Fediverse

Fucking zoomers with their tiktoks and snapchats, what was so wrong with old school forums?

Picking a server is complicated... And I still don't get how to get content from other servers into my main feed.

But the other thing is monitization. If you build up a decent filling on TikTock for example, they pay you. My kids friends are all chasing that.

I am none of those things and I didn't think it was too complicated, I just had no idea it existed until I joined r/redditalternatives.

I love the old internet feel. Once I saw the fesiverse 'map' it made perfect sense.

The thing I'm struggling with the most is being able to subscribe to communities on some instances with this account but not all instances. And being able to add some instances to an app (liftoff, tusk) but not all. That's the most frustrating for me right now.

I just joined and I suspect that you're correct: there's an overall learning curve. No snarky tone intended, but explaining decentralization to those who would likely struggle with grasping the basic client/server model is going to be challenge.

Shoot, I've got 10 years pentesting and R&D under my belt and it took me a while to weigh the pros and cons of creating an account on a public instance or self-hosting. (Will self-host eventually...enjoying a test drive.)

I saw a pull on Mastodon and only 4% said that they were under 18

For everything except the memes I agree. The memes are clearly not generated by 30+ year olds though, and there are a lot of memes. (all of those 196 communities)

Yes, but that's pretty much the early adopter demographic across all tech. I would love for people to realize this and start talking about their other hobbies, not just how they run Lemmy on a toaster and are so radical.

I'm 3 out of 3. Sorry I don't have a good answer for you.

My unfounded guess is that this demographic has seen the internet at it's beginings and is more willing to put up with the lack of bling and willing to discover/ build things from the ground up, just like the Forums of the Old in the mythological era were done. No corporations, no low effort rewards, no likes/ karma/ whatever. You have to actually get involved for lemmy to live.

I mostly fit that description. While I understand what you're saying, we all have other interests on top of this. That's what makes it diverse.

Personally, I feel like a more mature audience is needed. I have never liked the feel of places like Facebook, tiktok, etc. Let me have one place where I can pretend the world isn't overrun with stupidity. There is actual conversation on topics to be had, and people aren't jerks to others for no reason.

The fediverse is somewhat complicated to understand. Maybe like usenet or other such places.

I use arch btw

from my own experience, that's definitely the case for Mastodon, except people are 40 and up.

Quite fine by me, to be honest. I was tired of all the pokemon memes and references, as well as gamespeak everywhere (like "10+ XP, hurr hurr!")

30 is old now? Dafuq

I'm over 30, but I'm tech stupid compared to everyone else here, but I can follow, and understand the jist ftmp of the conversation. Not my area of expertise. I grown up with the internet though obviously so I do know my way around.

If anything i'm probably just more open to new experiences than the average person, and I like learning stuff.

But in general I agree with your observations, and it seems natural for early adopters of a platform.

Bah, I'm three raccoons in an overcoat.
Who.. have a steady IT job.. dang it.

Test

tech enthusiasts/workers

linux users

Those are the primary people who are going to come to a platform like this. The average joe probably hasn't even noticed any major changes with reddit.

It does, yes.

And since lots of people in the Fediverse support blocking popular competitors, like people in Mastodon talking about blocking/unfederating Threads, I'd say we're making sure the Fediverse stays in obscurity forever. Never having a chance to become popular, never having a chance to convince people to leave proprietary platforms.

we are the kind to early adopt new stuff

I think that's probably accurate, but it needs context. When I discovered reddit, I was a teenager and I just lurked for a long time. At the time, the typical redditor was closer to 30 years old and a tech worker. I was a lurker because I didn't yet understand how to write a thoughtful, worthwhile comment. So there might be some lurkers right now because of that.

All kinds of people gravitate towards conversation, but older users will be more comfortable engaging in conversations at first. Reddit is not a good place to converse right now. We just need to focus on building community and encouraging conversations.

Lemmy keeps me from doom scrolling like what I did when I still had my Facebook and Reddit accounts, and fck me I'm 25. Some content from mainstream social medias are too noisy, too personal, too annoying, and too short for my taste, and accidentally watched and heard them from public places.

And, I don't consider myself a tech savvy.

I'm 65, so practically everybody online seems young to me

I (37M) am a broadcast TV tech director so I guess that puts me in the "techbro" world, however, I wouldn't consider myself an "early adopter." I'd say really I'm just tired of corporate social media and all the algorithms and BS. And I'm not alone.

Why am I on Mastodon and Lemmy:

I was looking for something genuinely different, something human focused, something better. Hopefully the Fediverse can be that and hold the line against the likes of Meta. I've gotten four people in my close friends circle to give Fedi a try on three different platforms, all within the last two weeks.

My solution here:

We can't expect hobbyist server hosts, pro bono web devs, and volunteer modmins to pay to advertise this place. Memories of the marketing classes I was forced to take in college are screaming at me right now that what we need to do is begin an honest to goodness word-of-mouth campaign for the whole of the Fediverse... and by that I don't mean "posting aggressively" about it on Facebook, Reddit, Threads, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitter, BlueSky, etc, etc.

Scary as it may be to some of us "techbros," we need to go touch some grass and actually talk to people in the real world. "Word of mouth" means face to face, in person, and it's possibly the most powerful advertising tool ever devised. I'd genuinely advise taking a cue from fundy Christians... evangelize... talk to your friends, your family, your co-workers about what you like about the Fediverse and what they might like. Listen to their problems with Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, TikTok, etc... offer a possible solution that they could give a try. Obviously, don't be pushy or a dick but also, if they do take the leap, help them get settled. Help them find a platform they'd like and how to find the communities and users with whom they'd like to interact.

Perhaps there are some onerous barriers to entry to places like this, but there are loads of people out there genuinely looking for better online communities and just better social media in general. This place -it's various platforms and numerous instances- can be that for a load of people, but they won't know about it unless we tell them.

hey! i'll have you know i'm only 26. calling me out...

i also haven't used linux for a while but i'm currently procrastinating on setting it up on my laptop because windows modern standby hella sucks