I dunno, man. This may be an unpopular opinion, but the perceived (though not actual) hurdles (read: finding an instance and creating an account on one) in order to sign onto Mastodon and its perceived lack of reach are actually attractive to me.
I can understand why people trying to sell their wares to anyone possible who use social media as a marketplace to make a living might see it as stifling due to the teensy bit of technical know-how needed to sign up, that trips up enough folks who read predigested articles with none of their own thoughts required.
But, for those folks, if they have a presence here, they’ll have a different audience. One that they may never reach through corporate-owned social media.
I’m old and crotchety. I remember when the Internet was “hard and cumbersome” like the press accuses Mastodon of being. I mean, it wasn’t if you could use a simple terminal program to get to a shell account and learn basic commands. Or used an ISP that gave you an install disk with Trumpet Winsock, Netscape, etc.
But.
The “perception” was enough to keep it from rampant corporatization. So, early furries were all mostly geeks. The folks who built most of the communities many here take for granted. Not idiot Telegram and Discord fiefdoms that anyone can create. The larger community. And as there was a slightly higher bar to enter, the discourse was often better as there was a natural filter as to who could or would enter.
I realize the counterpoint that ubiquitous Internet access and monetization of the Internet made it and by extension furry, etc grow and become mainstream, but I assert that while something was gained, something else that I value more was lost. A feeling of community that wasn’t compromised by large corporations or small businesses /individuals only flocking to places with as much widespread, direct “reach” as possible in order to be profitable or successful while shunning others that they incorrectly perceive as “not worth their time” due to a perception that their megaphone won’t work as well.
In other words, the perception is that Mastodon/the Fediverse is for the geeks and it’s “hard” and stuffy, so people trying to make money shouldn’t come here.
Good. I’ll only patronize those who make the effort and realize that there’s legitimately a higher quality user base here given the efforts in moderation, the basic know-how needed, and the instilled sense of community, not governed by a company that can change its policies or code on a whim.
Folks or businesses unwilling to even think about putting forth the effort to start a fediverse presence because they’re used to reaching the masses through a corporation-driven social ecosystem won’t get my eyeballs or my money. My social media time is freed to be interactions with real people (and businesses) who likely share things in common with me. If they don’t value me here, then we’ve got a pact I can live with.
There’s the contingent who wants access to both, and that’s fine and sensible for many, but after the Twitter debacle and the really, seriously high school 2.0 nature of a lot of the furry community on Twitter, I’m glad, personally, to leave corporate social media behind forever.
On the Fediverse, I see more folks talking about their personal projects, favorite Linux distros, retro computer and game interests, cars (or hating cars!), travels, photography, cooking, personal wins and struggles in life, honest opinions, etc here than I ever did anywhere else. And it reminds me a bit of early furry. People finding and building their own pockets of a larger but real community. One where its size doesn’t directly equate to its value.
And my social media time is better for it.
LeoBurr
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