![]() Gabor Cselle, a veteran of Google who worked at Twitter from 2014 to 2016, is determined to create a better Twitter. Onboarding is simple, and for those who miss the early years of social media, there’s a decidedly retro, comforting feel to the site. It angered many users in 2018 when it banned porn and “adult content,” which made up a big part of its highly visual and meme-friendly online presence and led to a large drop in its user base. The words/photos/art/video site is known for its devoted fan base and has been home to angry posts from celebrities like Taylor Swift. Tumblr, which was all but left for dead, appears to be enjoying somewhat of a resurgence. You can read both without signing up or paying, but some writers, creators and podcasters create premium content for paying subscribers. ![]() SUBSTACK and MEDIUMįor longer reads, newsletters, and general information absorption, these sites are perhaps closest to the blog era of the early 2000s. Conversations can be intimate, like a phone call, or might include thousands of people listening to a talk by boldface names, like a conference or stage interview. There are no posts, photos or videos - only people’s profile pictures and their voices. Once you join, Clubhouse lets you start or listen into conversations on a host of topics, from tech to pro sports, parenting, Black literature and so on. Remember Clubhouse, back when we were all under lockdown and couldn’t talk in person? It’s the buzzy audio-only app that got somewhat overshadowed by copycat Twitter Spaces, which also lets people talk to each other (think conference call, podcast or “audio chat”) about topics of interest. It has over 63 million monthly users, according to its website. It boasts of offering one-click translation into over 80 languages. To prevent foreign influence operations, Counter Social says it blocks access to Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan and Syria. ![]() 27, according to founder Eugen Rochko.Īnother option, Counter Social, also runs an ad-free, chronological social platform that’s funded by users. “We present a vision of social media that cannot be bought and owned by any billionaire, and strive to create a more resilient global platform without profit incentives,” Mastodon’s website says.Ĭurrently, the site has more than 1 million users, nearly half of whom signed up after Musk took over Twitter on Oct. You can write (up to 500 characters), post photos or videos, and follow accounts as well as see a general public feed. Once you’re in, the feed is reminiscent of Twitter. There are general and interest- and location-based ones, but in the end it won’t really matter. Because each server is run separately, you will need to first pick one you want to join, then go through the steps to create an account and agree with the server’s rules. It can be a tad daunting to try to sign up to Mastodon. Mastodon’s feed is chronological, unlike Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Twitter, which all use algorithms to get people to spend as much time on a site as possible. There are no ads as Mastodon is funded by donations, grants and other means. Rather, it’s made up of a network of servers, each run independently but able to connect so people on different servers can communicate. That means it’s not owned by a single company or billionaire. Mastodon is a decentralized social network. It shares some similarities with Twitter, but there are some big differences - and not just that its version of tweets are officially called “toots.” Sharing a name with an extinct mammal resembling an elephant, Mastodon has emerged as a frontrunner among those curious about life beyond the blue bird. (Oh, and if you are leaving Twitter and want to preserve your tweet history, you can download it by going to your profile settings and clicking on “your account” then “download an archive of your data.”) MASTODON While it’s not clear if the drama is causing many users to leave - in fact, having a front-row seat to the chaos may prove entertaining to some - lesser-known sites Mastodon and even Tumblr are emerging as new (or renewed) alternatives. On Thursday, amid an exodus of senior executives responsible for data privacy, cybersecurity and complying with regulations, he warned the company’s remaining employees that Twitter might not survive if it can’t find a way to bring in at least half its revenue from subscriptions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |