Nate GorbyJan 28, 2023
Ged Maheux

The @Iconfactory has 16.1k “followers” on Twitter and currently about 4.1k here on Mastodon. Our last post received a whopping 9 likes and 3 retweets on Twitter and an amazing 287 favorites and 163 boosts here on Mastodon.

This has been said before by many people but Twitter isn’t worth your time any more. People don’t SEE what you’re saying there, even if they actually follow you. The service is in big, BIG trouble.

Also, thx for following @Iconfactory here, we appreciate all of you 💕🖖

Jan 28, 2023 at 1:30pmMastoot
Show threadSimon HarperJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory Looking forward to more and more migratory birds coming to #MastodonWorld soon.
Show threadPaul Haddad Jan 28, 2023
@gedeonm I try not to be paranoid, but saw some very different behavior in the various counts between our goodbye to Tweetbot and hello to Ivory Tweets.
Show threadUli Kusterer (Not a kitteh)Jan 28, 2023
@paul @gedeonm I wonder if it's a general reach thing, or if it's a shadow ban on Mastodon-related terms.
Show threadPaul Haddad Jan 28, 2023
@uliwitness @gedeonm maybe the algorithm is just more trained to amplify more negative/controversial Tweets.
Show threadMarcus BureliusJan 28, 2023
@paul @uliwitness @gedeonm So am I completely clueless on how this works because to me if Iconfactory has 16K followers shouldn’t they all see what Iconfactory posts? I thought the algorithms only affected promotion of tweets to non followers
Show threadStuJan 28, 2023
@markb @paul @uliwitness @gedeonm it turns out far more people use twitter's algorithmic timeline than i ever suspected
Show threadClarissaJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm with the new For You / Following tabs on Twitter I def feel like I don’t see all tweets on EITHER anymore. (& of course many people don’t scroll down/up to read everything they’ve missed. Also many bots on Twitter).
Show threadKuba SuderJan 29, 2023
@markb @paul @uliwitness @gedeonm I think apparently a lot of people use the algorithmic timeline ("For You"), which fills the whole timeline based on algorithms. If you use the chronological timeline, or (previously) third party clients, you're supposed to be seeing all tweets of everyone you follow. This still makes those numbers suspicious…
Show thread@[email protected]Jan 30, 2023
@markb @paul @uliwitness @gedeonm on a social network, a follower doesn't read all the posts (imagine you're out for a weekend, will you scroll back 2 days of timeline?)
Show threadElysia MachtJan 30, 2023

@markb When they first got in the statistics, I regularly had maybe 40-80 views/impressions or whatever they were per random tweets. This was with maybe a 150 followers at most.

When the algorithm crap started, and by when having 300+ followers, twice the earlier amount, I regularly had my tweets seen only by some 2-8 people if not lucky.

If lucky, they were shown to maybe 20 people. They cut visibility from the start once the selectiveness crap started.

Show threadGed MaheuxJan 28, 2023
@paul When it comes to Musk’s Twitter I think it’s perfectly fair to be full-on paranoid. I don’t doubt it one bit. 😓
Show threadJack IversJan 28, 2023

@paul @gedeonm

“Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face.”
― Jim Butcher, Storm Front

Show threadStuart McIntyreJan 28, 2023
@paul @gedeonm I would like to think that the loss of third party apps is a big reason for those low consumption counts. The number of folks using apps like Tweetbot may have been relatively low, but we were the engaged, committed, active folks. He will live to regret that move for sure.
Show threadjonas lindgrenJan 28, 2023
@stuartmcintyre @paul @gedeonm This seems reasonable. The people most likely to follow and like that tweet are people using third party apps, which they can no longer use
Show threadJohn HoodJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory Masto-do!
Show threadAndrew HintonJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm when Facebook started pulling this stuff is when I went from half-hating FB to basically abandoning it. But I was sheltered from it on Twitter because of the client I was using.
Show threadTim Jan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory And that doesn’t even count my interaction over this post with @chockenberry. I saw it there first.
Show threadGed MaheuxJan 28, 2023
@ezwal @Iconfactory @chockenberry Oh yes, I didn’t even mention the number of interactions. So many people replied with their thoughts it’s amazing. Doing my best to keep up with them all but there were a lot (which is GREAT!). I basically don’t have to worry about Twitter at all at this point which I frankly welcome.
Show threadTim Jan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory @chockenberry It really makes me optimistic for Mastodon that you all and @tapbots are here. I haven’t felt like this on a social media platform in over a decade.
Show threadOrnaledJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory it’s refreshing to know that when you're boosting a toot you’re doing this for actual people, not for an algorithm :)
Show threadGed MaheuxJan 28, 2023
@ornaled @Iconfactory It really really is!!
Show threadJanJan 28, 2023

@gedeonm @Iconfactory

Twitter has around 200 million active users vs Mastodon 2 million. Ok that is 1%. (roughly estimated, you get it)

Can somebody explain me why the no. of followers are so different?

