Megan Marie HartBOOST OR QUOTE THIS!
Trying to find out how many people see a post without hashtags. Thank you!
(edit: Why, you ask? Long thread coming up … 1/7)
Vsevolod Popov@meganmariehart I never use hashtags on Mastodon since I forgot that they were used in Twitter. They are not used in Telegram. In case of Russian mastodon there are 2 bots that boost your posts if they are written in russian. I have no idea how they are boosted if they are written in English and how, let's say, a person would find somebody to follow in Mastodon if he only registered and wants to find something to read and interact with.
David Scott Moyer@Sevapopov @meganmariehart I use hashtags because I and others follow them to find specific content. Some people block things like the name of the president to avoid seeing it. They are my favorite tool.
Wayne Werner@farbel @Sevapopov @meganmariehart you may already be aware, but hashtags are the primary vehicle for searching on Fedi, thus, the primary mechanism for broadcasting topical content.
They also are "the algorithm" - there's nothing finding toots with engagement or funding and putting them in front of your eyes. Hashtags are it... And I honestly think that's a good thing, though I'd like better tools for consuming them.
mirabilos@ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart @Sevapopov hashtags do not broadcast anything though, they serve as a selection filter of your instance’s global feed.
Meaning, someone on your instance has to follow the poster or someone who boosted the post, otherwise your instance will not know it and has no (literally no) way to find it in a search.
Instances tend to also load thread context, and public posts when you click on a profile. So, by joining in on discussions under posts (both your own and others’) you begin to build the reach that is necessary for the hashtags to even begin to work. (They also don’t always work for unlisted posts.)
So, hashtags are much less important on the Fediverse than elsewhere, due to the lack of a central registry.
@mirabilos @ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart Does it mean that if I post something without a hashtag, let's say in English it won't have a huge difference than if I post it with the hashtag? Or if I post with hashtag people who follow it will find it so there will be more engagement with the post? If hashtags are only like filters here, it means that this is the same like in Telegram where they are used to categorize posts in a channel and it doesn't make huge sense in using them then.
@Sevapopov @mirabilos @ketmorco @meganmariehart If you post something with the hashtag #science it is always boosted by the science bot. same with #news and a few others. If you search for a hashtag, you will find a whole lot of posts and people. If you follow one, posts featuring it will land in your feed. I gues what they are saying is that it won't be absolutely everything, but it is still a good tool.
@Sevapopov @ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart only if the bot (or someone on its instance) follows you, otherwise it cannot even know of the existence of the post. (See other reply, I need to zzz again, too much allergy for longer discussion)
@mirabilos @Sevapopov @ketmorco @meganmariehart This sounds like an argument for being in a larger instance so you are more widely connected.
@meganmariehart @ketmorco @farbel @Sevapopov only if you rely on only hashtags.
I’m on a solo instance (plus a few bots I run who do not follow anyone), and it works just fine. Took a few months initially to set up my feed, then I begun unfollowing, setting people to not display boosts, etc. to cultivate it, while adding new persons who look interesting all the time.
@mirabilos @meganmariehart @ketmorco @Sevapopov I don't rely on them, but I think they make my experience richer. To each their own.
@farbel @meganmariehart @ketmorco @Sevapopov they do that on solo instances for filtering purposes (e.g. to get rid of all these word games with coloured blocks being the post), otherwise you’d need at least a small multiuser instance, but not one of the extra-huge ones.
@mirabilos @Sevapopov @ketmorco @meganmariehart I notice that neither bot picked up my hashtags in the response. Is that becdause it was a response and not a post, or because everything is tied to the OP?
@farbel @Sevapopov @ketmorco @meganmariehart your post was set to unlisted, not public (as is proper for a reply), some bots only do public posts, and search by hashtag will only pick up public posts (as opposed to these bots who follow you). Some bots also explicitly exclude replies.
@mirabilos @ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart Thank you for your explanations! It was interesting to know how things work for English Mastodon. In case of russian instance where I am, there are 2 bots who repost what is posted in russian or with cyrilic letters usage. So what I found for myself is following people that this bot boosts and and following people who are boosted by my followings. That is how I find English users, I follow what people boost. Maybe there are also other ways to explore new accounts, I saw there were tabs to look server's posts in mobile apps. Not sure how about FastSM.
@Sevapopov @farbel @ketmorco @meganmariehart it works like that for all of the Fediverse ;)
Those bots you write likely are hooked directly on the server to be able to get and boost all the posts.
@ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart @Sevapopov see my other reply, sry too much allergy, need to sleep
Deborah Preuss, pcc 🇨🇦@mirabilos @ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart @Sevapopov I guess this is why choice of instance matters. Problem is: intersectional interests. I'm on a Canadian instance. It's great for news - terrible for my profession, which is more global than local. But hunting for the right server for people with my professional interest feels daunting.
@farbel @ketmorco @deborahh @Sevapopov @meganmariehart somewhat. As I said, I run my solo instance and am doing just fine, connecting a lot with people from polymaths.social but also other instances, and my interests would be split across at least three major ones…
@Sevapopov @farbel @deborahh @meganmariehart @ketmorco so I guess you just pick one. (Or run your own.)