Too much twitter drama? Mastodon appears as another option | WGN Radio 720

When billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk takes the helm, cutting the company’s workforce in half, flipping the platform’s authentication system, arguing with users over jokes, and rebuilding one Twitter has been in a bit of a turmoil since admitting that “stupid things” can happen. The world’s most popular information ecosystem.

On Thursday, he can’t find a way to bring at least half of the revenue from subscriptions to the rest of the company’s workforce amid the exodus of senior executives responsible for data privacy, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance. In that case, Twitter warned that it might not survive.

It’s not clear if the drama has turned many users away (indeed, sitting in the front row of the chaos may be amusing to some), but the lesser-known site Mastodon and even Tumblr are emerging as new (or updated) alternatives. Let’s take a look at some of them here.

(Oh, if you leave Twitter and want to save your tweet history, go to your profile settings and click[アカウント]then click[データのアーカイブをダウンロード]Click to download. )

Mastodon

Named after an extinct elephant-like mammal, mastodons have emerged as the frontrunner among those interested in life other than bluebirds. It has some similarities with Twitter, but some major differences. It’s not just that Twitter’s version of the tweet is officially called “toots.”

Mastodon is a decentralized social network. That is, it is not owned by a single corporation or billionaire. Rather, it consists of a network of servers, each running independently but can be connected so that people on different servers can communicate.Mastodon is funded by donations, grants and other means. There are no ads.

Unlike Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, Mastodon’s feed is in chronological order. All of these use algorithms to ensure users spend as much time on the site as possible.

Trying to sign up for Mastodon can be a bit daunting. Each server operates separately, so you must first select the server you want to join, follow the steps to create an account, and agree to the server’s rules. Some are general and some are based on interests or location, but in the end it doesn’t really matter.When you go in, your feed is reminiscent of her Twitter. You can write (up to 500 characters), post photos and videos, follow accounts, and view public feeds.

Mastodon’s website states, “We present a vision of a social media that billionaires cannot buy and own, striving to create a more resilient global platform with no profit incentives. I will.”

The site now has more than a million users, and nearly half of them signed up after Musk took over Twitter on Oct. 27, said founder Eugen Rochko.

Another option, Counter Social, also operates a user-funded, ad-free chronological social platform. To prevent foreign influence activities, Countersocial says it will block access to Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan and Syria. We pride ourselves on being able to translate into over 80 languages ​​with just one click. According to the website, he has over 63 million monthly users.

club house

Remember Clubhouse? Remember when we were all on lockdown and couldn’t speak in person? The shadow has faded. It also allows people to talk to each other about topics of interest (think conference calls, podcasts, or “audio chats”).

Join Clubhouse to start or listen to conversations on topics ranging from technology to professional sports to parenting to black literature and more. No posts, photos or videos. Just a user’s profile picture and their voice. A conversation can be as intimate as a phone call, or it can involve thousands of people listening with names in bold, like a conference or stage interview.

substack and medium

For longer reading, newsletters, and general information absorption, these sites are probably the closest we’ve come to the blogging era of the early 2000s. Both can be read without signing up or paying, but some writers, creators and podcasters are making premium his content for paying subscribers.

tumbler

After all but dead, Tumblr seems to be making a bit of a comeback. The words/photos/arts/video site is known for its devoted fanbase, with angry posts from celebrities like Taylor Swift.Ban porn and “adult content” in 2018 It pissed off a lot of users. This made up a large portion of our visual, meme-friendly online presence and led to a significant decline in our user base.

Onboarding is easy, and the site has a decidedly retro, welcoming feel to it for those nostalgic for the early days of social media.

T2 or TBD?

Google veteran Gabor Cselle, who worked at Twitter from 2014 to 2016, is determined to create a better Twitter. For now, he calls it T2, and says the price of his web domain name (t2.social) he bought is his $7.16. T2, which may or may not be the final name, is currently accepting sign-ups for its waiting list, but the site is apparently not yet operational.

“I think Twitter has always had trouble figuring out what to do and how to decide what to do. And it’s always been in the back of my mind,” Cselle told the Associated Press. “On Monday, I decided to just do it. I’ve never seen anyone else actually do it.”

Twitter-style text and TikTok-style video are one idea. For this to work, Cselle says, the text must actually be “enhanced” so that it is not drowned out by the video.

“My bet is that it will be easier and more efficient to build a better Twitter and public square than it is to fix Twitter’s legacy problems,” added Cselle.

Of course, Cselle wasn’t the only one to jump at the opportunity. Project Mushroom, for example, plans to “be a safe place on the internet — a community-driven, open-source home for creators seeking justice on an overheating planet,” and he plans to have 25,000 early adopters on the yet-to-launch platform. It says it was signed up.

Professor Jennifer Stromer-Gary, who conducts research at Syracuse University, said, “I have the feeling that things will further fragment into more ideological platforms, some will disappear, and then we’ll see a new consolidation in the next few years. I have,” he said. Social media.

news site

One of Twitter’s most valuable features is the way it helps people find information in seconds. Was it just an earthquake? Twitter will tell you. Or at least they did.

While there’s no perfect replacement for Twitter, staying up to date with local, national and international news has never been easier. Both Apple and Google offer news services that pull together articles from a wide range of publications (Apple offers a premium his subscription service that gives access to more articles, but Google started with a free to view the article). A magazine curated to suit your interests.

Of course, you can also subscribe to individual publications (or download free news apps such as AP News from AP).

Yes, you may have to pay some fees. No, you won’t see a blue check mark on your subscription.