What is Mastodon? A Closer Look at Platforms Seeing User Spikes Amid Twitter Chaos – National
Less than a week into his role as Twitter’s CEO and sole director, Elon Musk has laid off half the company’s staff and promised sweeping new changes.
This upheaval within Twitter has left some users questioning its future and looking for alternatives.
Rumors of Musk’s departure from Twitter have spiked on the site since he first expressed interest in acquiring Twitter. Now that the world’s richest man has realized his intentions, social media sites dubbed ‘Twitter alternatives’ are gaining momentum.
read more:
Could Elon Musk’s Twitter Dismissal Violate Canadian Laws? Expert Opinion
In Musk’s early days of Twitter, Mastodon was probably the frontrunner for the most popular alternative Twitter.
The site’s founder and CEO, German programmer Eugen Rochko, posted on Mastodon on Monday that the site has over 1 million monthly active users, of which more than 489,000 are new users. The social media platform tweeted that he had 230,000 users in a week after Musk’s acquisition was finalized.
By comparison, Twitter, of course, overwhelms Mastodon. Bluebird reported that in July he had just under 238 million daily active users.
Still, Mastodon has managed to attract the likes of comedian Kathy Griffin, who was recently suspended from Twitter for mocking Musk, and economist and New York Times columnist. Paul Krugman and a growing number of journalists.
read more:
Kathy Griffin banned from Twitter for impersonating Elon Musk
Musk himself commented on the rise of Mastodon on Monday, tweeting in response to Krugman’s new Mastodon account that he could join if he stopped loving Twitter. In his tweet, he called the site “Masterbatedone.” Removed after an hour.
Screenshot of Elon Musk’s tweet that Twitter users were able to join “Masterbatedone” before it was deleted about an hour later.
global news
How does Mastodon work?
Mastodon is a free, open source social media network supported by crowdfunding and completely ad-free.
Its interface is very similar to Twitter, with short timelines of posts called “toots” (versions of tweets) ordered chronologically rather than algorithmically. Toots can reply, like, and repost, and users can follow different accounts.
However, unlike Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Mastodon is a decentralized social network. That is, they are not operated by one entity. Instead, Mastodon is a collection of various servers that form one network. As such, Mastodon calls itself a federated social network. Mostly because volunteer admins join the server to host various discussions.
read more:
Twitter asks dozens of laid-off workers to return to work: report
Servers, or “instances” as the site calls them, are themed, like Reddit’s subreddits, with topics related to places, hobbies, interests (Glasgow, games, technology, etc.). They are all independent and have their own community rules.
Users have to choose an instance when they sign up, but this works as a pop-up community because users can follow any account they like, even if it’s on a different server. You can also change servers whenever you like. Some instances are invite-only, others are open to anyone.
Proponents of Mastodon say their decentralized approach is fundamentally different. Every user can choose their own provider or run their own Mastodon instance, rather than accessing a service provided centrally by Twitter. Employer can run his own mail server with her Gmail for employee use only.
read more:
Powerball Jackpot Nears $2 Billion, Breaks World Record
No single company or individual can impose their will on the entire system or shut it all down. If extremist voices originated on their own server, it would be easy for other servers to cut ties with that server, and to speak to their own shrinking band of followers and users. Up, it states that Mastodon takes a “zero tolerance approach to racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia.”
The federated approach also has drawbacks. It’s harder to find people to follow in Mastodon’s anarchic sprawl than in the neatly organized town square Twitter offers. Also, some recent adopters find it difficult to navigate due to the unfamiliar structure.
Whether Mastodon has the power to overthrow the social media giant Twitter remains to be seen. , has stopped accepting users.
Mastodon founder Rochko said he was being overburdened trying to keep the site running smoothly amid a surge in traffic.
read more:
Boston Bruins cut ties with Mitchell Miller for bullying black classmate
“It’s great to see your work finally being taken seriously in the mainstream, but the 12-14 hour workday I had to pull through to handle it all was… Nothing,” he posted on Oct. 31.
He apologized to users for “delaying the process until we get more hardware.”
Other Twitter Alternatives
Tribel Social has also emerged as a popular Twitter alternative, calling itself “Social Media Done Right”. The site is also seeing a surge of new activity amid the Twitter chaos. They announced that user activity increased by 500% on Monday.
This platform is developed by Likeopedia and focuses on news feed customization. It says it allows users to target their audience for greater engagement with their posts, and allows users to find experts on the topic of discussion.
The platform has called itself “grassroots”, “pro-democracy” and “unbiased” in various statements.
read more:
Canadian intelligence warns Trudeau that China is secretly funding 2019 election candidates: sources
Counter Social is another social media site that attracts Twitter abandoners with a powerful message against trolls, online harassment, fake news, and foreign influence. It was created by his hacktivist, The Jester. He claims responsibility for hacking WikiLeaks, the Westboro Baptist Church, and his website for jihadists recruiting soldiers.
The site says it takes a “zero-tolerance stance against hostile nations, bot accounts, trolls and disinformation networks,” and promises not to mine or sell user data.
— Using files from Reuters
What is Mastodon? A Closer Look at Platforms Seeing User Spikes Amid Twitter Chaos – National
Source link What is Mastodon? A Closer Look at Platforms Seeing User Spikes Amid Twitter Chaos – National
