Post B2jZ5IOLxcLmfC8JO4 by taylorlorenz@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by taylorlorenz@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #B2jZ5IOLxcLmfC8JO4 by taylorlorenz@mastodon.social
2026-01-28T04:54:05Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
With all the tiktok drama I have been telling people Mastodon is still here and kicking!! I love this app and I really think the decentralized model is the best for social media. Still, people don’t want to join! What do you think Mastodon’s biggest barriers are to courting new users? What could be done to improve the product and grow the user base in a positive way?
(DIR) Post #B2jZ5JLuOBzNdtzsDQ by NickGates@friendsofdesoto.social
2026-01-28T05:07:19Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@taylorlorenz Black users have consistently reported hostility
(DIR) Post #B2jZ5K39nOaFo2EPcu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T05:32:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@NickGates @taylorlorenz I don't think this is the "biggest barrier" to reaching new users. The biggest barriers are:* Popular content creators who ought to care about building independent social media don't know it exists or why it's important. What if Emma from MR were here? For example.* Sign up remains hard. I know why people don't want to integrate google auth... but if it were an option for some servers it'd make a big difference.* UI needs more work.
(DIR) Post #B2jZJOXnsnE1nbHCSW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T05:34:51Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@NickGates @taylorlorenz If the fedi were more popular it'd be more diverse and the lack of diversity bothers me more than any "hostility" ... which every online space has. I worry that the focus on "hostility" points to a problem that's hard to solve. There are some good idea for moderation that could help, such as better reporting and sharing tools between servers. But I think the login/sign-up issues are much bigger.
(DIR) Post #B2k4wv3e1rbcVjUqLQ by aurochs@todon.eu
2026-01-28T11:22:23Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@taylorlorenz It lacks an addictive algorithm.
(DIR) Post #B2k4ww3KKWwhb2M6UK by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T11:29:16Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aurochs I think the way we make DIY discovery eg build your own algorithm so mandatory makes it hard for the fedi to fulfill the role of social media in many people's lives: a way to relax ... social media functions a lot like how people have watched TV for decades. "just to see what's on"I think there is nothing wrong with algorithms as long as they are transparent, and created by users.
(DIR) Post #B2k5FoVSbwdxh6W5mC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T11:32:43Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@aurochs What if we had a kind of mini-app where users could create their own algorithms and then share combine and trade them?I might design a mix of hashtags, users, and hand picked posts and call it "Ant News" someone else might pick a group of users and hash tags and create "Italian Football Bloopers"Then we could share and rate these feeds and new users could just click on the popular ones?
(DIR) Post #B2k5Rf61QM1Fz3GefY by gbargoud@masto.nyc
2026-01-28T11:34:53Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aurochs @futurebird I think this could possibly be built into the mastodon lists feature
(DIR) Post #B2k5dOS982gfqCD5aS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T11:37:02Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@aurochs A feed creation tool could have options such as:* Include/exclude these hash tags* Include/exclude these users... but only if -- condition is met. * Always pull a post with an image from, for example -- talented artist/photographer* Never show two posts from the same user in a row. * Include trending posts, but only if it's not/is "US pol" (for example)Make a tool to design an algo, let us give them cute names, let people vote and argue about which ones are the best.
(DIR) Post #B2k5p7vMPN1i3KTBYW by wtrmt@mastodon.social
2026-01-28T11:38:40Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @aurochs Yahoo Pipes was awesome!
(DIR) Post #B2k5rUMLxtMwDKDnto by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T11:39:27Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@thanius @taylorlorenz I think this is true. People often respond to those who point this out by saying "but that's the whole problem with modern culture, famous people aren't cool, etc etc." And I even agree. But, I'd still like to know what my favorite SF authors, politicians, musicians, interesting journalist etc. have to say. That was part of the fun of Twitter at its best.
(DIR) Post #B2k6TOCLJzgs6nbzYe by bovaz@misskey.social
2026-01-28T11:41:58.315Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird@sauropods.win @aurochs@todon.eu I like that. I think people should then also be able to opt-in to a "thing" where they also sporadically get posts that aren't in any of their chosen feeds, but are "related", for example by virtue of being in the feeds of the some of the people they follow, to give the sense of serendipitous discovery of new stuff. Maybe, a somehow tunable "serendipity factor" that widens the concept "related".I think a tab like tab would usually be more useful/interesting than the local/global timelines.
(DIR) Post #B2k6TPQClwNBu56Zns by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T11:46:24Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@bovaz @aurochs I would love it if there were a feed with more funny posts. You know like dril tweet type content. I'm very happy about the complex issues and deep discussions but sometimes I'd just like to see some nonsense.
(DIR) Post #B2k6hK7FIOzFVBs7ZA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T11:48:57Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@bovaz @aurochs Curating content is real work. Tiktok didn't talk about it a lot but they put a great deal of effort into making the first experience users had with the app fun. Showing them things they'd never seen before that were funny, or exciting ... using the spy data to tailor it to the particular user. Using the way the user scrolled to improve that experience.
(DIR) Post #B2k6tbS8fAs8kMV3Hk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T11:51:11Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@bovaz @aurochs I think most people here find that kind of tracking and filtering a little creepy? But, it was also very convenient. Over here we are like "follow two-dozen hash tags, and 300 people and then MAYBE your feed will be kind of interesting." Alternately? Here is the fire hose of your server's feed with 200 posts from the same person. Or the global feed which is just chaos. Can we respect the art and craft of curating content? Can we make it a human thing?
(DIR) Post #B2k7P5C08po9xZxj8a by bovaz@misskey.social
2026-01-28T11:48:35.449Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird@sauropods.win @aurochs@todon.eu that sounds similar to misskey antennas, but those don't really work for me and I don't know why.
(DIR) Post #B2k7P6xtYFiFSPNUQa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T11:56:49Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@bovaz @aurochs For better or worse mastodon has primary influence over what features are "really" a part of the fedi. I feel they are far too adverse to change and stuck on pleasing existing users, not making the app, more accessible and popular. There is this *false* idea that being popular is the same thing as being corporately captured, driven by a desire for profits, ads. There are other good reasons to want your app to be fun and popular. Not esoteric and exclusive.
(DIR) Post #B2k7nws8DK8xOUWdFY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T12:01:20Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@bovaz @aurochs For one thing, if your app is popular it can be because the UI is easy to use and the design is excellent. Equally important? You can only build diverse, resilient communities if you can bring a wide range of users together. That cross-pollination between otherwise desperate communities is the magic of social media for me. I often call the fedi "a nice college town" and it even has an HOA (an HOA that gets huffy and offended if you point out they are acting like an HOA)
(DIR) Post #B2k7qGsomgFs2JxDJQ by maswan@mastodon.acc.sunet.se
2026-01-28T12:01:43Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @aurochs A plugin algorithm system would be great. Selection, ordering, etc. Default algorithm of all posts that you follow in chronological order, but it would be excellent to put other things into too.From such simple things as "skip posts with images without alt text" to "show me a weighted random selection by favs of the recent posts in these hashtags".
(DIR) Post #B2k8FGtnrW1fKEKt2e by bovaz@misskey.social
2026-01-28T12:02:24.164Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird@sauropods.win @aurochs@todon.eu The analogy I keep falling back to when describing my ideal "social network platform" is a porch. I choose what gets on my porch. I can see what's on the road over there, and what's on my neighbors porches. Maybe I'm interested in some of that, so I'd like it on my porch as well. But the stuff I definitely don't care about, definitely can't get on my porch without my explicit consent.I think properly crafted human curation is a big part of that.
(DIR) Post #B2k8FI95EBqJBuUbUu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T12:06:16Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@bovaz @aurochs Right now the people we choose to follow are doing that curation. And it works OK. If you follow enough people. If you weed out your list on the regular. Most people do not want to do this just to see some social media posts and relax. I think it's a mistake to act like this is unreasonable. And it's a disservice to people posting great content here who are invisible. Why make good content if no one will see it?I could be easier. It would make this a more welcoming place.
(DIR) Post #B2k96pYLkZ949Oq9Am by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T12:15:58Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@bovaz @aurochs I understand the fear and revulsion some feel from the words "we need to make the fediverse popular" Most of the time when apps push to be popular it's about making money, it's about converting eyeballs to IPO as @pluralistic has so clearly described in his theory of #enshittification And YET: "popular" also means more egalitarian "for everyone" --I don't need to see a conversation about 'Italian Football Bloopers', but I want it to be here too.
