3 ms·

This is all among the reasons why so many tech enthusiasts have fled to - or at least spend more time on - places like the fediverse, tildeverse, gopherspace, g

This is all among the reasons why so many tech enthusiasts have fled to - or at least spend more time on - places like the fediverse, tildeverse, gopherspace, gemini, etc. I count myself among them; I've been spending lots more time on these other places, and tons less time on conventional social networks. But - with maybe the exception of the fediverse - where are the non-tech folks going? Or, is it that the non-tech folks have no alternatives and either put up with the garbage, or simply diminish their overall use/exposure, I wonder?

InitialLastName 6y ago
The non-tech-oriented folks in my life who have become frustrated with newsfeed-style social media have mostly diminished their use by reverting to techified variants of classic comms: Chat (SMS with GIFs), zoom calls, (pre-covid) involving themselves socially with the world around them. I get the sense that overall they're spending less time staring at the internet. I think the key insight that many people have reached after ~20 years of social media use is that, while there's a dopamine-feel of communicating and socializing, you're actually just consuming entertainment, so why not split the issues and make both your entertainment consumption and your socializing more direct and intentional. I suspect that pattern is also part of why the social media systems that are successful in the modern era are those that deemphasize content in favor of social interaction (whatsapp, discord) or deemphasize social interaction in favor of content consumption (instagram, tiktok)
secondcoming 6y ago
> fediverse, tildeverse, gopherspace, gemini, etc I'm a tech person and I've honestly never heard of these places. Perhaps I don't need social media that much.
- mxuribe 6y ago
  I'm with you, we really don't need social media that much. Also, not sure if you're interested in learning about the other places...if so, here goes (if not, please ignore): gopherspace (well this is quite old) = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol) fediverse = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse (Also, some people might have heard of Mastodon which is probably the most popular - though by far not the only - software used on the fediverse.) tildeverse = there isn't a wikipedia entry, but the following website is a good example = https://tildeverse.org/ https://tildeverse.org/ gemini = https://gemini.circumlunar.space/ https://gemini.circumlunar.space/

InitialLastName 6y ago

The non-tech-oriented folks in my life who have become frustrated with newsfeed-style social media have mostly diminished their use by reverting to techified variants of classic comms: Chat (SMS with GIFs), zoom calls, (pre-covid) involving themselves socially with the world around them. I get the sense that overall they're spending less time staring at the internet. I think the key insight that many people have reached after ~20 years of social media use is that, while there's a dopamine-feel of communicating and socializing, you're actually just consuming entertainment, so why not split the issues and make both your entertainment consumption and your socializing more direct and intentional. I suspect that pattern is also part of why the social media systems that are successful in the modern era are those that deemphasize content in favor of social interaction (whatsapp, discord) or deemphasize social interaction in favor of content consumption (instagram, tiktok)

secondcoming 6y ago

> fediverse, tildeverse, gopherspace, gemini, etc I'm a tech person and I've honestly never heard of these places. Perhaps I don't need social media that much.

mxuribe 6y ago
I'm with you, we really don't need social media that much. Also, not sure if you're interested in learning about the other places...if so, here goes (if not, please ignore): gopherspace (well this is quite old) = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol) fediverse = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse (Also, some people might have heard of Mastodon which is probably the most popular - though by far not the only - software used on the fediverse.) tildeverse = there isn't a wikipedia entry, but the following website is a good example = https://tildeverse.org/ https://tildeverse.org/ gemini = https://gemini.circumlunar.space/ https://gemini.circumlunar.space/