The Fediverse must be very careful to avoid getting branded as the “alternative to X”. In my experience, platforms that have historically branded themselves as “alternative to” or “anti-” have generally not done well. Learned this from the last Reddit exodus: let’s make this one different!
How can this time be different?
Join real communities, contribute real content.
Sorry, but low-effort image macros and meta-posting about how much everyone hates Reddit (yes, yes, u/spez sucks, carry on) is not a recipe for a successful platform. It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t really help either.
This time, the exodus appears to have been large enough to start disrupting Google search, at least anecdotally. This is an opportunity for the Fediverse: now is the time to create searchable content, to ask the questions that people are asking search engines, and to engage in real communities.
Here’s my call to action:
- Find 1 new community on any Lemmy/Kbin/etc. and make a post/article. Not a low-effort post, but something that a search engine would pick up on.
- Comment when you’ve done so, with a link to the post.
- Then, go and comment on someone else’s post that they’ve commented.
Let’s make the Fediverse succeed!
Here are some options for Kbin communities, but feel free to pick others on other instances as well!
- https://kbin.social/m/SoloBoardGames
- https://kbin.social/m/woodworking
- https://kbin.social/m/soccer
- https://kbin.social/m/Fitness
- https://kbin.social/m/streetphotography (the microblog is quite active)
- https://kbin.social/m/functionalprint (3D printing)
The more you call it a Reddit alternative, the more people will stop migrating over as the Reddit outrage cools down (and as much as spez can go fuck himself, he’s right, it will pass). I think Mastodon had the same issue at the time of the Twitter migration, but lately it’s been focussing more on the fact that good instances provide a nicer small community feel that’s more reflective of the state of Twitter in 2008-2012 or so.
Advertise the community, not the drop-in replacement for another platform that will always be larger and more mainstream.
I would argue that the only low level post that would be worthwhile is the social variety. For those in the Fediverse who want this to be a place to visit everyday there needs to be posts that create a dialog of sharing life events. Some of the best posts on reddit were the ones where the comment thread was better than the post. The post sparked something to share and people dog piled and created something fun and entertaining.
Maybe the Fediverse isn’t big enough for that to happen spontaneously right now. But I do like when my communities/magazines ask the general low level question. It allows me to participate and not wait for a post where I have some expertise to share.
BTW, good observations and good ideas in your post.
Here’s my submission!
https://kbin.social/m/Fitness/t/82763/How-to-get-started-in-a-traditional-gym
@Hatchet i mean, this one is technically already different
i can comment from mastodon
you couldn’t do that with the other “alternatives”
activitypub is great
I agree wholeheartedly.
I’d only add, just because I’ve been thinking this a lot lately and have been looking for a chance to shove it out of my brain and out into the world, that I find much of the focus on Reddit to be sort of creepy.
There’s something about the behavior of some of the people I see around here that very much reminds me of an obsessed ex-lover - like they’ve gone through a messy breakup and now they just can’t let it go. Every conversation ends up being diverted into them whinging about their ex some more, they’re obsessively stalking the ex’s social media, hoping to see signs that they’re miserable without them or just having a hard time in general, and they’re potentially even sending them nasty messages, trying (almost certainly vainly) to make them suffer. They can’t just let it go and get on with their lives.
And they really need to. That part of their lives is over, and it’s time to move on. Clinging to it is not healthy, and frankly, to others, it’s tedious, and sort of creepy.
What is creepier is referring to an app or social network like it’s a monogamous relationship. Like a person is somehow considered cheating if they visit more than one webpage ever in their life. Or that they are anything more than just a user visiting one webpage like it’s a cult or something. Or that feedback on how a dev is going is treachery to the idea that they are supposed to be in a symbiotic relationship where it’s supposed to be unconditional love.
Y’all are weird. This is a social network. it’s not your/others entire existence. Maybe touch some grass.