@aral I like that analogy. Although as a sound engineer, they are sort of listening to me haha.

@aral I totally hear what you're saying and agree wholeheartedly.

But as I reeducate my social media reflexes here, and revaluating my engagement on Twitter - I'm wondering whether it would be better to export new behaviours back into that world rather than turn away? Lots of internal conflict about this concept...

@aral Hear hear. Now we need design to embed these differences onto the small scale social media, get rid of performance metrics, funnels, drips.

@aral it’s been more emotionally fulfilling to have real conversations with people. I still miss the dopamine hits from a popular post, but who doesn’t like a sudden rush? This is more sustaining over the long run, though.

@aral
I still can't understand why people care about number of followers (ok, on Twitch abd YT this can give you money - fine). I'm happy as I followed cool people and now my feed is cool too.
Quality over quantity

@aral
Yes, and to this end, see my reply just now to this https://mastodon.online/@gabipurcaru/109546719167140883

@aral surely the point of social media is to be social. I post for interaction not popularity.

@aral so true! What matters here is that we are a community that are talking and listening to each other. And everyone of us matters….☺️🙏

@aral Agreed. I've had more valuable conversations and interaction here in a couple of months than I had over years at the birdsite.

@aral This post is really doing numbers, congrats!

@aral yepp👍👍👍

@aral

The "engage with influencers" mindset has led to a copious flow of gratuitous pandering. I gave up on the other sites because it was too painful to watch.

@aral Exactly. And in either case, if thousands of people like or comment on your tweet it's actually really tedious looking at all the notifications 😆 . It's not as much fun as people imagine.

@aral I had this idea but was loking for this analogy since long. Popular social media like Twitter or Instagram just makes me wanna share lesser. Also a very opposite example, reddit.

@aral And things can still go "viral" on the fediverse - just in the way that term actually suggests: They spread from person to person through social interaction, not through an algorithm suggesting posts. You know, like viruses do?

@aral "In the seating area very high up in a stadium or theater, as for a sporting event, musical performance, play, etc., which typically costs less money but has a restricted view. "Nosebleed" refers jocularly to one effect of extremely high altitudes on the body, nasal hemorrhaging."

@aral I am agree with you

@aral 😄 he says with 31k followers

@aral perfect analogy.

@aral

I agree. And I'm trying to do more commenting vs just liking and boosting. It's the human interaction that appealed to me when I first joined the fediverse. I actually get acknowledgment when I post here. The other place felt like posting to a void or echo chamber. I fell into the bad habit of just retweeting since my own stuff was rarely acknowledged.

@aral Well said during the 80's with bbs we only cared about building relationships and creating solutions to problems, now its all ego centric based.

@aral The difference is that people eventually come out of a stadium and you can distribute flyers to them on the public street. The walled gardens are careful to not let anyone out.

@aral

Amen. Don’t feed the #narcissism

@aral Going with this metaphor, most people would prefer to listen in a smaller venue. I prefer to listen at home. 😏

@aral This is a great explanation and spot on!

I would have made excuses a few months ago, before breaking the addiction.

@aral Exactly. Well put. It took me some time to figure out that I mostly enjoy the company of other people in small numbers. I shine in 1on1 conversations. I suck in groups. I am fine with this by now.

@aral
I responded to a Toot last night, and the end result was insane - loafs of follows, loads of faves, loads of boosts...
Loads of stress as well, wondering if those people were going to expect all my posts to be that insightful.

@aral totally agree on this. I’ve been on Mastondon for a few weeks and had actual real interactions. Not interactions for the sake of follows or not replies like birdsite or what Instagram turned into. So much better.

@aral Somehow this rings true with my impression of Native American values before the Eurasians came.

They abandoned empire after empire to live small. Each time they improved their administrative & power systems of power a bit so the next empire wouldn’t be able to create so much warfare or amass as much power.

(This was achieved through legends, tales of the birth of the people, and art, as they didn’t write.)

@aral Also though. We need to still acknowledge the bad actors are touching at something primal in the human psyche.

The will to power will always be there.

But if that will has creative outlets that do good instead of bad, then we can be more secure as community.

Leaders being able to use their power to amass more power is the critical point. Mechanisms to throttle this are paramount.

