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I think networks like Twitter have created a demand for mass-scale socializing though. If that's your reason for joining Twitter, then Mastodon isn't the experi

I think networks like Twitter have created a demand for mass-scale socializing though. If that's your reason for joining Twitter, then Mastodon isn't the experience you're looking for. As others have mentioned, Mastodon is oriented around creating communities. But there are many tools for creating communities, everything from Discord guilds to mailing lists. What the journalist who bounced off Mastodon was probably looking for was access to the mass socializing on Twitter, not the focused community experience of Mastodon.

dredmorbius 4y ago
This is effectively a restatement of my premise, though I think you're also missing the larger scale of non-social (epistemic, marketing, advocacy) roles. When Twitter was small, it didn't offer mass-scale socialising. What it did offer is far more comparable to Mastodon now. When Twitter did develop sufficient critical mass, at least within a specific context, it became compelling in ways that compensated for any onboarding difficulties. That occurred in niches initially: tech early-adopters, the Arab Spring (a/k/a the Twitter Revolution, seen then as a Good Thing), and in particular, journalists, who live and die on hot takes and quick access. (I'm watching the accommodation of the latter to Mastodon / the Fediverse with interest and amusement. Some factors that created strong appeal on Twitter are (still) lacking on Mastodon.)
maxbond 4y ago
That's fair, and there's room in this world for both. I guess I'm not being sufficiently empathetic & understanding what when people say, "Mastadon won't replace Twitter," they're often mourning Twitter (which is dead to many people even if it isn't dead) more than they're criticizing Mastadon.
- Karrot_Kream 4y ago
  Caveat: I'm not a good Twitter user as I only really started using the platform a few months before Musk's acquisition. Most of the folks I follow on Twitter haven't left, but I've used Mastodon/Pleroma in the past and have experience with it. What I think of when I hear about people wanting a Twitter alternative, is to join a global social network and just start messaging people. At its best, I can find a VR content creator I really like and a transit advocate I think is cool and ask them questions or send them content off-the-cuff. In a more community-oriented Mastodon world, VR content creators would be on a VR specific instance and transit folks on an urban planning instance. Nothing is stopping me from making an account on another instance and following/messaging them, but there's all sorts of friction that taints the experience. Is the VR content creator on instance A the same person I want to talk to, or are they on instance B? What if I join an instance C that's been blocked by instance A, but allowed by instance B? Do I trust the admin of instance C to not read my posts? Is membership on instance C even open right now? Again, to those looking for community-oriented socializing, these are all features and not bugs. Why would I care about talking to VR content creators if I'm in a transit community? If the community doesn't want me (invites are disallowed), why would I even enter? But Twitter does present (among other things) the idea of having a "globally addressed social network", which Mastodon is not. Moreover there are many vibrant tools out there for community social networks, ActivityPub is one of many.
- hdhejenennd 4y ago
  It absolutely is meant as a criticism of Mastodon. Any social product that does not have user experience as the top priority is not gonna make it. It's really that simple. Simply providing a platform for communities, as you say, is not sufficient by itself. We already have plenty of platforms for that, like Reddit and Discord (and, perhaps formerly, Twitter).
  - maxbond 4y ago
    More than one way to prioritize a user experience. Or rather, there's more than one experience worth providing.
shortformblog 4y ago
It has both. I am in a writing community but I generally use the service in much the same way I used Twitter six months ago. I think what gets lost is that it is a generalist community that replaces stuff like search with options to narrow in, whether through hashtags or by choosing a dedicated community with a strong local timeline.

dredmorbius 4y ago

This is effectively a restatement of my premise, though I think you're also missing the larger scale of non-social (epistemic, marketing, advocacy) roles. When Twitter was small, it didn't offer mass-scale socialising. What it did offer is far more comparable to Mastodon now. When Twitter did develop sufficient critical mass, at least within a specific context, it became compelling in ways that compensated for any onboarding difficulties. That occurred in niches initially: tech early-adopters, the Arab Spring (a/k/a the Twitter Revolution, seen then as a Good Thing), and in particular, journalists, who live and die on hot takes and quick access. (I'm watching the accommodation of the latter to Mastodon / the Fediverse with interest and amusement. Some factors that created strong appeal on Twitter are (still) lacking on Mastodon.)

maxbond 4y ago

That's fair, and there's room in this world for both. I guess I'm not being sufficiently empathetic & understanding what when people say, "Mastadon won't replace Twitter," they're often mourning Twitter (which is dead to many people even if it isn't dead) more than they're criticizing Mastadon.

Karrot_Kream 4y ago
Caveat: I'm not a good Twitter user as I only really started using the platform a few months before Musk's acquisition. Most of the folks I follow on Twitter haven't left, but I've used Mastodon/Pleroma in the past and have experience with it. What I think of when I hear about people wanting a Twitter alternative, is to join a global social network and just start messaging people. At its best, I can find a VR content creator I really like and a transit advocate I think is cool and ask them questions or send them content off-the-cuff. In a more community-oriented Mastodon world, VR content creators would be on a VR specific instance and transit folks on an urban planning instance. Nothing is stopping me from making an account on another instance and following/messaging them, but there's all sorts of friction that taints the experience. Is the VR content creator on instance A the same person I want to talk to, or are they on instance B? What if I join an instance C that's been blocked by instance A, but allowed by instance B? Do I trust the admin of instance C to not read my posts? Is membership on instance C even open right now? Again, to those looking for community-oriented socializing, these are all features and not bugs. Why would I care about talking to VR content creators if I'm in a transit community? If the community doesn't want me (invites are disallowed), why would I even enter? But Twitter does present (among other things) the idea of having a "globally addressed social network", which Mastodon is not. Moreover there are many vibrant tools out there for community social networks, ActivityPub is one of many.
hdhejenennd 4y ago
It absolutely is meant as a criticism of Mastodon. Any social product that does not have user experience as the top priority is not gonna make it. It's really that simple. Simply providing a platform for communities, as you say, is not sufficient by itself. We already have plenty of platforms for that, like Reddit and Discord (and, perhaps formerly, Twitter).
- maxbond 4y ago
  More than one way to prioritize a user experience. Or rather, there's more than one experience worth providing.

shortformblog 4y ago

It has both. I am in a writing community but I generally use the service in much the same way I used Twitter six months ago. I think what gets lost is that it is a generalist community that replaces stuff like search with options to narrow in, whether through hashtags or by choosing a dedicated community with a strong local timeline.