Mostly, people are desperate for an audience. Twitter gave them that because good content + intermittent advertisement = passive income (the YouTube Formula). I

Mostly, people are desperate for an audience. Twitter gave them that because good content + intermittent advertisement = passive income (the YouTube Formula). It was a dopamine cycle that rewarded users and creators alike, and Mastodon has nothing like it. That's why everyone and their mother is writing a 'Mastodon is great, but...' post right now; Mastodon gives you a platform, but your only guaranteed audience is the people following you. Publicity is much harder on Mastodon because it's more focused on tight-knit communities instead of world-scale city halls. Think of it more like an active forum thread or the marriage of RSS and IRC.