Steve SilbermanI'll just say it: I was a heavy #Twitter user, but Elon is a horrible rightwing buffoon so I've been migrating to both #Mastodon and #Post. Thus far, while there are lots of interesting people on Post, posting there feels like dropping links into a dry well. I get very little engagement, even when I use hashtags. I'm not even sure how to gauge engagement there. Mastodon feels more like a community. I know they're both evolving, but for those who are trying both, what are your feelings thus far?
Terry Alfredo@stevesilberman feels like all the creators went to post and all the consumers of that content came here
Michele Banks@TerryAlfredo @stevesilberman IDK, only if by "creators" you mean political journalists
@artologica musicians, comedians, and, yes, some political writers whose analysis I appreciated.
Eric Ravenwolf š»@TerryAlfredo @stevesilberman that's what I was thinking too..
All the people who want bullhorns went to post and regular people came here. So post will end up being a bunch of creators shouting at each other
All the people who want bullhorns went to post and regular people came here. So post will end up being a bunch of creators shouting at each other
OdyI'm learning.
The whole point of my Twitter presence was to troll the living fuck out of the worst people on the planet... and I'm GOOD at it.
But it's tiresome, and I yearn for more substantive things in my life than just the endless war against the world's most insecure monsters.
Michael Markman@stevesilberman I agree. Engagement, for me, is higher here. I visit Post to follow some people I don't see here. Have you read @Teri_Kanefield's post comparing the chat platforms? Informed and insightful.
https://terikanefield.com/socialmedia/
https://terikanefield.com/socialmedia/
Twitter Alternatives: Mastodon, Post.news, Threads, Bluesky, and others - Teri Kanefield
Spoiler: People are evaluating the various Twitter alternatives as separate entities, but if Post.news and Metaās Threads, follow through with their promise to federate, the way to think of the platforms will be āwalled gardensā v. platforms that are connected to the fediverse. If you know what these words mean and how they relate to ā¦ Twitter Alternatives: Mastodon, Post.news, Threads, Bluesky, and others Read More Ā»
@mickeleh @Teri_Kanefield This is fabulous, thanks Michael and Teri. Will boost, thank you!
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Steph š
DR. SURFERCHIC@mickeleh @stevesilberman @Teri_Kanefield
Excellent article.
Paula Schaap@mickeleh @stevesilberman @Teri_Kanefield As Steve said, thanks for pointing out Teri Kanefield's post; she always has interesting things to say. Likewise boosted it.
Tammy Gentzel@stevesilberman Exactly the same. #Post seems more like a place to go to read #journalists and #pundits as they opine, whereas #Mastodon is a place to engage and discuss.
Brandon Stahl@TammyGentzel @stevesilberman I think post has the potential to be better than mastodon, but it will take a few more upgrades to get there.
Ronan@stevesilberman I'm loving mastodon. It's a conversation instead of a screaming match
Copperdomebodhi@stevesilberman haven't tried Post. Mastodon feels dull at times. At least in part, that's because you don't hit enragingly stupid or hateful posts every 30 seconds.
Brian Sletten@stevesilberman Mastodon because it is different. It's not just another venture-backed data grab. It is the community deciding what it wants. There are and will be hiccups, but I think we're all the better for working through them.
Darnell Clayton 
@bsletten @stevesilberman I opened an account on Post.News & it does have potential. Although with all of that venture capital I am surprised they have not launched corresponding #iPhone / #iPad / #Android apps.
Post News currently is a glorified link aggregator.
I think what separates #Mastodon from #Twitter is their emotional community engagement of choice: Mastodon seeks positive community engagement while Twitter seeks negative community engagement.
realcaseyrollins āļøThis might be a hot take but #Twitter doesnāt inheritly seek negative community engagement by design, its community does
sonja dolinsek@stevesilberman I don't use post because there is no information on the website about it ad its data policies. Not gonna go there.
Reido@sonjdol @stevesilberman I feel much the same. Non-sketchy platforms are transparent. Post is not (neither is Tribel, but I think they already lost the battle).
Kaj of the Creek@stevesilberman I am loving Mastodon and itās become my go-to social media. I get content from much more diverse voices (love having posts not in English on my feed!). Even though I made an effort to have a diverse feed on Twitter, I didnāt see posts w/ the same frequency b/c of the algorithm.
