4 ms·

Twitter's appeal is outrage and controversy. Their users are addicted to it, even if they don't care to admit it. That's why no significant migration to Mastod

by fleddr 4y ago

Twitter's appeal is outrage and controversy. Their users are addicted to it, even if they don't care to admit it. That's why no significant migration to Mastodon will take place. Even if you do manage to lift and shift your bubble (you won't), you'll then find yourself in a calm and slow place where nothing happens. For a bubble to exist and thrive, it needs a common enemy. With the enemy removed, it collapses. Everybody inside couldn't care if they never heard from you ever again. They were never a friend, just people who agreed. If you want a group of like-minded people sharing stuff, there's a million options. Go to Discord, start a Whatsapp group, a subreddit, whichever. But that's clearly not the point. Hardcore Twitter users want their hot take to be heard in public, with "enemies" listening in.

mjhagen 4y ago
That was how twitter was and that was how I liked twitter.
Nokinside 4y ago
> That's why no significant migration to Mastodon will take place. This sounds great. If we can leave 99% behind and get all substantive people, like John Carlos Baez, into Mastodon, its the best possible world. People think that all partitions are between people with different opinions, but that's not always the case. Sometimes people with substance from every corner flock into the same arena. For a little time everything is good, then eternal September once again.
- silisili 4y ago
  Google had that. I don't even remember it's name now...plus maybe? Seemed a lot of tech people wrote there. Very peaceful, no outrage. It died. I think OP is right.
- fleddr 4y ago
  "For a little time everything is good..." I hear what you're saying. There used to be a time and place where perhaps you could join some niche, a "non-political" one if you will. That barely holds up these days. People do not separate their politics from the niche topic, it's all intersectional and performative. Absurd examples are the "knitting wars" and "noodle lady". Besides constant outrage, many topics are engagement-farmed. I've said it before: Twitter rewards exactly the wrong thing. Reasonable and good faith people keep losing. And yet when I come back to my original point, in case they do make things fair and more calm, a major appeal is lost.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
robswc 4y ago
>Twitter's appeal is outrage and controversy I feel like this is what a lot of people miss. I try very hard to avoid it but it eventually finds its way into my feed. People want to be angry. Just look at political accounts of similar stature but of opposite parties. The replies are rarely people supporting, rather people complaining.
- themadturk 4y ago
  This is why I don't even look at my Twitter feed. I have Feedbin grab the tweets of a few users I follow and show them in with my RSS feeds. If I want to reply, yeah, then I go to Twitter...and still avoid the feed.
- emptysongglass 4y ago
  You can tame it but it takes some effort. I've managed to do so by just blocking any account that shows up in my algo feed with outrage or politics. After a week or two of doing this I broke through to another layer of Twitter that was very wholesome and got a lot out of it. That said, I'd still rather go in on a protocol like ActivityPub or SSB so I'm now posting to both Twitter and AP and see what comes of it
ahallock 4y ago
Yes, it's all about the dopamine hit from getting engagement. I'm guilty of it--sitting there thinking of a sharp reply to get people riled up. You'd think positive engagement would give the biggest boost, but it's actually the more hateful, negative replies that are the most satisfying. It's so toxic.

by fleddr 4y ago

mjhagen 4y ago

That was how twitter was and that was how I liked twitter.

Nokinside 4y ago

> That's why no significant migration to Mastodon will take place. This sounds great. If we can leave 99% behind and get all substantive people, like John Carlos Baez, into Mastodon, its the best possible world. People think that all partitions are between people with different opinions, but that's not always the case. Sometimes people with substance from every corner flock into the same arena. For a little time everything is good, then eternal September once again.

silisili 4y ago
Google had that. I don't even remember it's name now...plus maybe? Seemed a lot of tech people wrote there. Very peaceful, no outrage. It died. I think OP is right.
fleddr 4y ago
"For a little time everything is good..." I hear what you're saying. There used to be a time and place where perhaps you could join some niche, a "non-political" one if you will. That barely holds up these days. People do not separate their politics from the niche topic, it's all intersectional and performative. Absurd examples are the "knitting wars" and "noodle lady". Besides constant outrage, many topics are engagement-farmed. I've said it before: Twitter rewards exactly the wrong thing. Reasonable and good faith people keep losing. And yet when I come back to my original point, in case they do make things fair and more calm, a major appeal is lost.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

robswc 4y ago

>Twitter's appeal is outrage and controversy I feel like this is what a lot of people miss. I try very hard to avoid it but it eventually finds its way into my feed. People want to be angry. Just look at political accounts of similar stature but of opposite parties. The replies are rarely people supporting, rather people complaining.

themadturk 4y ago
This is why I don't even look at my Twitter feed. I have Feedbin grab the tweets of a few users I follow and show them in with my RSS feeds. If I want to reply, yeah, then I go to Twitter...and still avoid the feed.
emptysongglass 4y ago
You can tame it but it takes some effort. I've managed to do so by just blocking any account that shows up in my algo feed with outrage or politics. After a week or two of doing this I broke through to another layer of Twitter that was very wholesome and got a lot out of it. That said, I'd still rather go in on a protocol like ActivityPub or SSB so I'm now posting to both Twitter and AP and see what comes of it

ahallock 4y ago

Yes, it's all about the dopamine hit from getting engagement. I'm guilty of it--sitting there thinking of a sharp reply to get people riled up. You'd think positive engagement would give the biggest boost, but it's actually the more hateful, negative replies that are the most satisfying. It's so toxic.