offtech

Traction

The biggest issue with any new platform is traction. If there’s nobody to talk to, why would you stick around? But new social networks can and do gain traction; Snapchat went from zero users in 2013 to hundreds of millions today. Examples of networks that didn’t gain traction (RIP app.net, allo, peach) are not proof that no new network can thrive. Maybe I’ve exhausted my goodwill by encouraging friends to use networks that haven’t taken off, but I’m not willing to accept Twitter’s hegemonic mismanagement and deafness and I will continue to promote good alternatives when they arise.

Criteria for an alternative social network

I only pass along about 1 in 10 social networks I try out. I always test them to ensure that they’re structurally sound (more on that in a minute) and will offer a good first day of use, to promote user retention. By structure, I mean structure of governance, operator accountability, user choice, technological basis, and revenue stream. These are all indicators of the health of a possible platform. User experience includes technical stability, friendly design, and a mobile app. Today, I can recommend a social network that hits nearly all of the targets.

Mastodon

An analogy is helpful for explaining what, exactly, Mastodon is. If Twitter is AOL (you can directly message xXAngelGirlXx, or any user who is on the platform), then Mastodon is e-mail (you can freely message [email protected], or anyone on any platform who is also using e-mail). The benefit is that no single entity controls the platform-- so long as your message complies with the e-mail protocol (it has headers, a recipient, etc.), it can be sent. Mastodon is the same-- any service provider who complies with the technical requirements can play ball.

This also adds some confusion, however-- how do you “sign up for Mastodon”? But the answer is the same as “how do you sign up for e-mail”? You find a provider, and create an account. This presents a logistical barrier for new users, as they have to find a provider that meets their needs. If you feel like diving deep and assessing providers’ uptime, security protocols, number of users, and other metrics, you are free to do that before registering an account. But for most users, I recommend...

Registering on Mastodon.social

Mastodon.social is provided by the creator of the Mastodon protocol, and is a fully-featured Twitter replacement. Registering and navigating is a breeze, so click through, make an account, and poke around. It checks almost all my boxes for a replacement service:

Structure

Governance: Mastodon.social is operated by Eugen Roschko, the original designer of the Mastodon protocol. Eugen is fiercely dedicated to open source software and civil conversation. He is responsible for establishing the rules of conduct on the site, and they are very hostile to far-right wing politics.

Accountability & User choice: If you are unhappy with Eugen’s behavior, Mastodon.social’s performance, or any other aspect of the service, you are free to register on another instance, and can still interact with all the users you did before. This gives users leverage to demand responsible behavior from the operator.

Technology: Mastodon is a “federated” protocol, which is what allows you to communicate with users on other services. The protocol is based on OStatus and GNUSocial, which have deep, open source roots.

Revenue stream: Eugen self-funds Mastodon.social, but you can contribute to his work on Mastodon via Patreon. I’d prefer that users could directly contribute to Mastodon.social’s upkeep, but history shows us that being a paid service isn’t enough, by itself, to sustain a platform.

User Experience

Stability: the service’s uptime is excellent, and the only hiccups I’ve experienced were after the site received a large amount of publicity and a deluge of registrations. Eugen is quick to respond to reports, but it’s not clear how well this would scale.

Design: Mastodon.social’s registration flow is very smooth, and the web UI apes Tweetdeck (in a good way). The three-column view makes navigation simple, and is accommodating of both power and casual users. Posts can be up to 500 characters, and easily allow native gif support, image uploads, and also can include content warnings (which obscure content until a user clicks through).

Mobile app: There is no first-party Mastodon.social mobile app, but its open nature means that there are dozens of apps on both iOS and Android. Recommendations below.

Recommended Mobile Apps

No matter which Mastodon provider you use, there are loads of apps available to you. However, I recommend the following selections based on my research. Please note that these recommendations are made as of 6/14/2017, and new apps are becoming available frequently.

iOS: Mustor. Clean design, easy navigation, and full support for Mastodon.social’s features make this the best option currently available for iOS devices.

Android: Tusky is a great, full-featured, dedicated Mastodon app. Twidere is a Twitter app that’s been around for a very long time, but it just added support for Mastodon accounts, as well. Check it out if you’d like to easily switch between your accounts without having a dedicated app.

Who to follow

Follow me, of course!! You can add [email protected] from any Mastodon provider. And be sure to login to this tool to find your Twitter friends on Mastodon. See you online!