this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2024
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Technology
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Its the absolute lack of algorithm. No, really. I know Mastodon toots it as a feature, but without an algorithm to keep people scrolling most people just close the app and do something else. People who don't understand instances would just go to mastodon.social anyway, but since no mastodon instance is actively trying to keep its users engaged 24/7, people naturally realize they have better things to do than to use social media all say.
Which is better for humanity, but bad for retention.
"It's the absolute lack of a way to game the system with engagement bait and reward rage-posting"
Fixed that for you.
It's not a matter for average users, it's a matter for the people who farm engagement and post 300 times per day. Having a space that isn't dominated by accounts like that is a good thing. It's why Threads is such a miserable place. The algo there is aggressive and heavily rewards this kind of shit. Accounts like that provide no value and create toxic spaces full of rage and misinformation just to keep the waters churning and keep a constant flow of vapid "content". It's gross, and we are so much the better if we lose a ton of them.
From a content creator's standpoint, sure. The issue is that when the end user doesn't have a shiny new thing they're interested in in front of them every 30 or so seconds they just log off and stop using the service. Why use mastodon if bluesky/threads/whatever shows them, generally, more of what they want to see and less of what they don't?
Most people are using social media as a way to veg out and unwind these days. They don't really care if somebody is able to game the system, just that they see more that lets them veg out (or alternatively makes them angry, driving increased engagement).
I agree that this is generally bad, but trying to sidestep it completely like Mastodon is is just going to result in a network that never hits the critical mass necessary to start exponential growth.
I would disagree. Bluesky has no algorithm and it's growing quite rapidly. And I think that a large part of that is just having the people there that one might want to follow, and fosters community and conversation. A place like Threads absolutely does not do that. Mastodon is just an impenetrable mess from a UX perspective. The average user doesn't care about federation and needs a solid and understandable entry point. Bluesky is federated but 90% of the people there have no idea what that means.
If keeping algo-gaming engagement bait off the platform is a price a platform has to pay, then I'm happily willing to accept that.
Bluesky has an algorithm
How does it compare to Lemmy?
Great, so the perverse incentives aren't beatable then. Time to bug lawmakers, I guess?
On the bright side, Lemmy feels just about like Reddit to use, so that bodes well for us.