Ceremonial power is another option. Reduce the actual power, but let them have the illusion

@aral Amen

@aral As the current article in my news section talks about, I wish personal blogging was still a thing, I'd love to connect with more people with similar interests more. Probably why I'm on reddit so much lol

@aral good post

@aral A point well made.

@aral None of the funny or brilliant things I've tweeted over the years has ever made me go "viral." I got 7,000 likes on a comment once and never gained a single follower. It's better to make our social media presences about the people, places, and things that we love, our hobbies and interests, and the causes we believe in.

@aral yes yes. I for one, am here for the social. To talk of my day, my daily doin's n thoughts n feelins and chatting with others about theirs.
Not for news for sure. Y'all never heard of news aggregates?
Nor to stroll through a flee market of people hawking there various "wares".
Come on folks. Be people, be human and neighborly n just do more just chitchat.
Just saying...🤔

@aral Thank you for saying this. Forget the numbers!

@aral this is exactly what is keeping people on Facebook and Twitter.
Personally I had to reach out to my phone company and my first thinking was to tweet by tagging to get attention and resolution for the problem.

@aral

This was my approach on Twitter when I was on it...engage one on one with people. Trying to convey an idea to just one person. It got hard when you kept realizing I could just be talking to a bot...

@aral Despite not having many followers and not posting much I have had more interaction with different people on here than was happening on the bird site.

@aral Fitting that this post should be popular :)

I have nearly 10k followers between Facebook & Twitter, but finding it rewarding to discover my tribe, one by one (only 80 friends, here, so far)

#introduction #NewHere

https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/author/yahia-lababidi

@aral I certainly agree with your opinion on "going viral", but I'm not sure about "thinking small" in general. Personally I couldn't care less about becoming some kind of online celebrity. No thanks. But I do want to engage with many people with shared interests worldwide. In that sense I'm "thinking big", and I would be happy as a small fish in a big pond.

@aral agreed

@aral I actually like it when I see small repost and like numbers. It makes me feel like I am one of the few that was able to witness the information.

@aral Amen! We think alike!

@aral

I'm not sure I want to be the guy appealing to the masses anyway; I think I'd feel like I messed up along the way somewhere 🤔

@aral

I get much more engagement here. But I don't think of it as "engagement," rather good conversations. I've read the most interesting posts since I've joined here.

@aral Totally agreed! I specifically turned off all the numbers on here and didn't tell my following of other sites about my presence. I want this to feel like an organic experience and growth with people who seem interesting.

@aral grreat advice.

@aral and small things and interactions make a big difference!

@aral a man after my own heart! I have not looked at my bird account in a long time. Too repulsed to even login to delete it.

@aral I always found it didn't matter how big mainstream social media was, due to the nature of algorithms and monetisation I could never communicate to anyone really outside of my own real life friendship groups.

New to this app, have to see if this is any better.

@aral
Given the substantial number of replies you've received it may be time for an appropriate musical interlude
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IH0VO1tGYg&list=PLkWelElDIE0iFZULmlqo6AyLIxofZEMRL&index=5
#music

@aral brilliant analogy.

@aral I honestly think in my short time here at masto I've had more conversations with folks than the last 3+ yrs on twitter.

@aral if you are trying to publicize an incident of police brutality the ability to go viral is the point of the exercise.

@aral the point of social media is, ostensibly, to engage. So if you’re waiting for others to engage with you then 🤷🏼‍♀️. You make friends by engaging with them- commenting, boosting, soon they’ll do the same for you. Otherwise, you’re just shouting into the void.

@aral Yes, absolutely right!

@aral What a nicely written thing to say. Thank you.

@aral Damn right ✅️

@aral

I want everyone capable of going viral, just not via algorithms. The magic of micro blogging is that it finally enables mass attention democracy. The big companies are no longer the only ones with that power. Eventually, they all just become equal players on the network, not elevated to a special place cause they're a channel your cable network carries. Higher status in our heads needs to be earned. #MeritCulture

@aral
For the average Twitter user, there are no viral moments, bc small accounts are suppressed by design. For most, it’s like screaming into the void.

@aral I had a post go viral on TiKTok a couple of times. It was nothing special. A fair amount of supportive and funny comments, but also a lot of annoying and hate filled ones. No real conversations. But I guess I’m also not on platforms to make a name for myself like an artist or writer may need to be for their career.

