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.
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.)