Post by @Mrfunkedude@beige.party

Stop thinking that the Fediverse needs to compete with corporate owned social media.

It doesn't.

Mastodon isn't in competition with X or Threads. PeerTube isn't in competition with YouTube. PixelFed is not in competition with Instagram. Friendica is not in competition with Facebook.

The Fediverse serves a different function then all of the billionaire funded social medias. The Fedi isn't meant to create a revenue flow for investors. It isn't meant to turn you into a product where your privacy is stripped from you.

The Fediverse is meant to give the USER control. It's meant to protect the disenfranchised. Give power to the people. Be safe from profit exploitation.

The Fediverse and corporate social media couldn't be more different. Trying to put them in competition is like trying to compare a toilet to a flower. Sure you can shit and piss on a flower, but the toilet will always stink and the flower will continue to grow.

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@fonecokid@c.im 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude 👍

Jimmothy Baggins

@64bithero@mstdn.games 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude I had an argument with someone about this a week back. This 100% !!

panu

@shadowdancer@mstdn.social 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude
Actually, if you shit and/or piss on a flower, it not only continue to grow but thrive like never before.

TheOcarinaOfPrime

@TheLegendOfThrill@mastodon.online 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude the fediverse fills a similar niche in people's lives as X or Reddit. If we want it go grow into a place where the average person has a conversation without corporations algorithmically moderating them, then it has to at least make that case effectively to more people. It isn't in competition with corporate social media, but it isn't NOT in competition with them either.

Mr Funk E Dude 🖖

@Mrfunkedude@beige.party 2 months ago

@TheLegendOfThrill Why cant we have growth without competition?

I do what I can to help the Fedi grow. I tell others about it. I support it financially. I have my own PeerTube instance. None of that involves me trying to compete with Big Social.

It's a slow growth here and I'm fine with that. To me, it's a feature. We don't need a few million people coming in here all at once trying to change the culture. Let them trickle in and see how great it is first. Let them get used to not being bombarded with spam or click bait. Let them get used to having control over their space. Let them get used to pleasant conversations and not feeling like you're going to be attacked left and right?

Slow growth can be a great thing. Especially when you're not trying to meet investor quotas.

TheOcarinaOfPrime

@TheLegendOfThrill@mastodon.online 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude I guess it just depends on how you view concept of competition and what niche you think the fediverse fills. Mastodon has a similar experience to X. And I personally am trying to use it in a way that replaces traditional social media, so for my purposes they are in competition. But I see what you're saying about letting the userbase slowly trickle in. It'll probably lead to a more consistent experience.

Mr Funk E Dude 🖖

@Mrfunkedude@beige.party 2 months ago

@TheLegendOfThrill IS the experience really similar to X though?

A few years ago when Twitter became X and a million people flooded in here, the most common response for anyone that stayed longer than a week was "Wow. I didn't know it could be like this."

To me, and from my own experiences when I was on Twitter, I understood what they meant right away. It IS different here. There's no rat race. No clout. No pressure to post more. No being treated like you were a commodity rather than a user.

The functionalities may be similar, but to me, the differences between the two are night and day.

Anyway, you get my point I'm sure. I don't think we're really that dissimilar in our desires for the platform.

TheOcarinaOfPrime

@TheLegendOfThrill@mastodon.online 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude no we're not. They're not really similar in the ways that matter, but if you're trying to explain it to someone who has no idea what the fediverse is, you will probably compare it to Twitter. But yes I think we're in general agreement. Thanks for contributing to this place being cool.

Clean Duck of the Iron Realm

@cleanduck@mastodon.social 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude @TheLegendOfThrill any tips on getting involved? I’m new to this, but the idea appeals to me. I’m willing to volunteer developer time, but in my mind p2p has always been riddled with problems. I want to get stuck in using this app more and understanding the potential, and you seem like that one guy I should listen to 😅

ozoned

@ozoned 2 months ago

@cleanduck@mastodon.social @Mrfunkedude@beige.party @TheLegendOfThrill@mastodon.online my recommendation, find a project you enjoy. Find where they congregate. Learn the project. Be vocal in helping. Profit. I'm not a developer. But I've been working with the Bonfire group, just running it, asking questions, giving recommendations, reporting bugs. There are TONS of Fedi projects on Matrix.

