I forget so many people still use FB.
I'm really kind of fascinated with the conversation around people debating it's merits as they wrestle with letting it go.
It's such a moment in time.
@Are0h Great thread. These are the top justifications I have encountered:
1. “I only use it for the events”
2. “I’m using it for my brand / products / artist page / official web presence”
3. “All my friends are there”
When people are able to find user friendly ( / accessible) alternatives for these barriers they will migrate, I feel sure of it. FB has made people dependent.
@Are0h @alicet It may be obvious, but I think scale is the other key thing FB brings and it’s related to the question of voluntary. FB is almost a utility at this point because everyone has it. It’s hard to get people to consider changing - and going somewhere else means you miss out on all those people. Totally agree that FB is easy and voluntary, but if you’re trying to connect with family and friends that’s the platform they’re on...
@Lawrence Kinda, but there is nothing stoping people from going somewhere else as well.
And FB is rarely the sole means of communication. It's just convenient because a lot of people use it.
The question people have to ask now is, is that convenience worth being exploited.
Will a change be easy. No, not at all. But it is very very far from impossible.
@Are0h Agreed - I’ve tried to exit FB a couple of times over the past few years. I’m trying again now - which for me means trying to drag some critical mass set of people with me onto an alternate platform (so I am particularly concerned with this issue right now :-). Here’s hoping we’re at a major tipping point.
@Lawrence I feel you. Having recently left Birdland, I'm going through the same thing. It's just going to be a process.
I think a big thing we do have in our favor is that these conversations are making it to the mainstream consciousness, so as more and more people investigate, they'll see many people have been there already and there are some viable solutions.
It's just going to take time, but when it happens, it's going to happen fast.
I also think one of the obstacles is to remind people that there won't be (and shoudn't be) one alternative for all. This is a game changer.
With that in mind the alternatives are all already in place. To keep in touch with their friends (#3) people already use whatsapp, Signal, email or even a phone call. For social events (#1) there are blogs, newsletters and also broadcasting groups on Telegram, Whatsapp, Wire... etc.
@absor70 @alicet All that is true, which is why I think the Activity Pub protocol is a big leap forward. We don't all have to use the same platform to communicate, but we can still connect of they speak the same language.
This is a very very new concept for the average user as most evidenced by most of Mastodon's user base right now are tech heads.
The right conversations seem to be happening to lower this barrier but it's still an issue at this point.
@alicet Agreed, save for the FB made people dependent part. I don't think that's entirely the case, because it's still voluntary. People were using MySpace for all the points you mention.
I think FB just made itself very accessible. That's one of the big sticking points with the fediverse right now. People like easy. And FB does that very, very well.
But people are learning that convenience comes at a cost, so the convo is changing rapidly.