Scott DanzigJan 28, 2023
Jared White (ResistanceNet ✊)

Mastodon founder and CEO Eugen Rochko tells Engadget: “Third party applications are incredibly valuable for a platform because that's where the power users go … it benefits everybody because the power users are the people who create the content that everybody reads.”

THANK YOU 👏👏👏

https://www.engadget.com/twitter-client-developers-fleeing-twitter-mastodon-130031551.html

Engadget is part of the Yahoo family of brands

Jan 28, 2023 at 6:16pmWeb
Show threadDirk HohndelJan 28, 2023
@jaredwhite @tchambers
So true - and a broad set of apps ensures that there is something for different tastes and preferences. And without the underlying surveillance business model, it creates opportunities both for community / open source apps (like #IceCubesApp) or commercial offerings (like #Ivory)
Show threadAlexJan 28, 2023

@jaredwhite I'm very happy that Eugene has taken this stance.

Third party apps and enrichment tools are going to play a large part in this evolution as the public further enters the federated space.

Show threadCornelius TraasJan 28, 2023
@mentallyalex @jaredwhite I was just in touch with #johnmasodon and he totally agrees.
Show threadJohn SamuelJan 28, 2023
@jaredwhite This really reminds me of the initial days of the birdsite. Open APIs opened the doors to developers wishing to explore micro-blogging those days until it all stopped. ActivityPub will indeed attract more developers. Luckily, there are multiple instances this time, unlike the centralized solutions of the past.
Show threadMike GaruccioJan 28, 2023

@jsamwrites @jaredwhite

There also aren’t the conflicting incentives of power users being both the best generators of interesting content but also the most potentially lucrative to advertise to.

Show threadJohn SamuelJan 28, 2023
@mgaruccio @jaredwhite Unfortunately, on the birdsite, everything turned out to be just "for numbers".
Show threadMike GaruccioJan 29, 2023

@jsamwrites

Maybe I’m cynical, but at this point I kind of assume over long enough timescales everything becomes “for the numbers”. But at least when it comes to third party apps, incentives in the mastodon, and general fediverse ecosystem, are aligned to encourage open development. And that seems to be the case across many areas of the ecosystem, and that’s really why the whole space is interesting to me.

Show threadSid  Jan 28, 2023
@jaredwhite 💯💯
Show threadkurtseifried (he/him)Jan 28, 2023
@jaredwhite I’m always reminded of the software cultures of windows vs Linux. A gui is great for discovery and one time things, but the moment you want to automate or scale, you need an API. The same holds true for pretty much everything. At some point I have a problem, and the solution is valuable enough to warrant building or buying a custom system. Those are definitely users you want on your platform.
Show threadKingsley Uyi IdehenJan 28, 2023

@jaredwhite Great to see that the notion of "power user" isn't swamped by the typical "developer" only viewpoint.

In my experience, developers, power-users, and users collectively determine what a platform, network, or tech ecosystem ultimately becomes.

In #Web20 land, the "developer" worldview dominates which leads to echo chambers and predictable dysfunctionality.

/cc @atomicpoet

Show threadFuturist Jim CarrollJan 28, 2023

@jaredwhite I'm just gonna keep sharing this.

Because, well, developers!

Show threadJared White (ResistanceNet ✊)Jan 28, 2023
@jimcarroll always hysterically funny 😆
Show threadrstevens 🐳💨✅Jan 28, 2023
@jaredwhite somebody gets it
Show threadGustavo 🎮🔭🇵🇷Jan 28, 2023

@jaredwhite I’ll definitively will have to try this out

“…official Mastodon apps currently don’t support quoting — the Mastodon equivalent of a quote tweet — but some clients, like Ice Cubes and Mona, do.”

Show threadVinod V.  Jan 28, 2023
@jaredwhite not sure if Mr Musk is hearing this?
Show threadMorganaJan 28, 2023
@jaredwhite THANKS !!!!!!
Show threadMatthew CarpenterJan 29, 2023
@jaredwhite hey Elon….wake up and read this.
Show threadiamzamJan 29, 2023
@jaredwhite true beans!
Show threadgavinisdie Jan 29, 2023
@jaredwhite this is the Real CEO
Show threadscott fJan 29, 2023
@jaredwhite I both see his point and hope the fediverse ends up less like that: can't we do better than a place where superstar users create the content everyone else merely consumes? More social, less media as @suldrew says.
Show threadDarrel FrostJan 29, 2023
More 👏 social 👏 less 👏 media 👏
@scott @jaredwhite @suldrew
Show threadGardianJan 29, 2023
@jaredwhite of course he will say that… funny that no other social app allows them..
Show threadekesJan 29, 2023

@jaredwhite

A more cynical take is that a decentralized platform relies on powerful clients which share the burden while focusing on keeping the ecosystem standardized.
So it's natural for Eugen to embrace third-party apps.

In fact, for any feature request the first question is practically always: how much of it can be kept client-side?

Show threadJake SavinJan 29, 2023
@jaredwhite This works because of open formats and protocols. It can’t happen if you’re locked into proprietary systems, unless you’re satisfied with all your interaction happening within that system, which you have no control of, by definition.
Show threadJoseph LonsdaleJan 29, 2023
@jaredwhite I think. Twitter has become to toxic I got banned from there for posting to much about stuff I like some stuff like kinky