Chris TrottierMy goal isn't for Mastodon to replace Twitter.
My goal is for the Fediverse to replace Big Social.
I don't think Mastodon should be a 1:1 replacement for Twitter.
It's cool that, for so many people, Mastodon actually does replace Twitter.
It replaces Twitter for me, in fact.
What makes Mastodon a *good* Twitter replacement for me is that Mastodon can do things that Twitter doesn't. Example: auto-delete my posts.
It also doesn't do what Twitter does. Example: sort your home feed with a blackbox "relevancy" algorithm.
Mastodon should *not* be targeting the "average Joe" Twitter user.
The biggest reason: "Average Joe" does not exist. I've spoken elsewhere about why:
https://mastodon.social/@atomicpoet/109794718506171246
But another way of phrasing this: when you make an app for everyone, you make an app for no one.
It's fine if someone looks at Mastodon, and goes, "I hate that this isn't one singular site like Twitter."
That's okay. Mastodon doesn't have to cater to people that desire a walled garden experience.
What I especially desire is for Mastodon to validate the notion of decentralized social media.
Which it's beginning to do.
And then when everyone builds a social media platform, they start thinking to themselves, "Maybe we should integrate ActivityPub."
Thereafter, ActivityPub goes mainstream. And soon ActivityPub becomes a prime consideration for any web dev project.
That's what I want.
What I also want is for developers to think, "I can make something better than Mastodon!"
Then they get off their asses and do it.
Let them get competitive.
Something people often ask me, "What if the Fediverse becomes the Linux of social media? Wouldn't that be terrible?"
No, that would be incredible: Linux dominates almost EVERYTHING.
That is: the router, the TV, the smartphone, the car, the refrigerator.
Even Windows integrates a Linux subsystem nowadays.
If the Fediverse became the "Linux of social media", that would make it the most important social media ecosystem ever created.
Devs generally have to stop being myopic about the Fediverse.
Multiple protocols and platforms and clients should exist.
This is bigger than a "Twitter replacement".
With a little imagination, this could be bigger than the web itself.
Think about how ActivityPub can apply to creative collaboration, gaming, commerce, and leisure.
Endless possibilities, and people already want to re-centralize.
Hell, no! Let's instead explore all the possibilities.
Big Social is weak right now:
1. Twitter is in upheaval, and just killed its free API
2. Meta is putting all its focus on the Metaverse, a venture that probably won't pan out
3. TikTok may be banned in the USA
4. Snapchat has become a haven for pedophiles and fentanyl dealers
With all this upheaval, it's worth considering how we can make a *better*, more human-centric form of social media.
For me, decentralization is the *bare minimum* of any social media platform.
I don't want to shoot for the bare minimum. I want something that greatly exceeds it.
To wit, I want decentralized social media that prizes human-to-human connections above all else.
Less relevancy algorithms. Less bots. Less automation.
Any surveillance capitalism isn't even worth considering.
It's time to expand our vision, not only of what the Fediverse can be, but also how social media can work.
Now is the time for big vision!
Kelley Graham@atomicpoet i have had several interesting encounters that boiled down to 'this is just microblogging. why overthink things.'
@imklg Such people have little imagination.
Microblogging doesn't even scratch the surface.
@atomicpoet problem they were quite highly credentialed and well established. respected as authorities in all things. high follower counts.
@imklg Reputable people dismissed the concept of social media as well.
@atomicpoet the centralized model appeals to 'experts in all things'. decentralized is problematic, so they use their social weight to impose familiarity. it fascinating to watch it roll out here.
Mr. Pataphor, Dadaist Dad+@atomicpoet I think #CorporateSocialMedia has taken advantage of 2 of Maslow's psychological needs, Belonging & Self Esteem. Advertising has been manipulating these with appeals for years.
Folks what to belong to a group (One of the Crowd) & Esteem (Stand Out from the Crowd).
So they join Bird, Face, Tik, or some other media flavour to belong. Then they shout out to the void Look-at-Me to feel self-worth.
This is psychologically damaging addictive behaviour, that runs counter to engagement.