@Raspberry_Pi
T 574k vs M 38k = 6%

@georgetakei
T 3.4M vs M 341k = 10%

@Sheril
T 15.3k vs M 29k = 190%

@taylorlorenz T 354k vs M 147k = 41%

@micahflee T 50k vs M 46k = 92%

Show threadMichael StancliftJan 28, 2023
@jan @gedeonm @Iconfactory
Show threadGed MaheuxJan 28, 2023
@jan @Iconfactory I’m really no good with numbers (just ask @chockenberry ) the only glaring thing I can think of is bots / fake accounts. I’m sure there are other factors at play here too.
Show threadnikogaugJan 29, 2023
@Iconfactory @gedeonm @jan
It’s only techs users. Do You think it will be the same With journalists or public persons ?
Show threadBarry Schwartz 🫖Jan 28, 2023

@gedeonm I still have an account there. It’s got my handle but is just the planet Uranus staring back at you.

(I chose a fuzzy photo of Uranus for its featurelessness, not its funny name.

What’s funny about the name, of course, being it is the only planet name that comes from Greek instead of Latin.)

Show threadAsh DoyleJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory Also, Twitter has many years of people joining and then drifting away from the service. Those follows are still in the tallies even when the account hasn’t been used in years.
Show threadGed MaheuxJan 28, 2023
@Ashkendo @Iconfactory Yep, would LOVE to know the actual number of active followers for any given account. It’s got to be some very small % at this point.
Show threadPaolo AmorosoJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory Those absymal levels of visibility and engagement have actually been like that since well before Twitter's takeover. The algorithms have pretty much always buried to irrelevance the content of ordinary users who aren't celebrities or otherwise notable.
Show threadGed MaheuxJan 28, 2023
@amoroso @Iconfactory Yep it’s true, but those of us like me who used 3rd party clients that weren’t privy to Twitter’s algorithm were insulated from it. Now it’s pretty obvious, sadly. 😳
Show threadLukas BurgstallerJan 28, 2023

@gedeonm There might be some bias because it’s a post about Mastodon, but (with a much smaller sample size) I can confirm the trend.

My last post on Twitter (~1k Followers) had 8 interactions, here on my week old account (~100 followers) same post had 16 interactions.

https://indieapps.space/@fieryfeeds/109763064526533401

Fiery Feeds (@[email protected])

My annual roadmap post - this year not just for Fiery Feeds, but for all three of my apps. http://blog.cocoacake.net/archives/2174

Indie Apps
Show threadNikoufJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory @simonbs @hazardelm
Show threadSteve HermanJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory @carl I generally agree and have noticed the same but for viral tweets the universe on #Twitter remains much larger and a bigger number of influencers that drive the wider conversation. #Mastodon may catch up but it’ll take a long time.
Show threadNoah Mittman Jan 28, 2023
@gedeonm Twitter is going all in on virality-as-job-1. He wants a text TikTok. It's not a place to actually get the posts from the people you follow, but to get "stuff the service thinks you'll like" with following being the way to tune the algorithm. They've been on this path since jack returned and elon just floored the gas pedal. No conversation, just reactions. It sucks :(
Show threadMissPlacedJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory this is all true
Show threadNikos MaounisJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory can confirm that having liked many tweets from tapbot and twiterrific, both farewell posts did not make it to my feed! Had to go to their profile in order to see them. Definitely their algorithm downgrades what they consider negative PR
Show threadThe IconfactoryJan 28, 2023
@psy2k @gedeonm 😢
Show threadLuc DesaulniersJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory I will say that I am a bit fearful that the toxicity over at Twitter might eventually find its way here.
Show threadThe IconfactoryJan 28, 2023
@theevildonut @gedeonm No doubt to some degree it will but hopefully it will be mitigated here.
Show thread𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘅𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿Jan 28, 2023
Your following is mainly thanks yo your amazing Twitterrific app! Mastodon is so much more engaging than Twitter, and it’s users more positive and mature. I think @Iconfactory would do very well with a Mastodon app.
Show threaddecitectJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory guess you’ll need to come up with a Mastie icon to match Ollie?
Show threadBritish Tech GuruJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory I never found Twitter worthwhile. It was like screaming into the wind. Nobody would hear you if you said anything worthwhile. If you screamed "Hang person X" then you'd get a lot of reach and a ban. Twitter is biassed against the ordinary user and toward so-called celebrities.
Show threadGed MaheuxJan 28, 2023
@britishtechguru Yep, it certainly is. It’s no longer a social network for average people to connect that’s for sure.
Show threadBritish Tech GuruJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm I've tried Twitter for about 10 years off and on and never had success. At one time I tried to use it to promote a small business I ran at the time and had zero engagement. Pretty much the same story with Facebook. All biassed toward money and the worship of money.
Show threadTony YatesJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory My experience is the exact opposite. Despite the fuck ups and deteriorating functionality, most people are over there, and not here, and the network and engagement is much worse here. Sadly.
Show threadScott LadewigJan 28, 2023
@t0nyyates @Iconfactory @gedeonm Similar experience. Most of the communities I interact with remain on Twitter, so that’s where the conversations are for me.
Show threadAJ ThomasJan 28, 2023

