Chris Trottier

Garbage article from MOU (makeuseof.com).

Too many media outlets dogpile on existing narratives, and opt for "think pieces" instead of actual reporting of facts.

Here's the FACTS about Mastodon:

1. In Sept 2022, only ~11,000 accounts were registered on Mastodon
2. In January 2023, ~180,000 accounts were registered
3. This week, ~120,000 accounts were registered

But let's also consider the matter of "active users"...

https://www.makeuseof.com/why-people-leaving-mastodon/

@fediversenews

Feb 16, 2023 at 5:38pmWeb
Show threadChris TrottierFeb 16, 2023

What is an "active" user, specifically "monthly active user" (a.k.a., MAUs).

It's anyone who a service can perceive as interacting with an account.

Sign-ups make a user "active". Logins likewise make a user "active".

No website ever has a 100% retention in activity after sign-ups.

Between Oct-Dec 2022, ~4 million people signed up for Mastodon. It was an exceptional moment.

How many accounts RETAINED their activity?

~2.7 million accounts

https://the-federation.info/platform/21

@fediversenews

The Federation - a statistics hub

Node list and statistics for The Federation and Fediverse

Show threadChris TrottierFeb 16, 2023

Here's the chart that really matters.

Average Mastodon posts per month are going up.

Here's a comparison:

* Sept 2022: ~460M posts
* Dec 2022: ~573M posts
* Feb 2023 (so far): ~678M posts

This is a dramatic upswing in posts, and indicates that activity on Mastodon is continuing to increase.

The chart tells the story. The jump is dramatic.

https://mastodon.fediverse.observer/stats

@fediversenews

Fediverse Observer checks all sites in the fediverse and gives you an easy way to find a home from a map or list or automatically.

Mastodon Sites Status. Find a Mastodon server to sign up for, find one close to you!

Show threadAlex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKFeb 16, 2023

@atomicpoet @fediversenews

it must still be increasing, as the bug which stalls the timelines (so you have to click away from the tab with Mastodon and then go back to it) has returned and it seems to only manifest itself during peak usage periods..

Show threadDr. Juande Santander-VelaFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews how can one get this data? I’m interested in seeing this in a log y-axis, to compare with the early phase…
Show threadChris TrottierFeb 16, 2023
@juandesant @fediversenews I edited the post to include the URL.
Show threadDr. Juande Santander-VelaFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews thanks!
Show threadMark BrittenFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews wow. Very interesting stats.
Show threadDave MarkFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet Love this, Chris. What’s the source? Have a link?
Show threadChris TrottierFeb 16, 2023
@davemark I edited the initial post to put in the source.
Show threadDave MarkFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet Cheers, Chris!
Show threadMax Leibman has moved!Feb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews @mariyadelano You heard Chris, everybody: TOOT MORE!
Show threadZZ BottomFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews
Show threadVirginia S. O'PossumFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews
So remember to financially support your instance.
Show threadJon UdellFeb 16, 2023

@atomicpoet @fediversenews When I look at the servers I often see in my travels, I see steady-state vs growth. So presumably that chart reflects new servers entering the fediverse?

On a per-instance basis, I think steady-state is a good thing. An instance that has attracted the right set of people for its intended purpose is healthy at whatever size that turns out to be.

Show threadKlaus Alexander SeistrupFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet Why not include the entire #fediverse, of which #mastodon is just a subset (albeit the biggest)? The numbers are equally impressing.

 https://fediverse.observer/stats
Fediverse Observer checks all sites in the fediverse and gives you an easy way to find a home from a map or list or automatically.

Fediverse Sites Status. Find a Fediverse server to sign up for, find one close to you!