@aral I believe that I am duty bound to read your posts if I follow you, similarly for you. How can you do that with 100s of followers and posts?

@aral Exactly!

@aral
So wise. And so true. Human scale is really what we all need....

@aral couldn’t agree more! Better to engage with a few people than to be shouting into the void.

@aral I love both Mastodon and Post for that reason. Meaningful interaction.

@aral

Great analogy!

I compare Twitter to a performance that has an element of audience participation. You may get called up on stage with a RT or QT, but most likely you simply remain in the audience watching others.

@aral AMEN. And there is incredible value in deeply interacting with 10 people who then interact with 10 others whether on social media or in real life, who then go on to share the seeds we plant. As the sister of the Central Park Birder and the one who posted the video that went viral to the tune of 50 million worldwide, I know the power and draw of going viral. But instead of creating one potted plant choked with viral roots, we can create groves that grow into healthy forests.

@aral I've always gotten more engagement on Alt-Tech sites then Big-Tech.

Big-Tech has a problem with too much positive feedback in the algorithm, So unless you are playing the algorithm (producing the content the company wants you to make) you get no traction. : /

@aral @bluebirdblvd the quality of the conversations here is much better and more human

@aral Thank you.

Community building instead making things viral. (Like, the past few years we've seen stuff go viral, and it wasn't pretty...)

@aral hear! Hear!

@aral this post has gone the equivalent of fedi-viral!

@aral cheers to that!

@aral this is gorgeous and very apt x

@aral Well put.

@aral almost poetic. I will print this post and put it on my wall

@aral That's what fediverse is all about 👍

@aral I have more followers and interactions with people in 6 weeks on this place than I did in 13 years on the other site.

@aral

No. I will not think small. Absolutely not.

I could never be happy in a small social network. Not because I'm so wonderful and popular and everyone should listen to me, but rather small networks have fewer sub-groups.

200 people talking about math, but what about people talking about ants? 500? How much intersection? Large groups can contain more diverse subgroups. The stranger you are the bigger a network you will require.

@aral honestly, I came from Twitter. Inviting Donald Trump to return was a red line.

Last night I found myself scrolling through Mastodon, and instead of being outraged, I was running across funny jokes, amazing photography, and a lot of nice people. It’s much more pleasant here, even with a fraction of the followers.

@aral I appreciate this post as I consider the impact on my brain, ego, goals, and time of possibly leaving behind my 8,000+ Twitter followers. At what cost and what value chasing those numbers here? #a11y.

@aral I'm literally on social media because it allows me to do what I can't elsewhere: Get in touch with people I don't know from different parts of the world. Get to know people I didn't know.

Reading about things in different parts of the world that aren't considered to be 'real news' enough for regular media. I don't want to think small, totally the opposite actually.

Maybe this is not what you were thinking of but that's why I'm here.

@aral For real ! Look at nature . . the bear standing by the salmon river isn't concerned but with one fish at a time ✋

@aral I very much agree with you.

@aral Working as a street act is something like this. You'll find your people, you'll get an audience, it will be intimate, meaningful, and spirited
Most of all it will be authentic
Along the way a few minds could be moved
Think small indeed— be sure to laugh

@aral I'd say "Think sustainable," which is similar, tho not entirely the same. We sustain each other in addition to ourselves. We are social creatures, without a network, we can't create much. We need not hierarchies of domination and rule, but lateral networks of co-operation and sharing.

@aral Honestly, I get better engagement on my random posts here than I ever did on Twitter. It doesn't really matter, because I'm not trying to build a brand or establish an audience, I'm just a dude hanging out and posting whatever dumb thing I want to. But I have actually had some interesting conversations with people, as opposed to basically no one responding on Twitter or getting replies from just the people that want to start a fight with an internet stranger. lol

@aral nothing wrong with being small. Everyone has to start somewhere.

That said, you probably have one of the biggest accounts that I've seen on here.

@aral Could not agree more!

@aral honestly this. It's why I never ended up sticking with the "major" ones like insta or Twitter. It's just yelling into the void.

@aral I never understood how anyone can feel happiness over seeing people reduced to a bunch of numbers and considering that number a source of happiness when it is merely a bunch of random people you never met, never will talk to and who only see you as a number as well.

@aral Yes.