Notices by Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social), page 6

@pixelfed "But why can't we do everything through Mastodon and define function at the client level?" some people ask.

Because servers create boundaries on what clients can do.

Mastodon doesn't support comment control. Other Fediverse server software, like @pixelfed, does.

This isn't to say that Mastodon is a "worse" service, just that there's certain functions that it does and doesn't support -- and a client can't add those functions.

And believe me, that's fine!

@pixelfed Currently, what's preventing us from an explosion of innovative Fediverse services?

Mental paradigms.

We've been so thoroughly trained to believe that social media should operate through a walled garden, that we so many of us don't actually believe it that the Fediverse offers a functional alternative.

"What? @pixelfed can talk to Mastodon -- but it's not Mastodon? Impossible!" they say.

@pixelfed The Fediverse could unlock untold innovation on the Internet, as much as the world wide web and email.

Some might wonder why that didn't happen 10 or 20 years ago. The reason is that it social media's true innovative possibilities were kneecapped by centralization and the entities that became Big Social.

But because the Fediverse exists through *protocols* not *proprietary APIs*, it isn't owned by anyone. This makes it possible for anyone to build off of it.

@pixelfed Yesterday, I expressed exasperation that Mastodon users don't try other Fediverse services. The sheer numbers bear witness too this.

While Mastodon has ~10 million accounts, @pixelfed only has ~150,000 accounts.

That means 9,850,000 of you have never tried @pixelfed -- and besides Mastodon, Pixelfed is one of the most popular Fediverse services.

This unwillingness to try the rest of the Fediverse could end up killing the Fediverse!

Some folks might be thinking, “Unlike the Fediverse, Substack gives writers an opportunity to get paid.”

Not so fast.

When @TexasObserver was nearly shut down because they lacked funding for operations, they turned to the Fediverse for help.

Within 48 hours, we helped them raise $250,000 in funding—and now that 70-year-old newspaper still lives.

As a result, 17 journalists still have their jobs.

🤣

“But Elon Musk could buy all 23,000 Fediverse servers and do the same thing here!”

I assure you that my servers are not up for sale. And from speaking to numerous other admins, they won’t be selling either.

You see, for the same reason people play basketball because it’s fun—not because they want a $50 million NBA contract—many of us run and operate Fediverse servers.

But it’s amazing that some people can’t imagine doing things without a profit motive.

At this point, if a social network refuses to join the Fediverse, I’m not interested.

Anyone trying to build yet another proprietary walled garden is just a mini-Musk.

You do not need a billionaire or a VC fund to use social media.

They are just middlemen opportunists trying to insert themselves between you and your friends.

The Internet was built to make it easy for you to connect with others, and that is getting easier with protocols like ActivityPub.

You don’t need Elon Musk. You don’t need Mark Zuckerberg. You certainly don’t need any Silicon Valley tech bro to let you use social media.

I've worked for a social media start-up before. In fact, I was an early employee at a well known one. I know how this goes.

Founders start with the best of intentions.

But then VCs start making demands. And at that point, startups go for the fastest, easiest method to acquire revenue growth. That is, if they want to stay on board.

A good many of them take their exit as soon as it becomes available. Just look at Instagram and WeChat.

To people who say that Elon Musk won't buy Substack because he could "barely afford" to buy Twitter: Substack is no unicorn.

Substack's current valuation sits at $585 million.

That might be an over-estimation because its revenue for the entirety of 2022 was probably $18.6 million.

Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. He can assuredly buy Substack if he wanted it.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/28/23660473/substack-retail-investors-revenue-profit

If Elon Musk walked into Substack's office right now (probably with a sink) and offered them $585 million to buy it, do you think their shareholders would say "No"?

Not on their life.

They would be skipping for joy. Everyone who owns equity in Substack would be popping open bottles of champagne.

Meanwhile, all those writers that Substack is paying will now be under Musk's thumb -- yet again.

This is why the Fediverse is the better choice compared to Substack.

Substack is not a suitable alternative to Twitter.

If Elon Musk can buy Twitter, he can buy Substack.

However, Elon Musk cannot buy the Fediverse. No one company owns it. It is not for sale.

🎆 🎉 🥳 TIME TO CELEBRATE! 🥳 🎉 🎆

📊 📈 THE FEDIVERSE JUST REACHED 1 BILLION AVERAGE POSTS PER MONTH!!! 📈 📊

https://fediverse.observer/stats

For the past 6 hours, there’s been 2,000+ Mastodon account creations per hour.

This hasn’t happened since December 2022.

@mmasnick predicted that Elon Musk’s new Twitter Blue policies would result in another Mastodon migration, and it looks like he’s right.

Once Twitter effectively becomes “pay to play”, Mastodon suddenly becomes more appealing.

https://mastodon.social/@mastodonusercount/110102918619817258

@fediversenews

Yes, I think TikTok should be banned.

I also think Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, YouTube, and Reddit should be banned.

Anything that requires surveillance capitalism should be banned.

Meta is threatening Canadians.

They will make news inaccessible on Facebook and Instagram if the Online News Act passes. The reason: the law will compel Meta to compensate Canadian journalists when their content is repurposed on those platforms.

Well, I hope they follow through on their threat!

For too long, Meta and Twitter have got rich off the hard work of journalists while paying peanuts.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/meta-block-news-liberal-online-bill-1.6776485

@mike @mmasnick My own standpoint is that social media platforms need to decide whether they are a utility or a publisher.

If they're a utility, they have no business editorializing or "repurposing" news. Present the news with full transparency.

If they're a publisher, then pay up!

But as it stands, Meta is trying to be a publisher while presenting themselves as a utility.

🤖 There's an Android app called Mammoth for Mastodon 🤖

It is unrelated to @mammoth for iOS, and is made by a developer named Justin Willis.

The focus of it seems to be on AI, particularly AI generated images, AI driven autocomplete, and AI status generation.

If you really love AI—to the point of obsession—you'll love this app.

@fediversenews

If you want to check this out for yourself, take a look at the ActivityPub plugin page.

Automattic is now listed as the author.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/

See screenshots.

🚨BREAKING NEWS!🚨

Automattic, the company behind WordPress, is now co-authoring the ActivityPub plugin for WordPress.

The intent is to make WordPress a "first party Fediverse member" on par with Mastodon, Pleroma, and Pixelfed.

WordPress already powers 43% of all websites—and every one is a potential Fediverse server.

Automattic employee @kraft just confirmed this.

https://religious.social/@kraft/110003134398099446

@fediversenews