Folks what to belong to a group (One of the Crowd) & Esteem (Stand Out from the Crowd).
So they join Bird, Face, Tik, or some other media flavour to belong. Then they shout out to the void Look-at-Me to feel self-worth.
This is psychologically damaging addictive behaviour, that runs counter to engagement.
Urethramancer🐀@atomicpoet People are hoping that Melon Husk buys Facebook and the other crap. It would almost certainly destroy them, and that seems alright to me.
Jon Udell@atomicpoet I've been chatting with some friends about how this would be an opportune moment for a conference on that topic. Is anyone aware of a plan for such?
Richard Hyland@atomicpoet I’ve really got zero interest in the metaverse. No one has shown me yet why I should care either
snickerbockers@atomicpoet i feel like the answer to all our problems is to go back to the "angelfire/geocities" model where everybody has a personal website to express themselves, and inter-person communication is outsourced to dedicated protocols like IRC and e-mail.
probably not gonna happen because it's not nearly as monetizable and also the masses crave for a single monolithic social media+communication system like facebook. but i do feel like everybody was a lot happier 20 years ago.
Gen X-Wing@atomicpoet You missed Reddit there.
I’m hoping to look for a Reddit alternative on the fediverse sometime this year. Thinking it could be time.
(Why not right now? Overwhelmed with things that needs done and mastodon is my new social media thing for now:))
@breadbin Have you tried Lemmy?
@atomicpoet Not yet, but it’s on my radar. I move slower:) Feel that I need a good chunk of time/energy as I don’t want to sign up and move away, but actually give it a go.
Dogzilla@atomicpoet I’m not sure we can *make* a better instance of social media. That implies a level of centralized control that (I believe) will inevitably lead to bad outcomes. The only way to get good social media is to allow decentralized systems to self-organize and develop cross-compatibility and evolved standards for behavior and tech. That means no one get exactly what they want, but there’s room for everyone
Scott M. Stolz@Dogzilla I think it is more about use cases. We can make "better" social media instances, but what is "better" will depend on the person and the use case. There is no one definition of "better."
We need to stop thinking of "one size fits all" and start thinking about how diverse systems can work together.
For example, Mastodon's interface is designed for short posts, and is not suited for long form content. But Hubzilla, Friendica, and a bunch of other platforms are better for longer posts. And if you want videos, then PeerTube's interface works better.
So, we can have "better" but that requires an ecosystem where multiple apps and platforms can thrive so people can choose what is "better" for themselves.
cc: @Chris Trottier
We need to stop thinking of "one size fits all" and start thinking about how diverse systems can work together.
For example, Mastodon's interface is designed for short posts, and is not suited for long form content. But Hubzilla, Friendica, and a bunch of other platforms are better for longer posts. And if you want videos, then PeerTube's interface works better.
So, we can have "better" but that requires an ecosystem where multiple apps and platforms can thrive so people can choose what is "better" for themselves.
cc: @Chris Trottier
Stephen Castro-Starkey@atomicpoet Curious.. is ActivityPub mandatory to be part of the Fediverse?
@stephen No, not mandatory. For example, diaspora* doesn't use ActivityPub, but it communicates with Hubzilla and Friendica.
@atomicpoet Cool thanks. I keep seeing posts by people about participating in the Fediverse that are almost always coupled with ActivityPub.
Till@atomicpoet @stephen
Diaspora is slowly dieing because it decided to stick with their old protocol. Even though, the user interface is the best I have tried so far.
Diaspora is slowly dieing because it decided to stick with their old protocol. Even though, the user interface is the best I have tried so far.
aethervision 
@atomicpoet It’s like talking about time travel. We keep applying a 3rd dimensional vocabulary to a 4th dimensional construct.
Kingsley Uyi IdehenHow about:
A manifestation of one of the Web's many nascent aspects.
Web 1.0 was an interoperability miracle for documents.
