Why I recommend against Bluesky.
Why I recommend against Bluesky.
Have you ever heard of the term federation-washing?
People didn't go to Bluesky because of an informed choice based on features or security. People went to Bluesky because that's where everyone they want to follow went.
Bluesky isn't Twitter. That's all that mattered to most people. A few influential people went there first and the network effect kicked in.
Yup, the network effect is real.
Hell I wouldn't even say that... they don't understand it, they don't care to understand it, they don't know or care what federated means. They went there because, it's not currently nazified twitter.
I get that it's "technically" federated... but practically it's for all practical purposes just a proprietary program, run by a group that isn't currently horrific. Unfortunately everything I see in it says, it's every bit as vulnerable, and it can be good for as long as the owners care about not becoming a nazi propoganda machine. Actual recourse from it going evil... is non existant.
None of the people I follow are active on Mastodon. The selling point to me for Bluesky is that itâs essentially a Twitter clone not owned by a billionaire. Itâs friendly to the communities Iâm part of specifically and doesnât have ads. What more should anyone ask for from a social media platform?
What more you should ask is precisely that it's not owned privately. Otherwise, soon the next Elmo comes along and buys this one too.
Sure, I get that, itâs just when it eventually becomes corrupt or falls apart, everyone that moved from Twitter to Threads to Bluesky will find another platform. Nobody is going to move to Mastodon until the people they want to follow move there too.
In my three attempts to make Mastodon work for my needs in the last few years, I canât follow NBA or NFL news, catch up on AEW wrestling or hang out with IRL friends.
The content I want/need simply isnât there. Until it is, i donât really care how private it is or how perfectly decentralized it is.
It surly can't avoid having ads permanently tho?
I assume they're just burning cash rn but will eventually need to have sustainable income. Alternatively Mastodon is an actual non-profit, it doesn't need to have the same type of income
This is why I can't get into it. The whole twitter format just feels so unappealing to me.
Yeah, that is me too. I tried Mastodon for a bit and it just didn't work for me. Posting something just drowns you out until you actually have a decent amount of followers, however many that may need to be.
If I post with a new account, 99% of it goes into the void. I had a few people like and boost my posts but they were still gone into oblivion within an hour or less. Not sure how that is appealing? It is like a popularity contest. Like those cliques in schools of the popular kids.
Come join Mastodon where the skies are bluer and the grass is greener.
I had a nice little profile on there until about a month ago. I didn't delete when I saw AI spammers join. And I kept my profile even when the mods were starting to become reddit-ish. What sent me over the edge was when they announced a partnership with an AI company who said they were "just there to beef up security". Yeah, no, not for me. Super sad, too, because Bluesky is a good idea, but I'm sticking with the fediverse.
it's not yet federated properly, or would not be completely, but it's still a good player in the game for now. I'll advocate against it if shareholders start shenanigans.
I'll advocate against it if shareholders start shenanigans
I mean, they will. It's inevitable. So why bother? BlueSky also ultimately retains the final word on moderation as well.
It's not a non-profit like Mastodon so, seems inevitable
My $0.02 from extensive cryptocurrency experience:
A centralized project with a user base never becomes decentralized later. It's always a lie to get users quickly. Centralization generally just gets worse.
I think BlueSky will keep half-assing decentralization until their owners decide that narrative is no longer necessary.
That's a great write-up!
Every time i'm amazed at how such authors are talented at avoiding mentioning Nostr đ
You mean the Dorsey-endorsed crypto platform that has spam waves conducted against Bluesky and ActivityPub?
the speed with which you encounter your first nazi on nostr is not indicative of a system worth spending time on
Bluesky didn't have a strong of a hold on me, tried it, wasn't impressed with what was there before deleting the account. Getting too burned out on social media in general to really be invested in these kinds of platforms. The fediverse is more or less my last rodeo.