So for a little while now I've been stuck. I've been sick of the shit platforms I've seen for social media. Namely, the cesspools that Facebook and Twitter have become. I mean, what in the fuck happened? At first I had this cool new way of communicating that was so very unique. It was right there for the taking. On the surface their goals seemed so noble. Connecting people no matter where they lived on the planet. All you needed was an internet connection (we'll just leave that one alone). Then something happened. First, the trolls invaded. Shit-posting and vomiting their anger/hate all over the various platforms. No longer was there room for meaningful conversation without some asshole lacking the ability to self-censor jumping in a shitting all over your post. Next came the ads. Ads so stealth that I barely noticed what was happening. Before I knew it the goddamn ads where all over the place like a bad STD on my fun parts. Now it's nearly impossible to get rid of them. I know, you might be thinking, "How else are they going to pay for server space and computing resources? Without ads how do the platforms get revenue?" Interesting question. That brings me to my next issue. Mother. Fucking. Tracking. Everything I did (especially on Facebook) was cataloged and sold to the highest bidder. Next thing you know there's disturbingly accurately tailored ads following you around 😱!!! FUUUUCK!!! So yeah, there's more than one way I saw that I was turning into just another product to be bought and sold on Wall $treet. There was valiant efforts made by extensions like social fixer for Chrome and such but I never really felt like it did indeed fix the problem. It was like capitalism ran rampant and raped the shit out of something that had so much potential. Not so much as a cuddle when I logged off. Fuck it. I gave up on the twat missile that is Facebookery and locked up Twitter like a death-row inmate, only to enjoy the freedom of the "yard" when I needed to get something off of my chest. Then, I recently tripped and fell face first into a glimmer of hope. What was this new platform that could do what the rest couldn't. Enter Mastodon. I won't get into the fine print but the framework of how Mastodon works but it hearkened back to the days of chat rooms with the cozy nature of "instances" and how they're akin to privately moderated Twitter feeds tailored to your interests and language(s) spoken. In the past two days of using it, I felt like I had more meaningful conversations than I can recently remember with all of the other major social networks combined. Personally IDGAF about the drama. I hear enough at work. But hey, if that's your thing I'm SURE you could find a lively catfight on Mastodon.
As for me, I'll pass. That's what sets Mastodon apart. The effort it takes to avoid the ads, scammers, and trolls is minimal. Could it be that's it's such a new platform? Sure! However, I don't think Mastodon will turn out like the rest. Just the instances model alone lets YOU be in control of the content as a user. No longer are you at the mercy of some apathetic douchebag of a moderator asleep at the wheel (in a fairness some are actually pretty good). Maybe I'm seeing things from inside a bubble of my own making with Mastodon. Or perhaps the detox provided by it is so very refreshing. Whatever it is I like it. I don't care to ponder the reason why at this point. Give Mastodon a try. It doesn't cost you anything but your time and it gave me an experience the others yanked away long ago. Hope for humanity 👏. Well done.
One last note. All images where obtained from copyright free sources as far as I know. If not, point the offending images out and I'll gladly remove them if that's the case.
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