If you're wondering why there are so few news stories about the rise of #Mastodon, it's because nobody is getting paid to game the media about it.
There's no publicists, no cozy ad deals, no suits, no coercion: Nobody is getting rich off of Mastodon
... that's also why it's so enlightening and fun to participate here
@unitof is figuring it out!
@aguamielerogpz @unitof @maria
4.2 is still in beta and newsie is short of $600/mo in funding of its operations. Deploying additional features is probably not a priority right now.
nope! because it's being done the right way (opt-in)
@maria Being anti-commercial does keep the journos away. And celebrities.
But no reason why government agencies can’t maintain a presence here.
It’s a niche user base, and will probably remain so. Good moderation on top of that is what makes it fun for me. Twitter used to be that way around 2012.
@staidwinnow @maria main logistical challenge for the agencies: deciding on an instance to join. Or figuring out how to setup and fund their own instance.
Not an insurmountable wall but a basic set of decisions that has to get solved first.
Maybe Mastodon is a place where people can come to peace that more isn't always better.
I'm happy about that. Much better if Mastodon keeps growing organically through us who care about using it good.
I know haha Bluesky is so tiny
and so many moderation problems and all!! yoicks
Have had fun there, but Mastodon is the place to build!!!!
Is Mastodon rising? Is there a comparison available of Mastodon numbers to other platforms?
I love it here, and I'm hoping that over time, more folks will recognize the value in democratic social media.
At this point, I have not successfully talked anyone into joining Mastodon. I know one other person, personally, and only I only barely know him, on Mastodon.
But still, I love it here and will not go back to corporate social media!!
Heck yes, It's hard to get even 10,000 people to read a news article online; Masto has more than 10 million registered users. It's wildly impressive growth and uptake. And early days yet.
I don't like to be contrary, but the number of registered users on a platform doesn't reveal the number of folks who read an article.
I remember well when Facebook was gaining traction, I knew lots of people who were jumping on board. I literally know one neighbor (barely), and no friends or family, who are getting on Mastodon.
That said, I find it baffling that pretty much everyone I know who uses social media is willing to serve as a pawn for the undemocratic power elites. As an optimist, I believe that will change over time, but I wish it would happen faster.
I'd love to see surprising numbers that indicate we are getting there faster than I think we are.
"Traffic" numbers as they've been understood so far are no indication of influence or quality (or even readership, as such numbers are easily faked)
I've been an editor for a long time and believe me it ain't easy to tempt even 10,000 real live human beings to read an excellent article or essay all the way through. It's very noisy out there!
I sense that we are talking past each other and fear I missed a key bit of information that you already posted. I don't understand where you are getting information about articles reaching 10,000 Mastodon users. Please forgive me if I have a blind spot here. I just don't understand.
No no my fault. I just meant, as an editor of web publications I've seen how hard it is to get a lot of people to come over, to read, etc.
Twitter too grew in fits and starts. So many jokes about the 'fail whale' ...
My Masto post today (7 hours ago) has more than 1K likes and 692 boosts, I had to shut off the speaker on my computer from all the plinging.
So like... from where I sit the success of this platform, in so few months, is really breathtaking.
Got it!! Love it!! Great news and congratulations. 🌞🌞🌞
I folllow @mastodonusercount which is a bot that posts an update on active users regularly. The number of users has been increasing very slowly but steadily; we're close to 14 million now.
@vanellopemint @maria @mastodonusercount
I also follow that bot and get excited when I see huge numbers of new members.
You mention "active" users, and I'm not seeing that.
@csolisr facebook is trying to capture the microblogging market. they're losing some money now in hopes of big money later
this is generally how capitalists operate
yes cool!!!!!!
@maria Also worth noting is that covering Mastodon as a news story runs counter to the self-interest of those in the media.
News organizations know the majority of their followers are still on other platforms where they profit from clickbait engagement. If they start talking about Mastodon as a viable alternative to those hell sites, they lose followers. When they lose followers, they lose money. Doing a story about Mastodon is literally a drain on profit.
I'm a journalist! We didn't/don't all use Twitter the same way, or for the same purposes, then or now. Research, finding colleagues abroad, gauging the temperature of breaking news... many many reasons
Now I have it as a forwarding address, and to tell people to come here, and occassionally to boost stories... but I only really engage here, and to a lesser extent on bluesky
These distinctions matter a lot, because journalism can focus public attention in both good ways and bad.
lots of alternative media is shit. conspiratorial nonsense. but the fact that it also has less money and attention behind it leads lots of people to dismiss it when they shouldn't.
alternative media is also less encumbered by the need to comfort the comfortable. so then many others over index on this real concern, rejecting too much much of the mainstream and reflexively accepting too much that challenges it.
same elements at play here imo.
Not growing?!
(also: Twitter itself had a very chaotic rise fall crash rise etc. to its eventual prominence)
Maybe, but the numbers don't matter to me .00001% as much as the quality and depth of engagement
Just like Twitter was only ever a fraction of the size of Facebook, yet its influence on global public opinion was far greater
I think it's gonna happen, just not all at once
like the man said... "It will fluctuate."
josh5
Maria Bustillos
Eider
Jacob 🫡. Ford
ekes
heliopaz
Wampus
PirateJoie
Robert Link
Staid Winnow
Krupo
Canadian Crone
Dr.Implausible
Christopher Mims
Delta Wye
R_C_
Filthius
Hiker Geek 🌲💻🌲
Chris Real
Thomas Svensson 🖖
Byte
Jenny Z., This Puzzle Piece
🦋ShouldbeWriting🦋
Carlos Solís
some kind of orange shape
thomkennon
David Brent 📚
William Gunn
smallerdemon
Doreen32128 ready to rumble!
william.maggos
Дора (fan account)
life mask (jeff)
I TRIED TO TELL YOU
Isho'ye
Benjamin Leis ✅
Dan
hacknorris