Searching for a new home

For quite a few of us who are heavy Twitter users, the past few weeks have been unsettling. Don’t get me wrong, the bird app is far from perfect. And often times, the site is dominated by whomever are the loudest, and doomscrolling the social feed can leave you feeling mentally exhausted. Not to mention, trolls and bots abound.

But look at how our community has been able to benefit from it though. From #LedaWrites by the one and only Leda Glyptis PhD every Thursday to the Saturday fintech playlist by wonderful Barb MacLean , no matter where we are physically, we always come back together every week, bonded by shared interests and passion that fuel the fintech community. And the same goes for our F1 and Lego communities. ?

Rebuilding digital communities is no easy task. In essence, a vibrant community requires not only people but also active participation. After all, “conversations” are meant to be two-way. That’s why twitter chats work: the dynamics and presence of communities.

Before we look further at the question of what to do next, it might be worthwhile to take a step back and revisit what we are looking for. (Note that this conversation focuses more on “life after twitter”. LinkedIn is still my favorite place for more thoughtful and longer dialogues and idea exchange.)

[1] Are we looking for an exact replica of twitter – along with the good and the bad?

• If this is what you are looking for, you are likely going to be disappointed. The reason is simple: The twitter experience has evolved through a very long time. Interactions and visibility are driven by algorithms. When posting on Mastodon, boosting the posts certainly helps. But otherwise, conversations appear as they are typed. And until enough of your friends have migrated over, it can feel a bit lonely.

[2] Are we looking for a community that encourages healthy dialogues and civil exchange of ideas? Do we want a "public town square" where only the loudest get heard and everyone runs around with a speakerphone???

• This is where I do prefer Mastodon over the bird app. There is no quote tweeting, which can be used by some to re-frame conversations in a different, and often toxic, direction. There is also no full text search function (which is another way to prevent trolls). Conversations feel more authentic because people aren’t busy gaming the algorithm to get noticed.

But – there is one aspect of big social networks that I feel it would be difficult to replace. Many conference organizers and reporters that I know lean on social media to find new speakers and fresh ideas. One of the things I have been fortunate enough to do, is to leverage these platforms and the presence that I am privileged to have, to foster communities and elevate voices that otherwise aren’t being heard enough, which in turn help to bring more visibility and hopefully opportunities to a wider group of people. At the end of the day, that is the one thing that I will miss the most from the bird app. Though thankfully, LinkedIn is always a reliable medium!

So, whether or not you want to stay, walk away completely, or create a new account just to explore, is a personal decision and is very much dependent on what you use social media for.

For now, for those who would like to give Mastodon a shot, here are a few tips:

• Mastodon is a decentralized, federated social media platform. There are many different public servers that you can join (or you can start your own). So to get started, you will need to pick one home base. But good news is, you can always switch servers later and take your follows and followers with you.
• Favorited is just that – favorited. Unlike the “like” button on the bird app, favoriting a post does not help to promote for more people to see. So if you want to give someone’s post a lift, it’s better to reboost. (Of course, you should still favorite the post, so the author knows that you like it.)
• Use hashtags if you want people to be able to find your posts since there is no full text search function.?
• There are tools that allow you to cross-post between Twitter and Mastodon. And you can choose different options for posting. The one I use is “Mastodon Twitter Crossposter ” and I only cross post new tweets to Mastodon. I do enjoy posting native in Mastodon and finding new people to follow. It’s like a treasure hunt of sort. Whatever you plan to do, however, please be thoughtful. Don’t spam. And when you post, make sure to use alt text for graphics.
• When you send a direct message (DM), if you use @mention, the thread will become public.
• If you have your own website, you can get verified on Mastodon with the website. Follow the simple instructions here .

Know that the pace on Mastodon is slower, but maybe that’s not a bad thing, especially for our mental health. And there is something to be said about starting with a clean slate and smaller audience with more thoughtful conversations. Ultimately, it boils down to: What relationship do you want to have with your smartphone and digital world?

Here are some more resources if you want to learn more:

-??????Fedi.Tips : The unofficial guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

-??????The Official Mastodon Documentation

-??????Wired article on how to get started

Drop me a note anytime!

LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/theodoralau/

Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@psb_dc

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This week, on One Vision ...

What does the future hold for the world of payments? How might we leverage technology to enable opportunities for more people, in particular the small business sector, which is the backbone of our economy?

In this episode of One Vision, Theo chats with Shilpa Bangera , Chief Revenue Officer of Finastra on digital transformation and the future of finance. From the rise of open banking to the proliferation of super apps and embedded finance, there is hope for a more customer-centric and seamless experience.?

Give this episode a listen and let us know what you think.