You guys probably haven't the dangdest what I'm talking about ... problem is ... StormlightTech doesn't yet have a Mastodon account anywhere since we'd rather do that on our own server. I'm sure that one of the folks here can fill me in, but is running your own server a good way to get noticed? I'm trying to find all ways for our social media accounts to be noticed without having to resort to buying followers with cryptocurrency, like I've done in the past. It makes me feel icky.

@cambridgeport90 When you first start your own server no one will see you post because no one is following you and the server isnt federated with anyone. However if you use an existing server (preferably a popular one with lots of users) it will already be federated with much of the network. As such when you post you will show up in the federated timeline of other servers.

Federation can be expensive and time consuming to establish for a server. The way it works is this. When someone follows anyone on your server, then the entire server your follower on is now federated with you. This means that any posts you make will show up int he home timeline of your follower but the federated timeline of the server your follower is on.

So by using an already established server it means you will have a much "louder" voice than running your own server. For this reason single-instance servers arent the best idea if you want the widest audience.