📢 Exciting update, Pixelfed community!

We've got something amazing in the works that will transform the way you share your visual stories.

🚀✨ Pixelfed Stories is coming soon to our app, allowing you to captivate your audience with ephemeral moments that disappear after 24 hours.

Get ready to update your app and experience a whole new level of storytelling!

Stay tuned for the official release date and be prepared to unleash your creativity. 📱📸 #ComingSoon #PixelfedStories

@pixelfed Oh no, another app who is implementing this useless features only a handful people use in other apps.

And I don't even ask why, because the answer would be: "Other do it, we do it, too!"

Why even bothering to create a picture and upload it, if it gets deleted after 24 hours?

The picture can't be interesting at all! It's just another feature to say "It's appreciated to puke into the internet".

What a waste of resources!

btw. I thought #fediverse apps wanted to be a little bit more different from the data collecting originals and it's about the people and the social aspect and not about mindlessly consuming...

@utopify_org @pixelfed I am managing public accounts on Insta. Stories have two advantages. Being time-limited they are good for daily posts that get deleted once they are irrelevant. This is much better than plastering a feed with info that needs to be deleted manually. Time saver. Stories are a the primary way to reach followers. While feed posts are good for general long-term content that is more discoverable and permanent beyond your community.

@yuliyan @pixelfed Can you name examples, where posts are irrelevant within 24 hours? Okay, if you have a news channel, I would understand it... but else?

I really don't understand why I should follow someone, who is literally producing videos for the trash bin? It already is a sign the content is garbage!

Seriously, I don't understand how you can reach followers with this?

@utopify_org @pixelfed You just gave a heavy example. Daily news. The fuckton of media outlets dependent on Instagram is outrageous. We need alternatives.

Also, in fact you can pace almost any kind of content to a daily basis.

Another way of viewing it: Do you write everything down that people say to you and stick it on a wall to stay there? No, because why should you? A huge portion of communication has only temporary relevance.

@yuliyan @pixelfed I don't stick anything on a wall, what people tell me, and yes, why should I? Most of it is not even relevant, but if I follow someone it would be fatal, if the information is gone after 24 hours, because I don't want to check social media every day. That's just oil for FOMO!

And I think this is another technology of big companies, who want the users to stay on their platform and use it more frequently.

But okay, I think I can't do anything with this technology (or find it useful) because I wasn't conditioned to be dependent on it.

I think I have to see examples in action to understand it, because in my head it is just a bad thing.

@utopify_org @pixelfed I think we are hitting parallel truths here. Stories can be addictive. At minimum the functionality should be optional as in removable from the interface if not needed.

Another default behavior of Instagram is that all stories of all profiles you follow are displayed automatically. Why not make it opt-in so people can carefully chose which profile should be able to push stories onto you?

@yuliyan @pixelfed An opt-in system wouldn't work very well, because if someone is interested in a channel, they want to know everything and don't want to miss something (FOMO). The worst that can happen is if the influencer says (in a normal video) something related to a story like "In my last vote you could decide what I do next". For everyone who is following this influencer and who didn't vote, because of the opt-in system, the person will opt-in asap and will check social media daily.

I might not understand how this feature could be useful for the end user, but I understand it a little more, why people have the urge to check social media several times a day. At least this is one of the factors.

@utopify_org @pixelfed I believe there is a middle ground between harmful and useful design when it comes to temporary social media content. At the bad end of the spectrum we have the algo-driven slot-machine that are Insta Reels or TikTok feeds.

1/3

@utopify_org @pixelfed On the other side there are feed posts .that are opt-in via follow or hashtag-follow. Stories is closer to a feed post than to the bad end. It's inherited opt-in via follow and chronological. Even on Instagram it is, afaik not algo-driven. Long story short, having options is key.

2/3

@utopify_org @pixelfed One could argue if stories need so much visual presence on the main feed. The glowing rings can be dopamine pills for sure. But there is also choice here. You can decide which stories to view. This is something not even feed posts let you decide. Either you see a post or you don't. Stories in contrast let you know that there is content from a profile. You can open it, or you can jump it instead.

@yuliyan @pixelfed Thanks a lot for explaining everything.

Can you post examples (screenshots) of those glowing rings or those polls in a video or how all of this looks like?