I'm not much of a social media fan, but it is getting more important to use social media everyday, especially if you are operating an online business.
There are lots of things that happen around us every single minute, and the best way to be notify or to be in the middle of discussions is to be active on social media.
While there are many social media platforms on the web (the numbers keep increasing), only few offers a true user experience.
Mastodon is a name that I haven't heard on the internet until last week. To my surprise, it has been in existence for more than six years, but I was not aware.
The whole debacle about Twitter mopping the floor to let more money in set the internet ablaze, and in reaction, Mastodon seem to be the next destination (or should I say "promise land") for many users and firms leaving the platform.
I can be a critique if I want to, but I'll be fair.
I remember registering my first Twitter account in 2010. It only took few seconds before I started using it and getting followers. There were no restrictions whatsoever in those years.
Majority of people were using Symbian and Java phones, so the only way to access Twitter was by going to its official website.
No app. No payment gateway. No wall. No stupid requirements. No two-factor authentication. No badges. No paid promotions. No ads. It was a pure bliss to use Twitter back then.
All users were equal and were treated the same way. Twitter was fair. No partiality and region specific attributes to identify users.
But here we are in 2023 where everything I mentioned is only a pipe dream.
Can we say time changes businesses as it changes men, or businesses lose their fairness (and flair) as they grow bigger and wider?
It is a sad case to witness what Twitter has become after having been on the platform for many years. The question is, can it ever get better?
This depends on the definition of "better", as everything seem to be wrapped around "worth" rather than "satisfaction" these days.
It'll only get worst from here. If you're hopeful, good luck.
Mastodon was not a popular name in most part of the world (including here in Nigeria) until Twitter started throwing tantrum. I didn't even know that such open source social platform exist until few days ago.
In my curiosity, I decided to try it out.
From first sight, Mastodon seem to do things differently. Its domain name ends with social, and that's unique.
I went straight to the site to sign up for a user account. To register, there are certain ground rules you'll need to read and accept.
I accepted these terms and was led to the next page, where I was asked to choose a username, enter my email address (for verification), and set a password.
After filling out the form, I tapped the sign up button. To complete the registration, I was asked to click the verification link sent to my email, which I did.
The whole thing took less than 5 minutes to complete. I signed in and become an official Mastodon user in a blink of an eye. No stress.
Much like Twitter, your username is unique. You'll be required to set your username when registering for an account for the first time.
However, you cannot change your username on Mastodon after you registered. Usernames are not allowed to be changed on Mastodon unlike other social network.
There is a feature request on GitHub to make it possible to change a username on Mastodon, but that request is still hanging. I hope it'll be implemented as more people move to the platform.
You can proceed to setup your profile after signing up.
In profile settings, you can:
• Set display name
• Set your Avatar (profile picture)
• Set a cover photo
• Enter your bio
You can add profile metadata to showcase links and texts on your main profile. Mastodon allow up to four metadata to be added on each user's profile.
Now, to the best part.
You don't need to shed some dollars (Hi Twitter!) or provide documents and IDs before you can wear a verification badge on Mastodon.
All you need to do is add an emoji like this "✅" in front of your display name and you'll have a verification badge standing right next to your name. Might sound stupid, but it actually works.
Other things you'll like about Mastodon
1. User's posts visibility are not limited or hindered
2. No ads
3. No paid promotions
4. All users are treated equally
5. No paid badges
6. No exclusive features for certain individuals
7. It is 100% free
These reminds me of Twitter when it first started, but here we are today.
Anyway, if you are moving from Twitter to Mastodon, there are two challenges you are likely to face:
1. Losing your followers
2. Losing your contents
Mastodon hosts only a handful of active users at the moment. Compared to large numbers of active users on Twitter, this can be a bad move for businesses that rely heavily on social promotion.
If it's worth the sacrifice, you can make the move.
You can cushion the effect by notifying your followers and letting them know about the change. It'll take time, but as I said, if it's worth it there is nothing to worry about. The earlier the better.
FYI, I'm still on Twitter. Just cruising around on Mastodon at the moment with 0 followers. You are welcome to join.
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