Aaron Ross Powell's take on the (possible) End of Twitter is so great. I'm hoping that Twitter does indeed die. I quit it six years ago because I believed it was poisonous. And it's only become worse. I think it's turned some good and great minds into grade school bullies. But Powell's take—that Mastadon is a liberal choice. I'm all for that. I don't know a lot about Mastadon but I believe that it's exceedingly difficult for any particular post to go viral, right? I hope that lack of virality will greatly reduce the bullying, impulsive opinion, and lame punchlines masquerading as profundity.
Thank you so much for your very kind words. On your question of virality, it's less likely, but not impossible, for something to go viral on Mastodon. Two features slow viral posts.
First, there's no algorithmic recommendation engine the way there is on Twitter (and Facebook etc.). The only way for me to see a post on Mastodon is if it's (1) from someone I follow or (2) "boosted" (retweeted) by someone I follow. That gives fewer vectors for stuff outside my immediate network to show up in my feed. Additionally, there's no "quote tweet" function, so the only way to engage with a post is to retweet/boost it without comment, or reply to it. This limits the "dunking" that's quite common on Twitter, and a source of negative virality.
All that said, though, there are millions of users of Mastodon, and if enough of them boost a post, it's going to show up in a lot of people's feeds, and so go viral of a sort. Right now, what seems to more cut against the "bullying, impulsive opinion, and lame punchlines" is just the very different culture and cultural norms of Mastodon compared to Twitter. It's probably partially a selection effect (people who don't like Twitter's culture were the most likely to leave for Mastodon), but in my experience so far, it's just, well, nicer. And more thoughtful. I hope it stays that way.
Thanks for the info. That all sounds hopeful for Mastodon. Though I wonder how the hardcore Twitter folks might change Mastodon's culture. I've seen a few mentions of hardcore tone policing by newly-arrived Mastodonians. In any case, I won't be there. And thanks for your newsletter.
Quick question: is religious persecution a vital element of liberalism like what's being done to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine right now, or is this sort of of behavior perfectly acceptable to maintain "democracy" and "Liberty"?
Aaron Ross Powell's take on the (possible) End of Twitter is so great. I'm hoping that Twitter does indeed die. I quit it six years ago because I believed it was poisonous. And it's only become worse. I think it's turned some good and great minds into grade school bullies. But Powell's take—that Mastadon is a liberal choice. I'm all for that. I don't know a lot about Mastadon but I believe that it's exceedingly difficult for any particular post to go viral, right? I hope that lack of virality will greatly reduce the bullying, impulsive opinion, and lame punchlines masquerading as profundity.
Thank you so much for your very kind words. On your question of virality, it's less likely, but not impossible, for something to go viral on Mastodon. Two features slow viral posts.
First, there's no algorithmic recommendation engine the way there is on Twitter (and Facebook etc.). The only way for me to see a post on Mastodon is if it's (1) from someone I follow or (2) "boosted" (retweeted) by someone I follow. That gives fewer vectors for stuff outside my immediate network to show up in my feed. Additionally, there's no "quote tweet" function, so the only way to engage with a post is to retweet/boost it without comment, or reply to it. This limits the "dunking" that's quite common on Twitter, and a source of negative virality.
All that said, though, there are millions of users of Mastodon, and if enough of them boost a post, it's going to show up in a lot of people's feeds, and so go viral of a sort. Right now, what seems to more cut against the "bullying, impulsive opinion, and lame punchlines" is just the very different culture and cultural norms of Mastodon compared to Twitter. It's probably partially a selection effect (people who don't like Twitter's culture were the most likely to leave for Mastodon), but in my experience so far, it's just, well, nicer. And more thoughtful. I hope it stays that way.
Thanks for the info. That all sounds hopeful for Mastodon. Though I wonder how the hardcore Twitter folks might change Mastodon's culture. I've seen a few mentions of hardcore tone policing by newly-arrived Mastodonians. In any case, I won't be there. And thanks for your newsletter.
Quick question: is religious persecution a vital element of liberalism like what's being done to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine right now, or is this sort of of behavior perfectly acceptable to maintain "democracy" and "Liberty"?