Show threadAlexandria BFeb 16, 2023
@kas @atomicpoet This information is really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Show threadLucius Annaeus SenecaFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews
I visited both my #Mastodon and #Twitter accounts today. I spent about 30 seconds on Twitter, just the time to block a pro-Russia account. I have interacted with Mastodon for several minutes, posting and responding to posts like this one... This platform offers a far more rewarding experience compared to the bird site under #Musk management.
Show threadLucius Annaeus SenecaFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews
Oh, and I almost forgot... I received a "push notification" from #Twitter entitled "Statement from the 45th POTUS". It was a #Trump rant against Nicola #sturgeon. Seriously? He's now interfering with #Scottish politics?? I blocked both #Trump and #Musk long ago. This is how #Twitter is being used: to push #Trump's insane propaganda rants on people who have zero interest in them. Great way to entice users back...I predict #Twitter #bankruptcy.
Show threadNincodedoFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet Feb 2023* ?
Show threadChris TrottierFeb 16, 2023
@nincodedo Are you not seeing my edit?
Show threadNincodedoFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet I was not at the time but I see it now! 👍
Show threadTinusFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews I’m very interested in knowing what the costs for infrastructure are and if the community will be able to sustain it?
Show threadAlisonW ♿🏳️‍🌈♾️Feb 16, 2023
@tinus @atomicpoet @fediversenews
Effectively the costs are individual to an instance. That means the cost of the server(s), either directly operated hardware or a 'cloud' option, and any charges for bandwidth used.
An instance survives on its own - it has no costs from elsewhere - so it's only the instance's users, the local community, which need to be sustaining it.
Show threadTinusFeb 17, 2023
@AlisonW @atomicpoet @fediversenews
Any insight on the monthly cost per active account?
Show threadAlisonW ♿🏳️‍🌈♾️Feb 17, 2023
@tinus @atomicpoet @fediversenews
Marginal-to-zero.
Show threadWizard Bear (💉x8 + 😷)Feb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews I think this is great! I also think it is a side effect of #Elno and #TwitterMigration . Good stuff. I'm loving Mastodon. Friendly and an actually social network.
Show threadChristianFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet That's because we are here! And we are here to stay! No more bird side with that crazy dude!
Show threadAlonFeb 17, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews Wait, something here is weird - the graphs say there were only a few tens of users in the first seven months of 2019, and there were no active users at all until November 2022, both of which are obviously nonsense.
Show threadJimFeb 17, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews I wonder if finding out the man baby is boosting his own account was the last straw.
Show threadLazaroFeb 17, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews can confirm, I am one example of someone who installed in November, set up an account in December, and is only now becoming an active daily user.
Show threadAndrew BaldwinFeb 17, 2023
@atomicpoet are we sure those post count numbers are for unique posts, and are not including every copy of the same post from different servers (I.e. de-duplicated)? It seems like a very high number
Show threadChris TrottierFeb 17, 2023
@baldand Yes.
Show threadSozialweltenFeb 17, 2023
@atomicpoet How many of those are crosspostings from twitter though? How much is original content? @fediversenews
Show threadudondanFeb 21, 2023
@sozialwelten @atomicpoet @fediversenews Yeah good point. I assume all those birdside.live, tweets.icu etc follows are in this metric?
Show threadRaven LuniFeb 17, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews Shouldnt that last one be 2023?
Show threadChristian Kent   𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥Feb 17, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews @cstromblad I’m not asking for an algorithm — but I can’t read every post anymore and I just wanna sort by Boosts and Likes 😅😣 — just select any time period
Show threadMcNeelyFeb 18, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews why would this be a better metric than posts per users or some other rate? Is it better to look at total volume and just let the "loud" people skew the numbers?
Show threadAlgernon D'AmmassaFeb 18, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews I’m spending much less time on social media in general, but I spend most of that time here.
Show threadJeff Morris ZAFeb 18, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews Nice map if you want to find instances near you.
Show threadJons MostovojsFeb 18, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews the chart of my `df -h` agrees :D
Show threadRyuno-KiFeb 16, 2023

@atomicpoet
Isn't MAU a vanity metric?

I could see value in it if I had a positive attitude to behaviour based advertising (I don't).

But other than that it's not of much use.

Rather interesting to compare profiles with the share of bots on an instance.

Or looking into inboxes and outboxes to get a sense of interaction. Because that's where human reactions happen.

@fediversenews

Show threadChris TrottierFeb 16, 2023

@RyunoKi @fediversenews It is! And yet, this is the number that the Guardian and others keep talking about whenever they say people are "fleeing" Mastodon.

Most people don't look at the actual numbers, just the media narrative.

Show threadAdam DallianceFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews
Yeah, seems like a better question for the article might be how does Mastodon manage to retain two thirds of all signups? That's unheard of stickiness!
Show threadfinnerFeb 16, 2023

@atomicpoet @[email protected]

I wonder how many of those initial sign ups wound up migrating to other (non-mastodon) services but are still active in the fediverse?

I would be one. Sound off everyone. Let’s count it out. Haha.

Show threadKat FollandFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews I'm not sure how to read such things, but that sounds impressive.
Show threadDerek 🌈Feb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews I think it should be "Why are so many people joining mastodon?"
Show threadMike FraserFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews Right under it an article "Five Reasons Why You Shouldn't Quit Twitter" . I think we know who butters their bread.
Show threadErnie SmithFeb 16, 2023

@atomicpoet @fediversenews Don’t get too too worked up. The author specifically promotes himself as a “B2B SaaS Writer | Helping SaaS brands grow through search engine-optimized content” on his Twitter profile.

He’s a generalist writer trying to latch onto an SEO trend.

Show threadVoronFeb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet @fediversenews meh this seems very accurate to me
.
“One reason is that it seemed tech-savvy users heavily dominated the platform, making it difficult for regular social media users to find their way and feel comfortable on the platform.”
Show threadEd... should be in bed.Feb 16, 2023
@atomicpoet
(Read the whole thread, just addressing this to the head) Makeuseof never seems to want to use things the way I do anyways.
@fediversenews