I'd honestly LOVE to see people starting to play with and test drive Fedify, Emissary and Bonfire. Because those 3 are attempting to be a solid base that allows folks to build on top of it. They worry about the Fediverse part and you build whatever you want.

Fedify is a low level library essentially that Ghost is using to enable ActivityPub.

Emissary ( emissary.dev ) is trying to allow folks to build HTML and CSS on top of it. If you look at bandwagon.fm that's built on Emissary.

Bonfire is a more out of the box solution, but is highly extensible.

Again though, just running it, giving feedback seems to have been invaluable to those developers. I haven't run Fedify, but I have run Emissary and Bonfire, and Manyfold, and I just gave feedback and the devs seemed to REALLY appreciate it.

Hell I even started "Works On My Machine Live" where I install from the docs with the dev and folks seemed to learn a LOT from that. I only have a few episodes, hoping to do more in the future.

Emissary | Developer Site - Home

Bandwagon.fm - Home

ozoned

@ozoned 2 months ago

@cleanduck@mastodon.social @TheLegendOfThrill@mastodon.online @Mrfunkedude@beige.party

If folks would like links to anything as well, let me know. My primary goal isn't to have all the answers. it's to help folks find communities that fit them. 😊

No one can do everything. Together, we can do anything.

TheOcarinaOfPrime

@TheLegendOfThrill@mastodon.online 2 months ago

@cleanduck @Mrfunkedude yeah I'm not a developer myself, so I don't know how to get involved. The only thing I really do is try to tell my friends about it.

Mr Funk E Dude 🖖

@Mrfunkedude@beige.party 2 months ago

@TheLegendOfThrill @cleanduck Well you're contributing right now. You're taking an active role in a discussion. That's what we're all here for. The more people that do that, the more people who come in, even if just to look, will be compelled to participate as well. Helping the platform to grow.

So thanks for being you.

Mr Funk E Dude 🖖

@Mrfunkedude@beige.party 2 months ago

@cleanduck @TheLegendOfThrill I'm not sure how to help as a developer. Maybe someone else with that experience or know how can answer that question for you?

@FediThing @ozoned do you two know?

Clean Duck of the Iron Realm

@cleanduck@mastodon.social 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude @TheLegendOfThrill @FediThing @ozoned I think there’s some folks I can reach out to. I meant more tips about how to use the platform best, and help grow the initiative 🙂

Mr Funk E Dude 🖖

@Mrfunkedude@beige.party 2 months ago

@cleanduck
The best use of the platform depends on what you want to use it for.

I use Mastodon as a way of socialization since I don't get out much thanks to arthritis and other reasons. I use it to encourage people to believe in themselves, to find wisdom in their resolute hearts, and to remind them that butts will indeed save us all.

Any "success" (if you want to call it that) with my high engagement and follower count is due to me, just being me. Other than that I plug my PeerTube and blog whenever I make something new.

I think of the Fedi as a neighborhood. Some neighbors run businesses out of their homes. Some are just watering their gardens.

Big Social is like downtown Big City with all of its corporations and tall buildings that block out the sun.

So I encourage people to look at the beauty of the sky.

@TheLegendOfThrill @FediThing @ozoned

Clean Duck of the Iron Realm

@cleanduck@mastodon.social 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude @TheLegendOfThrill @FediThing @ozoned fair enough. I don’t know many people in my area, far fewer that share my interests. Pretty aligned with many of the things you said too, sorry bout the arthritis btw!

Clean Duck of the Iron Realm

@cleanduck@mastodon.social 2 months ago

@Mrfunkedude @TheLegendOfThrill @FediThing @ozoned I think there’s some folks I can reach out to. I meant more tips about how to use the platform best, and help grow the initiative 🙂