(DIR) Post #B2k9AfcUchsIVAbofo by Phosphenes@mastodon.social
2026-01-28T12:16:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @bovaz @aurochs Yep I'd like my own private bird dog algorithm that sniffs out feeds that match my tastes. It could even run on my own desktop computer and not bother anyone else. Trading them like baseball cards does sound fun.Regarding OP question about why Mastodon is still small: 1. Obvious network effects. Nobody's there so nobody's there. This will slowly improve. (But the people who *are* here are really interesting!)2. Not a business so no marketing.
(DIR) Post #B2k9NuVSaR4aR6dIC8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T12:19:00Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aj @bovaz @aurochs @dansup Even if mastodon isn't the gateway they have power over what features are "standard" -- for example quote tweets existed for years before they were added to mastodon. But they are only now gaining traction. I'm not on .social I'm on this little side server, but the choices there still mater. And maybe this is a weakness of the whole system.
(DIR) Post #B2k9cm7E49WYkwNxQW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T12:21:44Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs The fedi is slowly becoming a NORC (naturally occurring retirement community)Only facebook has an older userbase. And being more old than young that isn't a personal problem. But I wish there was more interest in making it a place younger people would care about. And that would mean listening to them.
(DIR) Post #B2kA8ERsm2hfbh2zLs by jandi@mastodon.social
2026-01-28T12:27:23Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @aurochs Have you seen FediAlgo from @cryptadamist?: https://fedialgo.thms.uk https://mastodon.social/@jandi/115720315643131726
(DIR) Post #B2kAyK8OsaKSIcm2QC by graydon@canada.masto.host
2026-01-28T12:36:47Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @bovaz @aurochs You eventually have to decide if it's a conversation or entertainment.(You're presenting as so completely on Team Entertainment that it's not clear you're aware Team Conversation is an option.)Much of the design and much of the "not welcoming" is because Team Conversation's objectives generally include "this is not entertainment"; that is, it's a social interaction rather than a performance."Social media", commercially, exists to confuse that distinction.
(DIR) Post #B2kB0ePOTJU5l1pdtw by Phosphenes@mastodon.social
2026-01-28T12:37:13Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @bovaz @aurochs The young people I know are mostly about phones, multimedia and each other. Less typing, more video, and easy sharing. So TikTok was a good fit.But when it comes to data privacy and censorship, they are unconcerned lambs to the slaughter. Fedi's #1 selling point is lost on most of them (and US adults too, to be fair).
(DIR) Post #B2kBBXovJ5ykVfy3uK by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-28T12:39:14Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs I think "no ads" is a much more popular selling point than "privacy"I mean ... even for me, it's the quality of the content and people (the fact that it's lively here) that matters most, after that? It's that there are "no ads"The privacy is nice, but I don't think many people care about this much, or as much as we should.
(DIR) Post #B2kBDW2ctNQjZVJjCi by MamaLake@beige.party
2026-01-28T12:39:33Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @aurochs bluesky had starter packs that were really helpful, I found many scientist and researchers this way, which then also found in Mastodon, but one by one over time.Personal starter packs that are cultivated by fediverse users, as part of their profile perhaps
(DIR) Post #B2kBesfarsKlZUanPE by woe2you@beige.party
2026-01-28T12:44:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs That hits me right in the old.
(DIR) Post #B2kBmK19aWUwPrE1Vw by Phosphenes@mastodon.social
2026-01-28T12:45:49Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @bovaz @aurochs True no ads is great. But that leads to the question of, how do we get a high quality modern-feeling UI without an economy? Ads are a f'ed up business model IMO. They create political pressure toward cowardice. And the 'marketplace of ideas' is totally corrupted by: marketing.
(DIR) Post #B2kBpupr9mxpTOeeMi by sleepytako@famichiki.jp
2026-01-28T12:46:28Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs on my walk just now I was thinking of making cards to pass out to people in person. Ya tired of the ads, tired of the AI slop, looking for a community? Here we are and we don't ask you to sell your soul (or privacy).The instance I support is very niche but I think it's worth it to spend a small amount on some distributables to get a few more converts.