Kelley Graham@stevesilberman post is new, and the worst of the old. the fediverse is old, if 6 years can be old, and changing and growing.
šāš½ ššš āļø@stevesilberman I see it the same way as the Simpsons or CNN: we use media in myriad ways but often they are controlled by the unscrupulous.
Mr. Completely@stevesilberman I was in Post pretty early, as a journalism micropayment platform is something I've been anticipating for years. I found it nearly useless, but then my perspective was not as a creator in that context, which is different from you. I couldn't see how to engage with it in a way that had any traction. I never found either a good stream of incoming newsy/informative posts or organically developing conversations. So I bailed.
@stevesilberman I was unenthusiastic about another investor-class driven platform anyway, and more recently I saw a screenshot (which I haven't confirmed as accurate) from their content rules citing wealth as a protected class - if that's correct it's a pretty huge problem, but you can't read those rules without the login I don't have anymore so I haven't followed up
Tyler C 
@stevesilberman Post might have some potential, but right now, it's nowhere close to good. I have no control over what comes up on my feed, can't find interesting accounts, and the varying text sizes make me dizzy.
Kim@stevesilberman Most content ppl who just want āeyes on their stuffā went to Post. No engagement. If it doesnāt change, Iām deleting my acct there.
Lorenz Lorenz-Meyer(1/2) I was very sceptical about Mastodon before the great migration started, missing some critical features of the bird place, despising the ridiculous pseudo-funny nomenclature (post was "trƶƶt" in German) and being less than happy about some incumbent users' condescending know-it-all attitude.
But as it turned out it's mostly about people. And as my two crowds (journalists and scientists) have mostly moved to Mastodon, I now feel very much at home here. (cont'd)
(2/2) I even found quite some new interesting voices, mostly from the science and philosophy camp. And most people now call posts "posts" (with the notable exception of incoming institutions' over-eager communication employees).
Post (the service) was never an option for me, as it's just more of the same shit we've just left behind. So I feel very happy and comfortable with the Fediverse. It's gonna be even better after some adaptations. (Fin)
Josh Sternberg@stevesilberman agree 100 percent with you. I get very early 90s internet vibes on here.
Peter Principle@joshsternberg Early/mid '00s progressive blog scene, at least in my feed.
Some of the same people, even.
EineKleine@stevesilberman Iām enjoying Mastodon culture despite the peculiarities of its multi-instance structure. I found you here easily enough, but I miss many who havenāt come over. Pet peeve: lots of duplicates when I scan down my home thread. Sometimes itās users who repost their own work multiple times (looking at you Reuters). Other times itās people whose best work gets boosted by followers again and again. If thereās a Mastodon-friendly app that prevents this I havenāt found it.
Martin Vermeer FCD@EineKleine @stevesilberman
> lots of duplicates when I scan down my home thread
I hear that https://elk.zone is working on fixing that, organizing the timeline into proper threads.
> lots of duplicates when I scan down my home thread
I hear that https://elk.zone is working on fixing that, organizing the timeline into proper threads.
Sam Levine@EineKleine If you use the web version you can choose to "condense boosts" which helps. You might have to also increase the number of posts your computer looks at in a single scroll of the home feed before loading more for it to be most effective (I think the default is 40). Sorry I don't use an app so I can't help there.
kcĒ@stevesilberman I initially signed up for #Post, was turned off by the onboarding process, and never returned.
It also helps that the #Mastodon community has been so welcoming and wonderfulāI just enjoy spending my time here. Iāve followed a lot of excellent photographers and insightful people such as yourself, so the vibe here for me is like a ābest ofā OG #Instagram and #Twitter
Cgtmm@stevesilberman Post is about whatās going wrong without the trolls. Here I get that but I also get funny and informative posts.
@stevesilberman yeah, there are some nice people on Post, but so far I find it too heavy on political news and, as you say, not conducive to engagement. I miss Twitter, but I'm starting to build up a community here.
@stevesilberman I do not even know what #Post is. Another medium?
Stefanie š“@stevesilberman I regard Post as a tranquil news aggregator-cum-blogging site and Mastodon/Fediverse as a safe and friendly alternative to Facebook (which I deleted years ago). For me, Mastodon and Post work well in tandem, but your social media goals may be different from mine.