The #Fediverse is an interoperability miracle for sociality (via federated #SocialMedia)
Both are the product of deep architectural magic enabled by #HTTP based #Hypermedia 😀
Steve Popovich@atomicpoet "Twitter" should probably be renamed "Shitter", since it is quickly approaching maximum enshittification.
Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK@atomicpoet a while back there was already someone who (mis)used Fedi messages as some kind of in game messaging system for a computer game mod (they predictably got yeeted from various instances for this tomfoolery and offloading their resource requirements to unwilling instance admins), but it would surely be possible legitimately to set up basic AP servers for this purpose...
April 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈:FCKAFD::bst:@atomicpoet and it already is becoming it!
Adam Dalliance@atomicpoet I'm here exactly because it *is* the Linux of social media I think?
Also I use Linux coz it's the Fediverse of operating systems.
xrvs@pre @atomicpoet “i’m on fedi btw”
Doug BostromHeh. We're all running on Linux, literally.
There's a menu option in my Chevy Bolt to see the GNU license the car respects-- because the infotainment sits on Linux.
Written from my Devuan Linux laptop. "The year of the Linux desktop" is now age 22, for me.
Neophobia: don't let it rule your life.
Martin Vermeer FCD@Doug_Bostrom @atomicpoet Also, the Internet is a Unix/Linux network. Literally. URLs are Unix path names. Etc.
Yes indeed. Linux/*NIX is the oxygen of our network atmosphere. We breathe it, live by it. Our communications would otherwise suffocate or at best be highly impoverished.
The emergence of Linux was the Great Oxygenation Event of modern communications. Linux is the equivalent of a biological primary producer, for our communications systems.
Mostly unseen, like phytoplankton?
In which case OSS developers are sunlight.
@Doug_Bostrom @atomicpoet Fond memories of DECNet. Whatever happened to them? 😏
Keeping secrets. That's the common failure mode.
@atomicpoet it seems like the only place where Linux is little used is as an end user, desktop/laptop OS; but as I'm sure you well know, data centers everywhere are full of Linux servers, in addition to the embedded systems you called out.
f00f/eris/continuum/etc@atomicpoet fedi's always been the Linux of social media. I discovered it through GNU's website mentioning GNU social. it's always had the same "free software" ideals as GNU and Linux.
but I think Linux is great, and free software is great! I don't know why people use it as a negative comparison. it means choice, and a less central distribution of power. Only free software has that ability to "dominate almost everything" without literally becoming an all-powerful monopoly.
Hera [Yaseenist] Harper
Groms@atomicpoet I suggest a listErv mailinglist
防空識別區ᵒᵘᵗᵉʳᵏᵒˢᵐᵒˢ@atomicpoet There are already a lot of things that are better than Mastodon.
Wolfensteijn@atomicpoet hope there is beer in this pub
I believe it will happen.
We (@openlink) are putting a lot of effort into making our contribution -- across many fronts 😀
Sandhu@atomicpoet The internet of social media! Interoperable links (urls) to all things people want to share and freedom of who they want to share it with without being profiled.
Ryan Paaz@atomicpoet Ideally, it’ll become its own thing that only resembles Twitter and has its own killer features. IE: carves it own niche out.
Liz Ellis She/Her🌳@atomicpoet the best thing about mastodon is that if I log in and see dozens of notifications I don’t have an anxiety attack
Tom Bradley Jr. 📚🇺🇸🇺🇦@atomicpoet Yep, me, too.
Jay O’Conor@atomicpoet It looks like most Mastodon client authors are falling into some Twitter 1:1 traps. For instance, the ability to follow a hashtag in Mastodon is incredibly useful, yet few client apps give hashtag following (and management) the prominence it deserves
@atomicpoet no t for me! Too few toots about #covidorigin #lableak #glyphosate and even #migratuon and #migratoryspecies are underrepresented
Gareth Kitchen@atomicpoet Have you had a look at Nostr yet? The concept seems pretty cool. I've sought out a few 'real' people and it all becomes very familiar. I'm using Amethyst on Android and my key is: npub1fn95p9khdsazyanadz7ksrwuel0yjslhccfk7h50dh4472acw8dqah2cjd