I've seen a lot of voices saying that " #Mastodon does not need to grow to be successful", and "we don't need to put in more effort to welcome new users", and frankly this attitude is pissing me off.
"The reason that social media did not work as promised is not because we misunderstood the nature of the internet and the possibilities of digital connectivity, but because oligarchs took over the digital space."
If there is any chance of using social media as a force for democracy, we desperately need a system that _cannot_ be taken over by the oligarchs. And, right now, the #Fediverse is the best candidate for this.
Thus, there is homework that needs to be done. We cannot just rest on our laurels and proclaim that the tech is already good enough, and that the #Fediverse tech approach somehow magically solves all the problems of other social media platforms. We need to get away from the overwhelmingly white male European/North American user base and look for ways on how to increase #BIPOC user participation - not to mention participation of users from Asia, Africa, and South America.
If we try to maintain the Fediverse as the home of a small, incestuous group of people with a particular tech slant, the oligarchs will win.
https://www.vox.com/world-politics/23896050/protest-decade-2010-revolutionary-handbook-vincent-bevins-arab-spring-brazil-occupy-hong-kong
@836df508 mastodon itself does not need to grow. However, the number of software applications (like mastodon) that are peers in the fediverse needs to grow, dramatically, and fast.
@836df508 Social Media failed because of it's polarising nature and that it's core business model is to play on all our weaknesses as human beings.
Whether Mastodon will be the thing that actually builds something that benefits humanity, only time will tell. As long as we keep playing the game of thumbs up, down and who can shout the loudest - we're most likely not getting anywhere.
@836df508 "Mastodon does not need to grow to be successful" and "the tech is already good enough" are in no way the same thing.
The first is true. The Fediverse is a success.
The second is obviously false.
Since this post is making the rounds, let me plug "Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles" - my long-running project for translating old German folk tales into English and releasing them under a Creative Commons Zero license.
509 translations have been released so far!
https://www.patreon.com/sunkencastles
@836df508
I haven't seen much of this. None here
#Mastodon will keep growing with Elon spurts here and there. The best thing is that it's exactly what you make it.
@836df508 No surprise that I agree, I'm sure, but I agree! I think this is very well said.
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