What is Mastodon and how does it work
Elon Musk’s moves on Twitter have left many users switching to other platforms as alternatives like Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Mastodon – Mastodon is one of the platforms that have skyrocketed in terms of users. Let’s talk about what this platform’s about.
First off, Mastodon is a decentralized social network resembling Twitter in most features. The app has an open-source nature and as such, you can reach out to any instance at any point in time. Put simply, it is a combination of different servers that are all interconnected to each other. You can either communicate to the wider universe or those that are on their instance.
For instance, registering on a USA Mastodon gives you access to US users, however, nothing stops you from connecting with users on other servers. The platform (which has been around for six years now, taking tweaks and improvements) allows you to create your instance and even connect to the fediverse.
“Your country may have a local country-wide instance that you can register for, but that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to a friend who is using another instance.” Now onto usage. You get to use hashtags frequently rather than the trends and topics on Twitter. Note that your Toots(similar to tweets) will not appear on any other person’s feed artificially except it gets boosted(retweeted).
Register on Mastodon
Registering on the platform is much of a big deal, finding the right instance is what seems like a hard nut to crack. First, head to the Mastodon app, and navigate through the publicly aggregated listings to see which is available. After which you’ll have to input your email address for a method of confirmation.
Once the administrators have approved your account or you’ve confirmed your email, you’re in. Note that, some regions might be struggling with the load, but you can join smaller communities and interact(you can still reach out to users that are not in your instance).
Usernames on Mastodon look this way – @[email protected]. You can find people and follow them by browsing through hashtags or reacting to them, quite a complicated process. You can however link your Twitter to Fedifinder, and it gives you a list of Twitter users that are using the platform. You can then get a CSV file and import it to Mastodon where you can simply follow them.
An interesting feature of this platform is the ability to move through instances. You can transfer your existing followers from your old account to the new one, although you’ll lose your old posts. Mastodon is offering quite a lot, thanks to its open-source nature and decentralized setup plus the ability to post longer content and even network better.
While we can’t throw the app in your face, forcing you to engage on it, you should know that better communities are sprouting up providing better opportunities to scale up. That said, if you’re fine with Twitter, there’s no issue, but if you’re looking for a switch with the same feel, try Mastodon.