Notices by Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@mastodon.social), page 2

@smallcircles I'm not worried 🙂

Why do I believe Facebook and Instagram are dying?

Because searches for "deactivate Instagram" and "deactivate Facebook" have been surging. Specifically, here's how much these keyword searches have been rising:

* 2,400% increase for "deactivate Instagram"
* 1,566% increase for "deactivate Facebook"

If they're is so alive and well, why are so many people eager to leave Instagram and Facebook?

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/people-just-want-to-delete-instagram-facebook-or-deactivate-it-but-it-might-not-help/articleshow/98512465.cms

Twitter's ongoing death spiral is incredibly dramatic.

But Instagram and Facebook's slow descent into death is just as important to understand.

As much as Twitter is Big Social, Meta is even more so.

This is why it's so important to continue building Fediverse services like @pixelfed and Friendica -- they are alternatives to Instagram and Facebook.

@aral @mammoth @mozilla @bart To be clear, I'm aware that Google funds Mozilla massively.

But they also make the only viable web browser that's not based on Chrome. And it seems way more private than Chrome too.

My feelings towards this are mixed.

@aral To be clear, the lead investor (by far) in @mammoth is @mozilla. So while there is VC-funding, that's not where the bulk of funding comes from.

For me, the bigger question is: how do they intend to monetize?

@bart indicates it will be based on subscriptions. Okay, but how?

Now you can create a Mastodon account within @ivory.

But unlike @mammoth, new users are given a choice of servers to join.

Here’s a screenshot of the Mastodon sign-up page inside the app.

@fediversenews

If you’re NOT using Mastodon, please comment in this thread.

Let people know what you’re using and how you’re using it.

Many Mastodon users don’t realize there’s a Fediverse beyond Mastodon.

10 Stereotypes of the Fediverse:

1. Anime girl
2. Legs with pink and blue thigh-high socks
3. Man wearing a bicycle helmet
4. Old guy with a long white beard looking at a monitor
5. Woman with a cat or a dog in their profile pic
6. Flowers
7. Super happy older woman experiencing bliss
8. 40-year-old guy wearing glasses and a t-shirt who says, "Well, actually..."
9. Blue haired woman wearing a beret
10. Fursona checking a server rack

📰 NEWS 📰

@Flipboard is joining the Fediverse.

Not only are they starting their own Mastodon server, not only are they adding Mastodon functionality...

The service itself is integrating with ActivityPub.

Engadget speculates that Flipboard, itself, could be centred around ActivityPub.

https://www.engadget.com/flipboard-is-leaning-into-mastodon-and-away-from-twitter-160036103.html

@fediversenews

@mmayo @jo @mammoth A lot of people hear “VC”, and immediately think of people like Peter Thiel or Marc Andreesen. Hence why they jump to conclusions.

That said, this is the first I’ve heard about Mozilla being the lead investor, and this makes me genuinely happy.

What I suggest is more transparency about funding and monetization so people can assess your motivations more clearly.

I, for one, want @mammoth to be successful.

Let me tell you all, @mammoth isn’t even the first time VC funding has entered the Fediverse.

A VC-connected firm currently owns mstdn.jp, mastodon.cloud, and pawoo.net. Yep, all three of them.

And they are some of the largest servers on the Fediverse.

Yes, Twitter is getting worse.

No, it’s not “finally here”.

What’s going on with Twitter right now are annoyances. But eventually, it will become completely unusable.

You see, a skeleton crew can’t maintain Twitter indefinitely. And already tired employees can only burn the midnight oil for so long.

Twitter is awful right now. But what I’m getting at is that it will get even *worse*.

https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/2/16/23603155/elon-musk-twitter-worse-degrading-quality-glitches-superbowl-boost-feed

Other people have seen this, but I'm adding more alt text.

Taylor Lorenz demonstrates that no one can trust Twitter's metrics.

She posted from a private account with no followers. Nevertheless, she got "views".

Twitter isn't the only social media company that fakes views. Meta does the same with videos.

The truth is that view counts exist not to give you truthful data, but to incentivize your continued posting.

Don't be fooled by these so-called "view counts"!

Being an admin is tough.

People hold you to a higher standard of behaviour than "regular" end users.

However, you indeed must hold yourself to that standard because YOU took on the responsibility.

Yes, it's a thankless job.

People try to drag you into a pit full of poo. Then they hurl abuse at you for not joining them -- especially when you tell them, "Stop rolling around in the poo pit!"

You got to be above it all because if you roll around in the poo pit, you'll smell like poo.

Something I've learned about the Fediverse -- and this really does help -- is that "block early, block often" works tremendously.

Don't even wait for them to cross your boundaries.

If they give you a "no" or an "ick" feeling, block them instantly.

This is true for everyone, but it's also especially true for admins.

So the DDoS attacker was targeting the Fediverse!

What's the clue? They targeted joinmastodon.org.

That's pertinent because joinmastodon.org is the site where new users go to find a suitable instance.

In other words, this wasn't just about someone with an axe to grind against @Gargron.

They were actively trying to prevent people from registering for a Mastodon account on *other* instances.

https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/109786290644576574

⬆️ The above tally busts quite a few myths about the Fediverse:

1. The most popular software is always Mastodon -- not true, Trolls prefer Pleroma

2. If quotes are available, they will be used by trolls -- not necessarily, they can use quotes now, but they don't

3. Mastodon, in and of itself, is "less toxic" than other social media -- not true, it's still popular amongst trolls

Again, if quoted boosts lead to toxicity, why aren't Misskey and Friendica more toxic than Mastodon?

Some people are saying, "You need to have a big enough network effect for quotes to be useful for trolling."

That's a silly notion, but I'll bite.

Misskey and Friendica have the same network effect as Mastodon since they're both Fediverse services.

Just for fun, I'm going to look at the worst offenders of Fediblock and see what software these instances are running.

Will be getting data from here:

https://joinfediverse.wiki/FediBlock

Here goes:

1. P**.st - Pleroma
2. F****************.com - Pleroma
3. P****.net - Mastodon
4. B*****.net - Mastodon
5. S*********.club - Pleroma
6. B**.st - Pleroma
7. N*************.com - Mastodon
8. G**********.club - Mastodon
9. S*******.xyb - Pleroma
10. P*******.net - Mastodon

No Misskey or Friendica!