𝙉𝙤𝙖𝙝 𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙛Mar 22

There are a few really popular accounts here on the Fediverse that I muted some time ago. It’s not that I don’t understand why folks follow them, it’s more that I couldn’t understand why I felt like those accounts bothered me so much. I mean…it’s folks like Robert Reich and George Takei so it’s certainly not a content issue, and I love reading them under other circumstances.

It took me a while to tease it out and it ultimately comes down to the difference between the Fediverse and sites like Twitter.

When I had an account there I rarely posted anything and after a few attempts to participate in conversations, realized that I was whispering at a Throbbing Gristle concert and no one was hearing me.

So when you look at accounts like Robert Reich or George Takei, they’re not actually here, they’re just mirrors of content they write elsewhere. So even though I see people responding to those posts as if they’re writing to a specific person, they might as well be replying to a bot.

Take as a counterpoint folks like @RickiTarr or @TheBreadmonkey. Very popular accounts, thousands of followers, but they’re actually here, they’re a part of the ecosystem and will boost, reply, favorite, etc.

I love that about this wild, weird, little slice of internet. I think that’s why I muted folks like Robert Reich, they’re not actually here to interact, they’re ultimately not a part of the community. They’re just here so they can access us, not interact with us. That’s not why I’m here. If I reply to someone, I want to know there’s a high likelihood they see it, whether or not they choose to respond to it.
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ETA: A few folks have pointed out that they've gotten replies from George Takei so it seems that this is more my personal experience there and there is at least a human on the other end of the posts which I'm glad to be wrong about as I adore George Takei.

Show threadHasta la vista, BenbyMar 22

@monkeyninja @RickiTarr

Strong agree with this. For me, Fedi is a vibrant community that I belong to and feel a kinship with those who engage. I've spoken before about how I dislike mirror accounts and think it's cynical and pointless. Accumulating followers for the sake of whatever - clout, monetisation. I understand that artists and authors need to maximise their audience and begrudgingly accept that there are some who, as long as they engage from time to time, it's probably OK. But I'm strongly opposed to scrapers and meme accounts. That said, I realise there's shades of grey, so it's a shifting dynamic and I often change my mind about people. But for me, Fedi is home and community. A safe space and the antithesis of new-twitter. A beautiful garden in which I am a.... bug? I struggle a bit as my circle becomes bigger, because I want to remain authentic and messy and stupid. To talk about things that are deeply personal with people I like and trust. But so far, apart from the odd outlier, Fedi continues to be the community I always wanted. Vive la Fedi. 😊❤️

Show threadwilliam.maggos

@TheBreadmonkey @monkeyninja @RickiTarr

people here actually want different things. I wouldn't draw the line as fedi vs twitter.

I want the big names and everyone here and virality, but all driven by human boosts (and replies when possible) and better moderation. news outlets running their own servers with nobody able to decide what gets seen.

the different goals have been called small vs big fedi. I'd call it social networking vs social media.

I hope we can better talk and work this out.

Mar 22 at 5:55pmWeb