Universal Basic Friend4d ago

I keep hearing "mastodon isn't good for [type of celebrity], they have to go to [other platform] for engagement"

It's not the celebrity type [scicom personality, journalist, author] it's the attempt to run a celebrity account at all that doesn't work on the fedi.

There are heaps of well known people on the fedi. Either it's not obvious that's their day job or they're just quietly being that in among posts about walking their dog. Coming to the fedi trying to sell your day job and hoping people will 'engage' is odd. Like going to the playground or the museum and being mad that bystanders didn't engage your about your day job despite the sandwich board you're wearing and your refusal to talk about any other topic.

Going into a social environment broadcasting [📢this is my content, engage with it📢] is an obvious recipe for disappointment. No one cares about the things you're broadcasting. Show us your dog. Did they have a nice walk?

Show threadUniversal Basic Friend4d ago
/a well known figure in and national go-to for certain issues in a publishing based industry with no relevance to the fedi. Has two cats and a crochet habit that are very relevant to the fedi.
Show threadUniversal Basic Friend4d ago

This is what I mean when I say the fedi is a series of kitchen tables. Not a form of email, not a world of islands, just a lot of kitchen tables.

Everyone is happy to see someone rock up to the kitchen table with a bunch of cat pics, a recipe and a silly question.

No one wants someone turning up to the barbecue with a professional portrait of oneself with cat, a series of YouTube links to polished videos of yourself presenting recipes and constantly questioning why these are not getting enough attention.

Show threadUniversal Basic Friend4d ago

Accounts that claim there's no engagement on the fedi are, in my experience, some of the only accounts not engaging. The only ones not getting in other people's comments with similar interests and just shooting the shit with no other agenda.

You cannot go to a jamboree, sit around your own fire and complain that no other scout troops are coming by to hear your guitar. Your troop has to go to everyone else's fires, listen to their stories, sing along with their songs and of course answer enquiries about whether you can play Teenage Dirtbag.

Show threadUniversal Basic Friend4d ago
But of course this is not what's meant by "engagement". Much like "agency", this means something totally different in the tech world. Engaging does nothing for your "engagement".
Show threadUniversal Basic Friend1d ago

Several comments along the general lines of "the fedi likes consuming celebrity content if the celebrity is cool about it". This would be logical and I can see why people would think this.

If you have tried this and found this to be the case with your content and your stage name, I love that for you.

I have found the opposite. The thing I produce and its associated stage name has 25k followers on another platform. People on the fedi seem to quite like me [producer of hot takes about farts] but no one is having a bar of me [producer of hot takes about farts who also sometimes shares polished professional stuff for free]. It just fucks up the vibe. We're not here for that, we're here for the farts and I respect that.

Show threadJoscelyn Transpiring

@coolandnormal I mean, what they’re looking for is a marketing and advertising platform…the thing that the fedi is basically designed around not being. It’s also why I don’t really want big brands, and not even sure if I want news orgs on here. Like…that’s not the point.

I often think of it like a modern version of the old forum cultures. The way people interact feels similar, and it can be cozy (or hostile) in the same ways forums often could be back in the day. And like, it would have been weird as heck to have the BBC or Doritos popping into a thread on a forum. Very similar vibe

5:26amWeb