it’s gone I won’t want to start over again.
Show threadThe ExileNov 29, 2022
@Belinda_Pollard @FallonStone agreed. Twitter used to be lovely. It is great to get a chance to push the reset button!
Show threadBelinda PollardNov 30, 2022
@theexile Kind of like a do-over! @FallonStone
Show threadThe ExileNov 30, 2022
@Belinda_Pollard @FallonStone that's it exactly Belinda!