Sheila Scarborough@stevesilberman I'm on both Mastodon and Post, and I've had the same engagement experience on Post - none. For me, Masto is much closer to Twitter, and my feed is picking up as more people migrate.
Peter Coles š³ļøāš š³ļøāā§ļø@stevesilberman I have 10% of the followers here that I have on Twitter but much more engagement (and none of it abusive)
Raul Portales@stevesilberman to me mastodon feels like Twitter in 2015. Less trolls, more interesting conversations and a feed that can he finished instead of infinite doom scrolling
@stevesilberman Apart from technical properties, do you really want to be again at the mercy of billionaires?
Yes, both are 'evolving', but Johnny does so under an anarchistic paradigm. Somewhere someone is working right now on ideas that will appeal to *you*.
#JohnMastodon #Mastodon #anarchism #FreeSoftware #Fediverse
Yes, both are 'evolving', but Johnny does so under an anarchistic paradigm. Somewhere someone is working right now on ideas that will appeal to *you*.
#JohnMastodon #Mastodon #anarchism #FreeSoftware #Fediverse
Andrew@stevesilberman Very much same experience as you. #Post sure is pretty, but itās a party where no one talks to each other.
Sandra Black@stevesilberman I agree with you, Mastodon feels more inclusive and welcoming, havenāt really found much engagement on Post but then I donāt have your reach or kudos so not equivalency
David LewisI have very little desire to post on Post and don't find much there I can't get through Mastodon.
Admittedly, I have less desire to post in general - I've shifted into receive mode on social media. But when I do feel the desire to engage I much prefer Mastodon.
Steve Pehrson šøššŖš@stevesilberman I always loved following you on Twitter and Iām glad to follow you here. Thanks for teaching me a lot about neurodiversity.
@steve_cosmo Thank you, Steve!
aheffne@stevesilberman
I'm still trying to figure out to use Post. This site seems more straightforward and I see more familiar names here
I'm still trying to figure out to use Post. This site seems more straightforward and I see more familiar names here
MB@stevesilberman I prefer it here to Post. Something about it. People are friendlier.
MugsysRapSheet Blog āļø@stevesilberman I have that same feeling. "Post" is still too new (finished only days ago.)
Both "Newsie" & "Post" have advantages, but so far, I find myself spending more time on "Newsie".
steve johnson@stevesilberman Iām liking this platform a lot. Iāve begun weaning off of tweet-land and feeling okay now that I stumbled onto Mastodon. I followed a J Jarnow post here and created my profile a few days later. So far, so good.
Hammancheez@stevesilberman Mastodon def likes dick jokes more
Carlo Pinciroli@stevesilberman Personally, I decided to take a pause from for-profit social media. I don't trust the people behind #Post and I don't plan on trying to have a presence there.
Patricia Kayden@stevesilberman I actually prefer Post. However, Mastodon is great. I'm hoping that Mastodon will develop to the point where we can share posts/comments like we are able to share tweets.
Sam Bowne 
@stevesilberman Mastodon is a good replacement for Twitter. I don't see any value at all in Post, it seems to be a place for authors to put original work, expecting people to pay to read it.
Blackout The Conspiracy@stevesilberman I go to both for different reasons. I still feel bird site can keep me more informed about ongoing politics in the US and from different individualās own perspective, which I like. Mastodon feels more like a real community feeling. Any range of topics, people are friendly and helpful, and I really that like thereās a lot intellectual knowledge here too. They each serve a different purpose, so I will go back and forth.
@stevesilberman So I'm on both and I think one of the things that's happening is that people are still trying to use both sites like Twitter because that's what they're accustomed to. It would be good if a different way of interacting developed -- in each -- because Twitter has so many poisonous aspects. (Though I'm still on it, truth to tell.)
Nicole Chung@stevesilberman my experience on both Mastodon and Post has been a lot like yours! I feel like I could build some sort of community here; not sure the same is true of Post.
Yolanda VillaI"m mainly a reader and migrated both to here and Post. The only thing I like better about Post is that the dog photos all show up much bigger without having to click on them. šš¦® #dogs
On a more serious note, I am truly enjoying finding a diverse group of people to follow here, and only look in at Post rarely these days.