[CPU] Leaving Twitter for... Mastodon?

Remember how the internet used to be before social media? That's the fediverse.

Hello, Galaxy!

I have a few updates for y’all, and what I believe is a value-driven direction for the future of this email newsletter. Please read, because it concerns you - and I’ve got bonuses in tow.

Why Did You Move Back to SubStack from Revue?

I’m back on SubStack, clearly.

I felt I had little choice, quite honestly - because the decisions Elmo has been making since taking over Twitter have seemingly been ill-planned, ill-advised, and ill-received by those of us who have been on the platform from darn-near the beginning. He’s breaking things left and right, and I’m starting to wonder if it’s being intentionally sabotaged (or victim to what appears to be a billionaire suffering from the Dunning-Kruger Effect).

I moved back to Twitter-acquired Revue a while ago because I thought, logically, that integrating with Twitter would be a huge win for everyone! Well, lesson learned. Kinda. SubStack is also a platform owned and controlled by a company that can change its mind on a whim, but it’s a known quantity at this point and . Plus, you can also subscribe to support me directly.

So, before Elmo crashes Twitter (and Revue in tow), I had to move.

So, You Want to Get Back to a LockerGnome’esque Email Newsletter Like The One You Sent Before Social Media Existed?

Yes, mostly.

I’ve always been a great aggregator, I feel - going all the way back.

I enjoy too many things - hence, “Chris Pirillo’s Universe.”

While I’d love to return to “LockerGnome” roots, I’m still in the process of ideating - and finding a focus that’s not just informative, empowering, and entertaining, but needed as well.

Even when I find a “cool tech tool,” that’s not enough of a focus. Which specific audience does it benefit directly (not just tangentially)?

I do feel a strong pull to enable fellow creators and creatives with technology, not just using it… but sharing discoveries around it. That was the idea behind the Creator Advocate pivot a few years back. That’s interesting to me.

My interest in 3D printing & making hasn’t waned since the launch of MakerDeck (which is still running 24/7) - but that’s in a radically different category.

And, with that, I feel one of the topics I’m most passionate about is community - catalyzing community, engaging community, empowering community. I’ve helped so many people with their own community efforts that I feel it’s the thing for which I’ve built up the most amount of practical experience - whether we’re talking about what I tried to do with LockerGnome, what I tried to do with Gnomedex, or what I’m actively doing with MakerDeck.

There’s only so much time in the day, so balancing that against opportunity is paramount - especially with attention being in short supply all around.

Who am I? What do I do? Who do I help?

Well, I’m gonna try with a new, simple, digestible, informative format - so, stay tuned.

Right now, I’ve been deep-diving into Mastodon (an open source, federated platform that is eerily reminiscent of the days long ago - before LockerGnome even had a chance to exist).

Masto-what?

Looking into Mastodon as a Twitter alternative? I have some tips.

I had seen Mastodon a while ago, but didn’t think anything of it. The idea of “federated” social media seemed quaint. There was nothing wrong with the way Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube were working.

Then. Everything. Changed. Slowly. And. Overnight.

So, I set up a Mastodon account (and have an invite if you’d care to join the instance I’m on instead of any other).

Mastodon isn’t like traditional social media platforms (not just because it’s open source, but because different servers have the opportunity to interoperate between one another through a federated network of “instances”).

It’s radically different than what you’ve used before, and that may not be a bad thing. The learning curve, I’m discovering, is not too steep once you understand the fundamental difference. Here are a few top-level tips:

1. This isn’t a company; don’t expect speed or perfection. It will likely improve over time, but… set your expectations. The instance I’m on certainly been glitchy for me - but with so much attention being paid to it now, I can’t imagine the effort’s viability diminishing (only improving).

2. Careful if you tag someone else on a DM, they’ll be added to it. This doesn’t work like other platforms! I’d still recommend using E2E messaging elsewhere.

3. If you’re thrown off by other languages in your timeline(s), open Preferences, select Other, put a checkmark next to the languages that you’d only want to see.

4. If you love TweetDeck, you can toggle “Enable advanced web interface” in your Mastodon Appearance preferences.

5. Use hashtags for discovery. Since there aren’t as many users on Mastodon, this will be - at least, in the short term - the best way to connect.

6. You can use any given Mastodon app in your designated app store. Though, again, set your expectations.

7. If you’re confused as to which Mastodon instance to join, know that you can very easily move your account from one instance to another with little-to-no friction (you finally own your own social graph). Your followers don’t need to be updated, as their relationship with you moves as your account moves. Never seen anything like it before.

I’m *NOT* planning on leaving Twitter, but that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t prepare for potential inevitabilities. You have questions about Mastodon? I can do my best to answer them, as even I’m still learning my way around. Here’s a way to think about it:

• Algorithmic Social Media (Twitter): Create Attention

• Fediverse Social Media (Mastodon): Create Value

Guess where community has the *opportunity* to thrive most?

The value isn’t in any particular social platform or specific feature set, but in the people you choose to follow there (for whatever reason). You join because you want to be a part of something bigger than yourself.

Or, let me put it to you this way: whenever there’s an emerging platform that has momentum, the last thing you want to do is wait to understand it. I'm leaning in, learning, and loving it - instead of being part of "the problem," I'd rather work towards "the solution." Else, we run the risk of running into the same inevitable problem when a company decides the fate of the platform we use to reach one another (whether Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Google Plus, or MySpace)!

Okay, but I’m Not Really Interested in Social Media or Connecting with You on *ANY* Level - What Else You Got for Me?

Ummmm, well… I posted some funny things this week. At least, I think they’re funny:

• i'm old enough to remember when a dictionary was the spell checker

• i had autocorrect growing up but she prefers to be called mom

• are people who get banned from twitter considered elongated

• a dying battery is the universe's way of telling you to knock it off

• i took a big risk and used a butter knife for margarine

• when ahsoka doesn't appear in a star wars thing is that considered a feloni

• are people who get banned from twitter considered elongated

• after these past two weeks, musk is no longer my favorite scent

• i'm old enough to remember when a dictionary was the spell checker

I also rendered myself as a Sith Lord in MidJourney:

I got to the end of this newsletter - what’s next for you and me?

I hope to get into a regular publishing cadence, again - establishing a new formula and finding a flow. I can’t easily get back to doing a newsletter full-time, though (because that would take an immense amount of support to pull off).

I have a few more thoughts about what I could do to bring the idea of “LockerGnome” back as a Mastodon instance, though. I’ll flesh that out and share as those ideas further gel. Those plans, too, would require resources I don’t currently have - and support that may or may not exist.

Have some fun with these links:

• https://huggingface.co/spaces/stabilityai/stable-diffusion - make AI art, free

• https://tinywow.com/ - a way to convert media files, free

• https://convertcase.net/ - convert your text formatting, free

Yours Digitally,

Chris Pirillo