Mastodon Does Not Need A Win To Succeed

Consider this.

Mastodon’s?first release was in March 2016. It has been around for a long time, with people slowly discovering it and joining one of the many servers/instances in the federated network. It has had time to build its own conventions, its own style, and its own purpose.

Was there a huge influx of users when the hubris of Nu-Twitter hit the stramash fan? Yes, there was, and a huge wave of big media attention always keen to find the next big thing and be at the top of the search trends and links.

Did Twitter suddenly explode in a bluster of hubris? It’s certainly changed; December’s Twitter is definitely not September’s Twitter, but it is (to the curiosity of some) still up and running, This is probably a good time to link to Danah Boyd’s thoughts on how social networks fail (“What If Failure Is The Plan?”)

So if Twitter is still there and Mastodon has not become the water cooler of the chattering digerati, then Mastodon has lost?

Far from it. The idea of a clear victory or defeat makes for a great storyline but it’s far from the truth. Mastodon is different to Twitter. It’s much more social, it’s much more conversational, it’s much less aggressive, and it’s certainly far more in keeping with how I remember internet communities before we siloed with Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and the like.

Choose the right tool for the job. Mastodon looks like Twitter, and offers many similarities in day-to-day use. but does its own thing. For me, it’s a good tool to use. Twitter still has its benefits as well.

The internet is far better when it is many services loosely connected.

You’ll find me?@Ewan?on Twitter, and?@[email protected]?on Mastodon.

Originally posted on my blog, Mon 12 Dec 2022.