(DIR) Post #B2kCqeFWPPGmHBZYnY by bovaz@misskey.social
2026-01-28T12:46:42.897Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@futurebird@sauropods.win @Phosphenes@mastodon.social @aurochs@todon.eu Honestly, I love the "no ads" thing, but not everyone I know agrees. Sure, they complain about ads, but it's mostly where they interrupt what they are doing. Often, they don't mind, or even enjoy, well done ads that fit with the flow of what they are doing.The ad industry thought that making people numb by forcing more ads at us from everywhere all the time was the solution, but in truth well made well placed ads turn out to be seamless, and people don't mind them.
(DIR) Post #B2kDLefssUNMZWgkjI by Bumblefish@mastodon.scot
2026-01-28T13:03:26Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs Young people make their own places just like we did. We weren't following old people around when we were young, no matter how hard they tried to welcome us.
(DIR) Post #B2kDgHEpD1grxyrhce by kelvin0mql@mastodon.social
2026-01-28T13:07:07Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs I think part of the NORC-ness of Fedi is that the Venn diagram of people who've been around long enough to grok the value of privacy, & of people older than N, is a circle.You can bring a GenX to the facts about privacy & freedom from the oligarchy's algorithms, but you can't make them give a $#!+.Y'know, like horse... water... drink.
(DIR) Post #B2kEDpb4U7Nw5JGq4e by emilianosandri@mastodon.bsd.cafe
2026-01-28T13:13:11Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs No ads and no bloated JavaScript trackers in order to collect data for more ads (I'm thinking about Reddit which lately started to lag on my M1 MBA).
(DIR) Post #B2kFAYB4tP0l946zYW by clumpytree@c.im
2026-01-28T13:23:50Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I felt very self-conscious when trying tiktok for a bit a while back. Just because I watched some middle aged British weirdo filming police officers and asserting his right to do so, I got more and people filming police officers content. Not the content I was really wanting to look for. Maybe I am too old, but for me the decide what I want to see by who I follow model works so much better.
(DIR) Post #B2kHCWmLGTNtIHc1wG by RandomDamage@infosec.exchange
2026-01-28T13:46:34Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs I settled here after losing several commercially run on-line communities.Being able to lose a server but keep your community is a feature that people who *haven't* gone through that wouldn't appreciate quite as much
(DIR) Post #B2kHbeu0CNFRjDB9BQ by stefan@stefanbohacek.online
2026-01-28T13:51:06Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Have you seen https://fedidevs.com/s/NjQ5/ by any chance? Seems like a pretty solid list!@bovaz @aurochs
(DIR) Post #B2kJAh02UagAK4Gup6 by ubi@ecoevo.social
2026-01-28T14:08:40Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs I think this would require actual innovation to make new forms of social media that kids would enjoy instead of just rehashing older social media platforms.
(DIR) Post #B2lZSy4rWrfovSDxFw by tomjennings@tldr.nettime.org
2026-01-29T04:46:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebirdI'm with you, on the overall quality of conversation and moderation, and absolutely, no ads. Ads sre surveillance, itscnot magazine ads from the 1970s eere talking sbout. I have a few young friends (1/3rd my age) and to them the Internet is s morass of complexity and control. None of them have or care to have websites as means of expression. They did not grow up eith the ideological promises and early glimpses of what was possible eg 1995 to 2000. And most of them are fairly technically sophisticated, making misoc, publishing music, print publications etc. And its all so expensive. I know few people who can afford $1000 computers never mind high end Apple etc. Its not s priority. Us older folks mostly jave no idea how our even modest accumulated material lives are kinda off limits to very many people. @Phosphenes @bovaz @aurochs
(DIR) Post #B2mjZ8SN2u9rYMl8xk by hakona@im.alstadheim.no
2026-01-29T18:13:42Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird My personal reason for wishing Mastodon was more popular is I believe we could maybe bring people back from the brainwashing-mashines. Sadly those who need it the most are addicted to being spoon-fed with brain-rot I believe. @bovaz @aurochs