Mastodawn

Fardels Bear 2h ago

Universal Basic Friend

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?

Universal Basic Friend 4d 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.

Universal Basic Friend 4d 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.

Universal Basic Friend 4d 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.

Universal Basic Friend 4d 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".

Universal Basic Friend 1d 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.

"Musty Bits" McGee 1d ago

Joscelyn Transpiring 4h ago

@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

@coolandnormal Yeah, they want people to "engage" with their "content".

It's a culture shock for them when they come here where people prefer to engage with other people.

@coolandnormal it's hard to understand that the Fediverse gives what you put in it, when one's brain has been rotted by the kind of dopamine addiction the algorithmically manipulatable platforms can provide. If you abuse a platform as write-only medium, why would you expect anyone to READ you?

Ironically, the Fediverse can actually provides plenty of engagement. But one has to actually actively engage with it to get it back.

@oblomov @coolandnormal

That's really it.

People are expecting to fawn over them for their supposed celebrity status.

Nobody cares much about that.

This is a place for humans to interact with humans as humans.

There are a few Subject Matter Experts like Baldur Bjarnason that I enjoy following on fedi, but they're rare because they do not *write like influencers".

They write like humans.

We're darn near allergic to that kind of self - gratifying stuck - up speech here.

Toughest Bastard on the Fedi 7h ago

@oblomov @coolandnormal
You are the algorithm.

Gentleman Technologist 2h ago

@coolandnormal is it the “tech world”?

I call myself a techie and this kind of behaviour is a million miles from what I see from actual tech folk.

This is more hustle/grind culture. They have also appropriated tech, but only as a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. I.e they’re only interested in what tech can do for them, they’re not interested in tech itself.

Same for mastodon - they’re only interested in what it can do for them, nothing else

tranarchy_punk_nonbinary_wartime

@coolandnormal things are simple, if someone is a well-known person and wants to engage with other people, treating them as equals, they're welcome. the fediverse is where scientists, journalists and creators of any kind can discuss with trans cat and dog girls, tinkerers and furries. and that's awesome

neocat_floof__w_

Proto Himbo European 1d ago

@coolandnormal I think underlying this gripe is always a view of public (especially online) spaces that I find abhorrent: take, take, take.

People focusing on "engagement" are almost always doing it, ultimately, for financial gain. Great. Go get rich. But stop whining about how I should love your product when I don't.

Sablebadger 1d ago

@coolandnormal I'm on fedi because I don't really want to get advertised at.

Be it actual ads, forced algorithm ads, or people ads in the for influence farming...

None if the above thank you

@coolandnormal I think I'm filling a scicom role, & its going fine for me...

Tanya Karoli 4 a better world 3h ago

@coolandnormal exactly! It’s the glimpse into other people’s everyday lives we are here for. It’s the support we give and receive during bad times and great times. It’s the nerdy knowledge about topics new to us.

Farah 🖖🏼🧶🏳️‍🌈3h ago

@coolandnormal This 💯
Do human things, people will engage. Even the most popular celebrities on Twitter were probably popular because they said stuff beyond their day job. Imagine an actor who only posts about their movies or events. No one cares for that shit