this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2023
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Fediverse

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A community to talk about the Fediverse and all it's related services using ActivityPub (Mastodon, Lemmy, KBin, etc).

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The mastodon and lemmy content I’m seeing feels like 90% of it comes from people who are:

  • ~30 years old or older

  • tech enthusiasts/workers

  • linux users

There’s nothing wrong with that particular demographic or anything, but it doesn’t feel like a win to me if the entire fediverse is just one big monoculture.

I wonder what it is that is keeping more diverse users away? Is picking a server/federation too complicated? Or is it that they don’t see any content that they like?

Thoughts?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

30yr+, tech enthusiast, linux user... these are all the same thing XD

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

I think it is something along those lines, the early adopters are quite fed up with Reddit and have the knowledge to explore new options. The fediverse is still strange and not so easy to understand for the casual user.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Yes, I'm one too. That's why I am here. The channels are generally relevant to me, and I can communicate with people, and not disappear in the mob, or deal constantly with low effort smart ass comments, trolls and bots.

What is it that you want to win? http://web.archive.org/web/20230707004346/https://ploum.net/2023-07-06-stop-trying-to-make-social-networks-succeed.html

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

Yes - guilty! We understand what it is, and we have used the centralized systems long enough to remember how they started. It's so romantic to be at the beginning once more - until the next eternal September :)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

I guess I'm all 3. I'm 39, tech enthusiast (tho I've long since given up on working in the industry), and have been using and occasionally contributing to the Linux community since the mid-90s.

My husband is afaik, still just on reddit. idk if he's moved to the official app on his phone (he was a rif guy for years) or what he's doing tbh. But, he's not really a geek 😁

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

As many, I fit the description except for the age, but I hope this monoculture thing goes away. I don't want an entire social network to be a huge bubble. If I want a bubble I join one of the many communities populated by people similar to me, but I want to have the chance to look "for something completely different", getting in touch with world views completely opposte to mine.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

… so you’re saying that my subscriber numbers are actual people and not mostly bots? I assumed they were bots. (I created an over 30 community).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

Avoiding corporate software companies and abandoning established communities on principle isn't something your average person does. Also, wrapping your head around the Fediverse, even if the sign-up process is as simple as other platforms, can be an obstacle for most people.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Not EXCLUSIVELY... but kinda, but even though I'm only 1 (or maybe 2) out of the 3, and a bunch of programming jokes and jargon go over my head, I really don't mind. And... if you're going to start with a particular demographic as a core userbase, man oh man could you do worse these days.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

I'm in my early 20's but I do use Linux and and I'm a tech enthusiast. For now everybody here is 1 of the 3 but it will grow.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

You caught me. I'm old, write software and regularly use Linux.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

All true for me... except I haven't booted into my Linux install in literal months.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

Every new technology is first used by this kind of people (not sure about the age), it is for now just to us to extend the area covered by various communities to non-techie areas. I hope to start with participating in [email protected] and [email protected] which are hopefully far enough from the usual techie crowd.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

I'm neither cis male nor that old but I fit the other two demographics lmao

Might be that tech inrerested ppl are more inclined to switch to less used alternatives when they allow for a more free and open platform. Also the barrier of entry for those might be quite a bit lower than the average Redditor

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

Sub-30 yo but super-20 yo

STEM equal, just not tech

Windows user (although I have Linux installed on my PC)

Close, but rly close enough

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