I say this a bunch but one of the sheer joys of Mastodon is simply boosting stuff you like. I mean it's so silly but here, you get to be the algorithm. If you don't boost, it don't get boosted. So... whatever your reasons, boost, boost, boost!

Drop that goddam shyness that the other sites somehow programmed into you, as if your own stuff will get punished if you help others' along.

Also boost is nice word.

Also-- the people you follow on Mastodon are your TREASURE.

You had to FIND them. Very little came to you. So that weird account posting some kind of ceramics... it's your treasure and you should share the booty! Boost the booty! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOST!

Okay I will stop.

@PsySal also smock, smock is a nice word, smock smock smock smock smock smock.

@PsySal I will not stop.

Boooooooost it into the stratosphere!

@PsySal

I mean yeah, boost the stuff you like, obvs

But I find the stuff I like by following Hashtags of stuff I like ;-)

YKmMV

It’s so delightful when I notice that a follow/er has boosted something I boosted. I notice oh, person A did like the bug stuff, person B is on the computer tips β€” and one bug β€” it’s just cheerful! One candle lights another!

@PsySal

@PsySal Thanks for reiterating - I boost a lot but often a sense of unoriginality creeps up on me.

But I get to be an algorithm, yay! 😁

@PsySal the one problem with this is "ally" boosting (sorry, I dunno what else to call it)

e.g. I'm going to boost this post to show I support the person and their lifestyle, rather than because the content is worth sharing

Which I get but isn't what I am personally here for.

@PsySal I'm still trying to figure out boost etiquette because I'm scared I'd get yelled at for boosting everything even though I know people can always mute me 😬

@PsySal you can even boost your own toots

Boosting yourself is nothing to be ashamed of

Everybody does it

@msh @PsySal
It's not like you're going to go blind by doing it. That's a myth.
@PsySal It is really an accurate term. It is a bit of a boost to the psyche when you see that what you've carefully taken the time to write, or draw, or photograph, or create in any way is valued by someone else.
@PsySal @alexisbushnell I think a lot about the part in Emergent Strategy when Adrienne Maree Brown talks about the human microphone at occupy protests and the retweet on Twitter. She was writing pre-algorithm, and praising how democratic the retweet is, how it gives collectives the ability to autonomously amplify the things that matter to them. It feels like on Mastodon we get that power back.

@PsySal

I boost a lot, especially for posts looking for work in their field.

this could be for the fact that I’m trapped in a place where I can’t find *any* way to do what I do best.

@PsySal I try to limit it to 5 boosts per day max. I hate it when my timeline is flooded by a single person boosting dozens of posts, seemingly at random, spamming me with posts I'm not interested in. One of my favorite features is that you can turn off people's boosts but still see their posts. I've done that to a ton of people who abuse their boosting privileges.

@strange_new_words I also like this feature (and use it sometimes) and I take it as further licence to boost freely-- anyone annoyed by my boosts can still just follow me and not my boosts.

Also! I know that by boosting I am not surreptitiously inserting it into others' timelines via algorithm prioritization. It's like, if ya see my boost, ya followin' me. :)

Consent is an amazing thing.

Fisher x Flowdan - Boost Up

YouTube
@PsySal I also would much rather toot than tweet anything. A toot feels more impactful somehow.
@PsySal boost is the secret of my energy