What is Mastodon

What is Mastodon?


With Elon Musk’s purchase of twitter, we have see that platform steadily decline even in terms of security measures with the removal of Multi Factor Authentication (MFA), a new decentralized social media platform has gained massive momentum to become its replacement, and that is Mastodon.

What is Mastodon?

Mastodon, launched in 2016, is a decentralized social networking platform that is designed to be a direct competitor to Twitter.

Users setup their own instance, or community, that is hosted on various servers. These servers are still able to communicate with each other thanks to the decentralized and federated structure of Mastodon.

Why is Mastodon Popular?

With what I consider to be the rapid decline of Twitter, since it was bought by Elon Musk, it was the beginning of its decline. As a result of this decline Mastodon’s popularity began to increase.

There are a number of reasons why it has gained in popularity. Unlike other social media platforms, Mastodon is free from the following:

  1. Censorship
  2. Data Privacy concerns
  3. User abuse

Other social media platforms suffer from such issues.

What has made Mastodon so Popular?

The biggest reason why Mastodon has gained in popularity is its decentralized nature. Unlike social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc. where the data is controlled by a single company Mastodon takes a completely different approach.

Since it is a decentralized platform the data is hosted on either company servers or servers rented by individuals. What this means is that this allows the owner of the community to have more control over their data, in turn avoiding data privacy issues that you encounter on other social media networks.

Due to the decentralized nature of Mastodon, users have more control over the content posted, they can determine who can view their post as well as how their respective community is run.

Ordinary platforms such as Facebook and Twitter use manage content moderation themselves. This in turn can lead to issues with censorship or moderation bias.

Compared to traditional social media Mastodon allows users to create tightly knit communities of those with shared interest. This in turn encourages a strong sense of community.

With the platform fostering a community oriented focus, this encourages more meaningful interactions between the users. Traditional social media platforms, on the other hand, may leave their users feeling more disconnected then connected with one another.

As an open-source project, Mastodon is continually evolving and improving. Users can contribute suggestions for additional features or enhancements, making it a more user-driven and dynamic platform compared to other social media networks.

Mastodon vs. Twitter: Which is Best?

The best platform for you largely depends on your preferences and needs. Twitter and Mastodon each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Mastodon is an open-source, decentralized social network that allows users to create their own “instances” (communities) with distinct rules. It also places greater emphasis on user privacy and data ownership. However, due to Mastodon’s decentralized nature, it can be more challenging to find and connect with users outside of your instance.

In comparison, Twitter has a larger user base and wider reach. It is more suitable for those who want to engage with a broad audience, connect with people outside their social network, and participate in trending topics and conversations.

Twitter also offers more advanced features, such as hashtags and tweet embedding.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which platform best suits your personal or professional goals. If privacy and community-building are your top priorities, Mastodon may be the better choice. If you want to engage in wider discussions and reach a larger audience, Twitter might be your best bet.

Reference:

https://true-tech.net/apps/what-is-mastodon-twitter-challenger/

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