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@everton137@social.vivaldi.net · yesterday

Will Mastodon, the platform that keeps the #Fediverse alive, miss a strategic opportunity to bring official institutions on board at scale?

By watching how #EuroSky is being marketed compared to #Mastodon, it certainly seems that way.

I wish the folks at Mastodon would invest in more professional marketing, similar to what we're seeing from its rival, Bluesky.

There was a major meeting in the EU Parliament focused on this topic, yet there was no announcement or microblog post from Mastodon. Zero engagement.

Compare these two approaches:

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ituoear7k6qx3smjfoxhufm4/post/3me7pxwrgerri

#ActivityPub #ATProtocol #EU #lobby

julian

@julian@activitypub.space replied · 23 hours ago

Re: Will Mastodon, the platform that keeps the #Fediverse alive, miss a strategic opportunity to bring official institutions on board at scale?

@everton137@social.vivaldi.net is this a marketing problem? Or a problem of opportunity?

BlueSky has millions of VC investment dollars and with it come the connections, for good or for evil.

I think that kind of connection is intangible, and can't really be bought with marketing spend (at least not on the scale Mastodon can afford.)

That's not to say marketing spend would be unappreciated, but it won't buy your way into the inner circles of government.

everton137

@everton137@social.vivaldi.net replied · 15 hours ago

@julian
I think it’s both, but not in the way that people usually frame it.

Mastodon now has a new CEO and resources. They're not VC-scale or profit-driven, but they still have real capacity.

Meanwhile, someone from EuroSky is in Brussels every week. The difference in behavior is clear: they are actively selling their project.

This looked like an important event, yet Mastodon didn't post anything. No note, no visibility. Honestly, that feels like a serious strategic oversight.

What makes this more frustrating is that there are plenty of passionate people in the Fediverse who would help - some already do as volunteers. However, it increasingly feels like Mastodon’s leadership lacks a business- and strategy-oriented perspective beyond building good software.

At this stage, software quality alone isn’t enough.

@mellifluousbox , I hope you take my criticism in a positive way.

#Mastodon #Marketing

everton137

@everton137@social.vivaldi.net replied · 15 hours ago

@mellifluousbox I’m reminded of my early days at the Open Knowledge Foundation @okfn , first as a volunteer and later as an ambassador in Brazil.

After some time, I suggested forming a local group. Due to my involvement, I later worked as a consultant. A member of the core organization coordinated local leadership, supported ambassadors, and held open meetings periodically. That structure was important.

Out of that structure, I founded Open Knowledge Brasil @okbr , which I ran for years before moving to Europe. Being close to people with strong communication and advocacy skills was invaluable, that's where I learned the most.

Today, I see similar energy in the Fediverse, with accounts such as @FediTips and @mastodonmigration. There are also communication professionals, for example, @hpod16 runs a highly strategic account for the @EUCommission. Or people like @bjoernsta , leading the awesome campaign #SaveSocial .

Resources may be limited, but there is clearly a passionate and capable community.
It might be worthwhile to find ways to involve and coordinate this existing expertise more intentionally.

#Decentralization #Mastodon #Wikimedia #OpenKnowledge

Fedi.Tips

@FediTips@social.growyourown.services replied · 7 hours ago

@everton137 @mellifluousbox

It's not business attitudes that help Bluesky, it's the sheer amount of money and the promise to get this money back in the future by screwing their own users. This is not a model to be emulated, because the resources for it come from future exploitation of ordinary people.

If we want proper long term infratructure that serves the public instead of exploiting it, we need governments to invest in non-profit FOSS projects like Mastodon etc.

everton137

@everton137@social.vivaldi.net replied · 7 hours ago

@mellifluousbox @FediTips here's a proposal

https://social.vivaldi.net/@everton137/116028993057524907

Fedi.Tips

@FediTips@social.growyourown.services replied · 7 hours ago

@everton137 @mellifluousbox

Bluesky is a for-profit corporation with lots of money on the promise to its VC owners that it will enshittify in the future.

Mastodon is mostly volunteers doing proper pro-user stuff, getting some money from donations and grants but nowhere near enough.

The problem is money not going to projects that serve the public interest. If we rely on VC money, it will simply lead to more Twitter/X style bait-and-switch enshittification, as that's their investment model.

BT Free Social

BT Free is a non-profit organization founded by @ozoned@btfree.social . It's goal is for digital privacy rights, advocacy and consulting. This goal will be attained by hosting open platforms to allow others to seamlessly join the Fediverse on moderated instances or by helping others join the Fediverse.

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