@Ladewig @t0nyyates @Iconfactory @gedeonm

I used Twitter through tweetbot, killing that makes it really hard to use Twitter, their web page is dysfunctional. I have had to find others ways of following the few users I want to keep following. Mastodon feels more natural now I have Ivory, but needs more people to switch.

Show threadTony YatesJan 28, 2023
@zzypt @Ladewig @Iconfactory @gedeonm I haven't had too many problems with either Twitter trough browser or the iphone App. Something is going on with the 'Following' feed not displaying everything, but this is dwarfed by the benefits of 90% of the people I interact with posting exclusively there.
Show threadAJ ThomasJan 28, 2023
@t0nyyates @Ladewig @Iconfactory @gedeonm
Yes, critical mass for users matters.
Show threadDave HounslowJan 28, 2023

@t0nyyates @gedeonm @Iconfactory the poor algorithmic model here means that I don't see what I want to see and see things I don't want to see repeatedly. Even though Twitter is definitely creaking the content I'm most interested in is there.

It's like vhs vs betamax but if the superior tech betamax also had all the content.

Show threadPascal B. KreilJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm could it be that just the sheer amount of passive users using Twitter as some kind of RSS replacement make it look so? And is interaction on Mastodon higher because it’s new and people like playing with new stuff? 3rd party Twitter clients are used by more tech savvy people (my wild guess) which more likely switch to Mastodon. If these interact here, the Twitter interaction will plummet. It’s complicated, I guess 🤔
Show threadGed MaheuxJan 28, 2023
@pascal unquestionably the newness factor has something to do with it. But it is yeah it’s very complicated. I guess we’ll see how it pans out over time.
Show threadMichael WinibergJan 28, 2023

@gedeonm @Iconfactory
Indeed. Quite a few tweets from people I follow don't arrive in my feed, which rather renders following them fairly pointless.

As and when those people start Mastodon accounts I follow them here instead.

Show threadTodd SmithJan 28, 2023

@gedeonm @Iconfactory Ever since Musk nuked Twitterific, I've TRIED using the official client, but the UI is so awful that I simply CAN'T read all the posts that I used to be able to see (I use Lists on Twitter, and Twitterific would always save my place, rather than forcing me to the top of the list / newest posts.)

Many of those I follow haven't started dual-posting to Mastodon / Post.news, though, so I'm stuck with Twitter for the short term future. I just don't see everything. 👎

Show threadGed MaheuxJan 28, 2023
@todd_smith 😕
Show threadAdrianJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory @johnvoorhees
Can’t wait for the icon factory app (I know it’s not necessarily in development yet)
Show threadmeredifay todayJan 29, 2023
@Adrianizq @gedeonm @Iconfactory @johnvoorhees oh I wondered what all those toots were about. You’re pushing for an app. Is it for Twitter or for Mastodon?
Show threadDuncan AndersonJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm That’s a fascinating metric. I’m rapidly coming to a similar conclusion.
Show threadBrendan JonesJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory thuis matches my experience. I’ve got about the same amount of followers on both but I get 10x more engagement here.
Show threadMathiasJan 28, 2023
@gedeonm @Iconfactory it’s funny. Even though I have no followers I feel more welcomed and more motivated to interact and share over here. There’s another feel to it.