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>> The entire concept of social media is toxic. And all to show you more ads. Social media funded by venture capital, maybe. Most Mastodon instances big enough

>> The entire concept of social media is toxic. And all to show you more ads. Social media funded by venture capital, maybe. Most Mastodon instances big enough to need outside funding run on a few Patreon or Liberapay contributions. The main one gets enough for the developer to work on it full time. Social media doesn't have to be the way Facebook and Twitter convinced people it has to be.

jdp23 9y ago
Well said. Social networks don't have to have an exploitative business model; Facebook and Twitter aren't the only possible models.
- mkempe 9y ago
  It seems that the previous, open, free social platforms are dead or agonizing -- from Usenet newsgroups to blogs, RSS readers, and even mailing lists. 90+% of my immediate family and relatives only communicate via Facebook. All of my past colleagues only communicate via LinkedIn. None of them have personal websites or blogs. So, what are the successful, alternative models that I can use today with like-minded people, family, or friends?
  - stryk 9y ago
    IRC still works a treat
  - bornonline1 9y ago
    Sms, calling, talking irl.
- intended 9y ago
  The mistake made here is assuming the issue is social networks and not people. Media has gotten increasingly vile with every new iteration of attention absorption. People and human brains are the issue.
  - gaius 9y ago
    People and human brains are the issue Yes and no. As a human you have certain behaviours or reflexes or instincts that have been programmed into you by evolution. They operate without conscious thought, because they have to. They mostly are about the tribe or the pack if you will; straying too far from that tribe would compromise your survivability, being ostracised by the tribe meant certain death. Those instincts have been weaponised by Twitter and Facebook, they carefully set things up to push the buttons that trigger the urge to form a mob, or the terror of being left out or pushed out. They trigger the serotonin rewards of feeling like one of the tribe when you do what they want (engagement) and they keep you in line with threat of punishment if you don’t participate, retweet this, like that. We’ve been hacked in other words.

jdp23 9y ago

Well said. Social networks don't have to have an exploitative business model; Facebook and Twitter aren't the only possible models.

mkempe 9y ago
It seems that the previous, open, free social platforms are dead or agonizing -- from Usenet newsgroups to blogs, RSS readers, and even mailing lists. 90+% of my immediate family and relatives only communicate via Facebook. All of my past colleagues only communicate via LinkedIn. None of them have personal websites or blogs. So, what are the successful, alternative models that I can use today with like-minded people, family, or friends?
- stryk 9y ago
  IRC still works a treat
- bornonline1 9y ago
  Sms, calling, talking irl.
intended 9y ago
The mistake made here is assuming the issue is social networks and not people. Media has gotten increasingly vile with every new iteration of attention absorption. People and human brains are the issue.
- gaius 9y ago
  People and human brains are the issue Yes and no. As a human you have certain behaviours or reflexes or instincts that have been programmed into you by evolution. They operate without conscious thought, because they have to. They mostly are about the tribe or the pack if you will; straying too far from that tribe would compromise your survivability, being ostracised by the tribe meant certain death. Those instincts have been weaponised by Twitter and Facebook, they carefully set things up to push the buttons that trigger the urge to form a mob, or the terror of being left out or pushed out. They trigger the serotonin rewards of feeling like one of the tribe when you do what they want (engagement) and they keep you in line with threat of punishment if you don’t participate, retweet this, like that. We’ve been hacked in other words.