Notices by Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social), page 5

Meta’s ActivityPub-enabled Twitter competitor is moving ahead.

The project is called “Barcelona”.

It will be its own independent app, and it’s being pitched as “Instagram for your thoughts”.

How do you feel about Meta joining the Fediverse?

Here’s a screenshot of Barcelona.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/metas-twitter-alternative-barcelona-is-taking-shape/648482/

@fediversenews

For those who bemoan Mastodon's current search capabilities, I have good news for you!

Mastodon's current road map shows that additional search syntax is not only in progress, it's almost completed.

I don't fully know what this entails, but I suspect the net result will be better search capabilities.

https://joinmastodon.org/roadmap

@fediversenews

Here's a stat that is causing me to completely re-think the Fediverse.

Calckey has the highest proportion of active users relative to sign-ups.

Of its 5,123 total users, 2,191 are active.

That's an astonishing 42.8% active rate!

This is, in fact, the highest active participation rate on the Fediverse.

https://beta.fedidb.org/software/calckey

The further problem with focusing on Mastodon is that it’s not an accurate picture for what the Fediverse can do.

People think ActivityPub can only do microblogging because Mastodon concentrates on being a Twitter alternative.

Even now, people are shocked when I tell them it is capable of more.

I guarantee someone is shocked just reading this post—and they might ask me for more details.

To them, I urge you to Google “Fediverse software” and see what else is out there.

There’s very, very good reasons to not push people to Mastodon. What’s more important is asking, “How do you intend on using social media?”

Are you an artist who wants to curate your work? I’m not convinced that Mastodon is right for you.

Same with with anyone requiring rich text formatting. Mastodon is probably not for you, and that’s okay.

You have other options on the Fediverse.

The other problem with focusing too much on Mastodon is that certain Mastodon users make you feel bad for wanting features that Mastodon doesn’t have.

I’ve seen people get really angry at new arrivals who ask for full text search.

Instead of telling people that they’re horrible for wanting full text search, why not direct them to Akkoma, Friendica, Misskey—anything that has full text search?

I know a thing or two about marketing social media software. And the most important principle about marketing is finding “product market fit”.

Which means, don’t sell people on a product.

Find out what core problem people are experiencing, and help them find a solution.

What if someone requires groups? Are you going to recommend Mastodon to them?

No, not Mastodon because groups aren’t supported by it yet.

But you should recommend a Fediverse platform that supports groups.

Look, I’ve had very prominent people say to me, “I can’t use Mastodon.”

So I ask them, “What do you want to do?”

Sometimes they tell me things like, “I want to quote retweet.”

And my reply is, “You should try Akkoma or Calckey—it does those things.”

That’s how many people end up staying on the Fediverse.

A further problem with focusing on Mastodon is that it creates development myopia -- and sometimes hostility too.

For example, @ivory blocks other services from using the client -- even if those services are using Mastdon's API.

There's no reason for that other than @ivory simply having no regard for any part of the Fediverse that isn't Mastodon.

Is this the kind of future we want for the Fediverse?

I disagree with those who say “Let’s focus on spreading awareness for Mastodon—not the Fediverse” for three reasons:

1. Some people hate Mastodon. If they don’t like Mastodon, they should know about options to their liking.

2. Some people are looking for alternatives to Facebook, YouTube, Instagram—and Mastodon is not the answer for them.

3. What about developers looking to build novel and new social media? They should know what ActivityPub does.

Nostr fans don’t realize that their criticisms of ActivityPub can also be applied to Nostr.

Nostr fans: Unlike ActivityPub, I can’t get banned on Nostr.

Me: Yes, you can through relays.

Nostr fans: I’ll still have my account.

Me: Doesn’t matter if relay admins share block lists. Now your account is orphaned.

Nostr fans: But Nostr’s culture is anti-moderation.

Me: Which attracts spam.

Nostr fans: Then pay for a spam-free relay.

Me: But I can also pay for my own ActivityPub server.

Twitter to the National Weather Service: “Screw health and safety—you’re not getting API access!”

Also, can we please get these important public services onto the Fediverse please?

https://mashable.com/article/twitter-exemptions-nws-public-service-safety-weather-accounts

The Guardian wrote about Mastodon again. I find @wilf’s reporting on Mastodon stats to be dodgy.

While MAUs are half of peak—to be expected when comparing to November 2022—HYAUs are at their current all time high of 4.5 million. That’s important because, as it turns out, a month isn’t enough to assess whether people use a service.

That said, kudos to him for actually interviewing real Mastodon users.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/18/mastodon-users-twitter-elon-musk-social-media

@fediversenews

That said, a few of the critiques in @wilf’s article about Mastodon also seem wildly suspect.

One activist complains that they cannot hijack hashtags.

Which isn’t the type of behaviour I endorse, and seems downright toxic and hostile.

As well, at least some of @wilf’s critiques are valid. Mastodon can feel like the Home Owner’s Association.

That was especially the case when the Twitter migration happened and old timers felt threatened.

However, the culture has changed.

There was a time when journalists were met with hostility. Now people really do want journalists to be on the Fediverse. This is a 180 degree change.

I also disagree with @wilf’s assessment that Mastodon isn’t “great”.

Mastodon is a non-profit made by a small team utilizing a technology that’s in its infancy.

Most projects like this never get off the ground. I should know this—I started one.

Judged by those metrics, Mastodon is great.

The Mastodon detractor that I have most sympathy with is @shengokai. He’s right. Search and discovery is terrible here, and I wish that was fixed.

However, he still continues to use Mastodon due to the Star Trek and cat memes.

Everyone needs to know there's a Fediverse -- much like they need to know there's an Internet.

Referring to @pixelfed as a Mastodon app, for example, is kind of like referring to Wikipedia as a Facebook app. Yes, @pixelfed interoperates with Mastodon, but it's not a Mastodon app. Yes, Wikipedia connects to Facebook via hyperlinking and previewing, but it's not a Facebook app.

You wouldn't refer to Facebook as the Internet. This is why you shouldn't refer to Mastodon as the Fediverse.

@pixelfed Why is it important for people to know that a Fediverse exists?

Because just as people can do different things on different websites, they need to know that they can do different things on different Fediverse services.

Most people don't visit Wikipedia expecting it to be Facebook. And most people shouldn't visit @pixelfed expecting it to be Mastodon.

@pixelfed I've had a number of people say to me, "Mastodon is a synonym for the Fediverse."

That's only true if you never leave Mastodon, and believe other services work exactly like Mastodon.

For example, look at this feed. If I showed this to a complete noob and said, "This is Mastodon", they would be completely confused.

And that's because it's actually not Mastodon in any logical or meaningful sense.