Mastodon Migration
"The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” - Audre Lorde, 1984
Thanks to the mostly one way interface from Threads to Mastodon today we saw some discontent among high follower progressive Threads accounts. These influencers, who had migrated from X, are upset that Meta censored and demoted their messages during the election. A few are saying they will now leave Threads, and go to Bluesky. Perhaps they should consider truly non-corporate social media.
1/n
Mastodon Migration
"I will never again devote my energies to building up an audience on a platform whose management can sever my relationship to that audience at will." -Cory Doctorow 2024 (https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/02/ulysses-pact/#tie-yourself-to-a-federated-mast)
Sure Bluesky seems like the shiny object right now. Lots of Brazilians went there. They are getting good press for their architecture, and so far, it does not seem to be enshittified. But, what happens when some billionaire buys it nine months before the next election?
2/n
Mastodon Migration
Back in 2022 there was a moment of opportunity to create a truly open social media ecosystem. Many people created accounts here and the system struggled deal with the influx. Also, technical features were lacking. So, people mostly went back to X, and ignored the risks associated with using the 'master's tools.' Some later went to Threads, again ignoring the obvious risks.
We should be smarter than that now.
3/n
Mastodon Migration
To state the obvious. The way to build a resilient social media counterweight to corporate controlled social media is not to join another corporate social media network. The opportunity before us is to build an open system ecosystem that can not be commandeered. And the only real choice for this is Mastodon and the Fediverse.
And for this to happen, influencers will need to use their influence.
4/n
Mastodon Migration
The easy path lies in escaping from the billionaire overlords into the arms of the VCs. The path is laid out and the welcome is certain. Much more difficult, but ultimately necessary, is to not just give voice to the struggle, but actually participating in building out the open defensible systems necessary to sustain that voice. Otherwise, when we need you most, you will be silenced once again.
So, inviting you to join us here. It won't be easy, and we need your help.
5/fin
Robert Link
@mastodonmigration We are all influencers. Shine on.
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