1. We're about to see LOTS of new users on Mastodon.

Before that happens, it's time for me to talk about my own journey on the Fediverse -- at this point, I'm a veteran user. 🧵

2. First thing to understand about me is that, while I never worked for Twitter, I worked at a company that was instrumental to their growth.

Twitter's fortune is tied to my fortune.

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3. I've never wanted Twitter to fail. It's against my self interest.

Nevertheless, I can't ignore how Twitter has failed to serve its users, the public square, and democracy.

They've profited directly from the rise of modern Fascism.

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4. In 2018, I discovered the emergence of the ActivityPub protocol. I've long felt that Twitter should have open sourced its API a long time ago. Until 2010, Twitter was a somewhat "open" platform.

Instead, they went the other direction.

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5. I joined Mastodon in 2018. It was a much different place back then. The majority of the Fediverse was what the mainstream would term "fringe": folks who had been harassed off of the big social networks.

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6. During the past 5 years, Mastodon (and the Fediverse) has gradually shifted towards four core groups:

1. Programmers & tech enthusiasts
2. LGBTQIA+
3. Furries
4. Neurodivergent

Each group has become protective of their space.

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7. Every time there's a crisis on Twitter (Birdsite) or Facebook (Booksite), there's a new wave of sign-ups to Mastodon and the Fediverse.

Most of these users don't stay because Mastodon is not a clone of those services. But some stay.

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8. Six months ago, I decided to make the Fediverse my social media home. While I stay on mastodon.social for quick status updates, I've also set up my own Pixelfed instance at peerverse.social -- which I update every day.

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9. As a frequent user of Mastodon and Pixelfed, I make monthly monetary donations to both those projects. Since I plan on building my instance(s), I've been thinking of increasing these donations.

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10. It's important to remember that the bulk of the Fediverse is not made by multi-billion dollar corporations.

Mastodon is a non-profit.

Pixelfed is made by @dansup, and he does it part-time.

And there are many other projects.

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11. Right now, there are only 1.5 million active users on the Fediverse. This is minuscule compared to Twitter. Nevertheless, I get more social interaction on the Fediverse than I do on Twitter.

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12. The Fediverse needs investment. Not everyone agrees with this notion because some prefer that it be a hobbyist enclave. For its own long term survival, it needs infrastructure that scales. Not even Mastodon can handle growth.

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13. Over the past year, I've developed enough working knowledge to run a Fediverse instance. The best way to grow the Fediverse is to setup an instance. I'm by no means a sysadmin, but I've learn how to do it.

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14. With Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, government and media SHOULD adopt the Fediverse.

But WILL they?

Not until there's a crisis that forces their hand. Which there will be -- it's just a matter of when.

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15. Yesterday, Elon Musk sent out a pro-Russian tweet.

Do you think the Ukraine government wants to be on Twitter right now?

What about the EU? What about NATO?

I guarantee they're looking at the Fediverse as an alternative.

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