A polite reminder to people on here who like to proclaim:
"At this point if you're still on Twitter you are [some variant of horrible person]"
If you are a small creator - artist, writer, whatever - then right now Mastodon DOES NOT deliver equivalent reach-based income. People do not tip as much and the lack of QT significantly damages creator reach.
Being able to forsake income is a privilege. Your options are not someone else's options. Please be open-minded to that.
At some point soon, time allowing, I want to write something about the differences between creator reach, interactions and revenue on Twitter Vs Mastodon. I'm aware that as a digital strategist AND ALSO a creator with a platform on both I am relatively uniquely placed to do so.
But trust me, the spaces are not equivalent. Perfectly valid design decisions here do have negative impacts as a small creator dependent on reach.
There are absolutely ways that Mastodon could correct this. The biggest being:
1) Supporting, rather than being hostile to, threading
2) OPT IN for "I will let my quotes be tweeted"
Both would have a SIGNIFICANT positive impact for small creators.
There are also perfectly valid community reasons not to do both. But if, as a federated platform, it decides that's not in its best interest than it needs to be acknowledged that it's also a choice not to make Mastodon small creator revenue friendly
While it DOESN'T support those things though, which is a conscious platform choice, do try to remember that the opportunity for your favourite creator - artist, writer, maker, whatever - to switch to here as their primarily presence are limited.
And for it to be their ONLY presence simply isn't viable, for most.
I appreciate this isn't a thing people are openly saying. I appreciate I am a "first wave" Twitter exile here.
But I like to think my behaviour and posting here has shown how much I've enjoyed and embraced this platform.
And part of that is wanting to see others like me, but more reliant on marginal creator income, find a home here too.
And that's just not possible for so many small creators on Twitter I love right now, who would make Mastodon sing even more than it does already.
@garius I mean, I see where you're coming from, but if my income relied on the continuing existence of Twitter then wow, I would be panicking hard right now.
That's more important than the moralistic thing you see here sometimes I think.
@mwl @tomw well that really just adds to my point.
I know a LOT of small creators who ARE panicking. And the fact they don't see Mastodon as a viable solo lifeboat should be seen as evidence that it isn't.
And therefore they shouldn't be judged for that, if it's the result of active (and reasonable in context) design decisions here.
@tomw @mwl no, it's design decisions as well.
Honestly, i've been here long enough now - and had 'viral' content on both platforms - to see how different the interactions can be.
Short version is that validation of quality by a friendly QT REALLY matters for small creators looking to build reach, be visible and convert customers.
So the (valid) lack of that to limit bad habits here, has a disproportionately negative impact on small creators as an unfortunate side-effect.
@tomw @mwl i'm not. honestly. remember this is lived experience for me.
And it's not purely a large-to-small relationship. indeed those are arguably a very mixed bag (a LOT of bot or low-value follows. big noise-to-signal ratio).
It's follower of small-to-mid follower validations that have serious conversion value - either as a direct sale/tip, or a follow from someone whose interests you were relevant to but was unaware before.
@lispi314 @mwl @tomw to give you a serious answer:
It definitely helps, but it's basically a human behaviour thing. The benefit of a quote on twitter is that the flow is:
1) quoter clicks button
2) adds text
3) hits post
So it's a low impact, quick action. Thus more people do it.
And the benefit to the reader is they see the full text/images of the quoted post. There's no click through required.
More convenient/visual = more interaction, basically.
@Zach777 @tomw @mwl not really. Too many steps. It's about highlighting in the spur of the moment with minimum clicks.
I completely agree that QTing can be hugely toxic btw. It's why i think not having them is an absolutely valid design decision.
I'm just pointing out that it's one of the things that contributes to Mastodon not being hugely productive for small creators right now. It's an unfortunate side-effect.
@Zach777 @tomw @mwl it would definitely be a start.
The key thing is making it much clearer WHO boosted and that they really, really think you should look at a thing.
But the issue then potentially becomes people just doing that instead of a regular boost.
Like I say, I do think it's totally solvable with thought though.
@garius @mwl @tomw I deeply, deeply hope this will teach is what chokepoint capitalism is & why it can't be allowed to continue.
It's like if we'd built an entire economy around a global string of prime location strip malls where everyone both works & shops, and then one day a new owner turned the entire chain into a literal Nazi clubhouses, but nobody had any choice but to keep working/shopping there...
John Bull
Tom Walker
Michael W Lucas 
LisPi
Zach777
JW prince of CPH