Sometimes I think we have overthought why people use/used social media. More than half the time, I just wanna pull down with my thumb and see something unexpected or interesting or that I want to respond to. For all its cultural importance, I think Twitter’s popularity (among a certain set of people) was mostly about being a really good place to swipe down your thumb. Aaannddd I kind of can’t believe how quickly Mastodon is serving that same purpose for me … and actually more interesting?
@alexismadrigal I liked the exposure to very different people and ideas. Learned a lot via the bird app.
Also ended up being a way to keep up with breaking news and doing some science knowledge translation.
@alexismadrigal I’m enjoying the nostalgia of being on a site with lots of other new users.
And the sense of smaller communities (instances) sharing social responsibilities within the fediverse.
General tone has been super refreshing
@MCSeto I hear that. This may end up being that, depending on how you set things up. The technical tide forcing a particular experience feels much weaker (more dispersed?) here