3d ago

What type of posts/comments provide the most value to the fediverse?

Maybe this is a dumb question. I've always been a lurker on social media, but I really want to help the Fediverse grow, and I've never been sure of how to engage with social media communities without feeling like I'm not contributing anything of value. What types of posts/comments/interactions are most needed on the Fediverse? Also, what are some tips on becoming less nervous to interact online? Sorry if this isn't the right community to post to, wasn't sure where to ask this.

17 comments

Also, what are some tips on becoming less nervous to interact online?
Remember that this ain’t reddit. Assholes who make obnoxious comments aren’t respected by anyone except other assholes. They have much less power here because we just don’t give it to them (sure, you might be able to name some communities or servers that are exceptions to the rule, but they are vastly outnumbered). Plus, the best burns I’ve seen were merely left as good-natured jokes. You’ll mostly find a welcoming (or neutral) user base.
Nervousness is an overreaction to a wildly unlikely worst-case scenario. Notice it, observe it, and try not to let it speak for you.
Lemmy could use more people with your spirit, what great things to ask!
What types of posts/comments/interactions are most needed on the Fediverse?
Kind, genuine ones. Less content meant to divide us and more meant to celebrate the fact that we're all here trying to make this work together. So much of Lemmy is political doomposting, mudslinging about instances, links to articles the OP hasn't even read, bellyaching about the platform, etc. Let the megacorp social medias handle that crap and instead help build back the spirit of the old internet, where it was cool just to be able to talk to someone across the globe.
Also, what are some tips on becoming less nervous to interact online?
Post and comment on things that are already in your comfort zone. Search for communities that fit your interests and start participating in them. If they don't exist yet, start communities for things you're passionate about. It may seem intimidating to try and run a community at first but sometimes it's easier to share something when you're the one who decides what fits, instead of trying to find a place to fit in and worrying about rejection. It's also important to remember that it often takes a long time to attract others that are willing to contribute. Don't think that just because you aren't getting lots of interactions people aren't interested. There are thousands of other people on Lemmy thinking the same thing you are, looking for the right place to contribute what they can.
Start small and see where your confidence takes you. Find places to comment that aren't on the front page of All while you find your footing. You might even make some friends along the way. 💚
- Thank you! This was really kind and helpful. :)
I feel like comments are the most valuable. They validate the OP, and they give other Lemmites something to reply to.
If you're nervous about contributing, I suggest starting with posts you like. Comment on the thing you like about it. What is it you like about the image? What's something interesting about the link? What did you learn from the video?
- Great advice. A simple "great picture" or "I loved this" is easy to post and essentially guaranteed not to generate a negative reaction. It's a good way to get more comfortable commenting in general.
Thanks for posting! This is definitely an appropriate community.
I'd say that at this point in the growth of Lemmy/Mbin/PieFed, comments are definitely the most useful. There are many communities which have plenty of posts, but very few comments. I could get a similar experience from an RSS feed.
Comments and discussions are what liven up the platform. If you're not sure what to comment, you can always ask a question. Questions are excellent in that they inherently solicit additional comments, and can be the seed for further discussions.
For the nervousness, I started commenting here a couple of weeks ago for the same reasons of wanting to help keep places like this active but it was daunting after probably going a full decade without commenting on anything online. Starting with no-risk things helped a lot, so just posting my daily game results in !dailygames@lemmy.zip was a nice way to get going without the possibility of things getting misconstrued. After that, it just gets easier with time. I probably spent half an hour redrafting my first proper comment on here that wasn't a games post and just a couple of weeks in now it feels natural enough to only take a couple of minutes!
- it was daunting after probably going a full decade without commenting on anything online
  Well done. That's a big step and more folks contributing / commenting really helps!
There are so many interesting niche communities, but most people don't know about them and there they are empty.
Sure, they could post their niche communities in those promo communities, but let's be honest: most people don't browse there.
I think a better approach to help those niche communities grow would be this.
If you see a post that could also be shared in a niche community, then you could either cross-post it there or leave a comment mentioning that niche community.
I think the best is when folks can provide expertise or information on a subject. Particularily in a way that surfaces infromation other users want to know, and bonus points if they didn't realize they wanted to know.
But that's the hard part. Any comment (that's kind and thoughtful at least) contributes to a sense of community. Same, to a lesser extent for just up and down voting. And all that is really easy to do.
I mostly comment to provide extra information, or correct bad information; to bring forth some part of a news article that wasn't being covered in the other comments; or to make a poor attempt at humor.
I mostly post when I see someone elsewhere that I think is interesting or newsworthy, and that I haven't seen covered here already (not often).
Do you have an interest in a particular area? I'd search out those communities and start contributing there, whether that's by comments or posting. When I first joined the fediverse, I spent a couple months over on historyporn. The mod there posts a new image every day, and I'd reverse-image search the image and post a comment about it. Sometimes the comment was about the content of the image, sometimes it was about the photographic technique (I learned there's was a technique in the early 1900s or so, where they took simultaneous photos on three different films to produce a pseudocolor print, and I think they used rice in it somehow), and sometimes it was about the photographers (I learned there's was a guy who sent photographers around the world to photograph whatever local cultures, customs, and landmarks they deemed interesting). It was fun. You could find a community of one of your interests, and post something relevant there once a week, or make a commitment to yourself to comment on a thread every other day or something.
50/50 between useful stuff and memes, honestly.
Ask stupid questions about bowel health
Personally:
cool
interesting
useful
IMO: deep but easy to digest information about non-divisive topics that people care about.
Content that's easy to engage with, be that posts or comments that lend themselves for riffing or are insightful. What communities do you want to see grow? Are there somewhat frequent posts? If not, try posting and see if others join in. It yes, engage via commenting and/or voting.
dry snark

17 comments