I don't use Mastodon much now that the shine has come off, and I think it's largely because it's hard to find the kind of content I'm looking for. There are some great people that I've followed and I'm happy for that and that's why I'm still here, but there's a lot of noise and for some people this noise IS the signal.
Like, I'm not interested in random posts with noises and emojis in them day in and day out. It's cool if you do it, it's just not what I'm into.
@Averly Yeah, at this point, there's some network effects that Mastodon is going to lack simply by its relative paucity of users. For all their problems, twitter and facebook work because there are just SO MANY people. They're fairly busted in other ways, but discovery of those communities is substantially easier. I think I just need to be okay with visiting once a day and following the people that I like for now, and picking up someone new here and there. It's not a race, right? :)
@vjgoh Exactly. I'm still finding new ways to enjoy Mastodon. It already gracefully connects various people/cultures/etc. in ways the other sites can't. That's something I can appreciate and hope to contribute to.
Like you said, some things take time, and the organic nature of this setup has obviously caught the attention of many many people; which is good for long-term potential ๐
@Averly I'll try to be more of the content that I want to see here, I suppose. This is the advantage of a smaller networkโyou may be able to draw people that are like you into you because you're somewhat more visible in the crowd.
I suspect you're not alone in this. I've noticed the same trend recently, and it's discouraging. There are some instances doing interesting thing, but the big ones seem to be doing things with their freedom that I don't consider particularly productive.
@NFG There's certainly thatโsome instances are going to be garbage heaps, but it's nice that they're mostly siloed off.
But ultimately, you can't dictate quality content on these networks, and we'll all have to find our own paths there.
For my part, I think what I mainly miss from birbsite is authoritative sources. I can follow a journalist there, or a pro athlete, or an artist I like. Those people may be here, but they're needles in our multiple haystacks.
@NFG And maybe part of this is just that I'm using it wrong. Maybe I shouldn't be looking for those things here because I already have those things there. I need to figure out exactly what it is that I want to get out of this experience.
You're not wrong, this is exactly where Mastodon, and certainly my instance, is at. OK, we're here, it works, now what?
A solution in search of a problem?
@vjgoh
I get it, and I like the mixture of content I'm seeing, although...
Two observations:
1. Connecting with others in different community-focused interests seems to be on the rise, and I like having that choice of who to follow and what communities (photography, for example) I can be a part of.
2. As more people join, the more birbsite shitposters come along and don't really "get" the instance/community aspect. I feel like those are the mini-toot robots I'd like to avoid.
๐