Recently, another platform has been stirring up the social media world. The network, which has existed since 2016, is called Mastodon and has been booming as an alternative platform since Twitter was taken over by Elon Musk (51).
What is a mastodon?
Mastodon is part of Fedivers, a decentralized social network. In principle, it works exactly the same as Twitter and other social media. Users create an account on a server and can then send images, videos and texts. In the application, the posts of the people you follow are listed one after the other, as in Instagram. You can like, share and comment on posts. Like other social networks, Mastodon is free.
So what makes Mastodon different from Twitter?
The biggest difference is that the platform does not use a single server like other social media. Mastodon is based on open software; this means that the source code is public. The network is organized in a decentralized way. That’s why it has various servers around the world and they are private. Mastadon also gives the user 500 characters per message. Twitter only has 280 of them. Unlike the famous sibling, the messages are not sorted according to an algorithm.
Who is behind Mastodon?
The founder’s name is Eugen Rochko (29). The young German of Russian origin launched the platform in 2016. Its aim was to create a decentralized platform that could not be controlled by any person or company.
How many users does Mastodon have?
About one million users are active on Mastodon every month. In total, more than 6 million people are registered. Since the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk and leaving many dissatisfied, the network has been growing by around 70,000 new users every day. Compared to the 238 million users on Twitter, Mastodon is still a niche.
How to join Mastodon?
Just like any other social network, you just create a profile. Enter your username and email address and select the server you want. Which server you choose is very important because the servers can be turned on and off as they wish by the operators. This probability is lower for larger servers with more members. Server operators can also set their own usage rules. Choosing a Swiss server also makes sense, so data is secured according to Swiss data protection law.
What are the benefits of Mastodon?
The advantage is that not all data is stored on a central server as with Facebook or Twitter. This makes the network more independent and cannot be controlled by a single institution.
When it comes to data protection, this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is positive whether any company can access all the data. On the other hand, the security of your own data depends on the server you choose. This can be good or bad depending on the server and operator.
What are the disadvantages of Mastodon?
The system of many standalone servers also has disadvantages. Besides the public open source code, almost anyone can open their own server and connect to the platform. For example, the far-right group “Gab” opened a host on Mastodon after being ostracized from other social media, writes NZZ.
In addition, a complete exclusion is impossible by Twitter after the storming of the American Capitol in January 2021, as Donald Trump (76) did. Trump can simply open his own server and join the network again.