Mastodon as an alternate media sphere to Twitter: how to get started

The first thing you need to know about Mastodon is that it’s not Twitter. But that’s a good thing.

The hiatus around Twitter has spearheaded a search for alternatives. There’s no direct replacement in the way that there was when Friends Reunited or MySpace died. In both cases, refugees headed to Facebook.

The failure of Twitter is teaching us important lessons about authentication, data portability, and governance. It has also highlighted the folly for brands and individuals of investing in a media channel owned by a third party.

Elon Musk hasn’t acquired a car or a rocket. Twitter isn’t a product. It’s a network of relationships and conversations that has developed over more than 15 years and has become an important public sphere.

The network is a source for breaking news. There is no other single place where you can access the views of politicians, business leaders, journalists, and public figures, and watch them interact with each other.

Twitter has become an important part of culture and society. The threat of its downfall has left people looking for alternatives.

What is Mastodon?

There is an alternative social network emerging to Twitter but it’s very different. It’s called Mastodon and is a decentralised network built on open source software.

Mastodon launched in 2016. Its growth has surged in the past six months as Twitter users have searched for alternatives. It now has more than six million users. It’s small compared with Twitter which currently has 450 million users.

Mastodon isn’t as user friendly as Twitter. You need some technical knowledge, but don’t let that put you off. The bigger challenge is that it requires you to rethink everything that you know about the governance and management of a social media platform. Mastodon is a return to the values of the early web.

How to choose a Mastodon server

Mastodon is made up of a series of instances hosted on a voluntary basis by administrators or moderators. These are individual networks hosted on a server that each has its own code of conduct and moderation. Many have their own theme, based on location, country, or interest.

There is a list of servers on the Mastodon website. Account availability is shown in each instance. Please bear in mind that each network is managed on a voluntary basis and so it may take a couple of days to complete an account application process.

How to create a Mastodon account

Users sign-up to a Mastodon instance rather than a centralised service. Usernames have a similar format to an email address with a username and server name.

It doesn’t matter which server you join. There is no cost as it’s open source, however administrators make ask for a donation to support the cost of running a network.

My username is @wadds@mastodonapp.uk.

You can access your account via your local network or via the Mastodon app or website. The user experience feels a lot like Twitter.

There is no universal verification system on Mastodon. Some servers require verification and it’s possible to add links to your profile to other websites that you own using a web tag.

How to create a Mastodon a network

The decentralised nature of the networks means that finding users isn’t straightforward. You need to know their full username or follow people back when they engage with you.

You may have noticed that Twitter users have started adding their Mastodon account details to their Twitter biographies. This is a good place to start. I’ve created an open source directory for people working in public relations.

Hashtags are the primary means of discovery. Search for conversations related to issues and topics of interest.

There’s a useful tool called Debirdify to find users from your existing Twitter network on Mastodon, however replicating your network is a laborious task.

Building a network isn’t easy but everyone that is new to Mastodon is starting from the same place.

How Mastodon works

Servers are linked or federated. Messages are aggregated in local and federated timelines in realtime.

Posts are called toots (tweets) and can be up to 500 characters in length.

Resharing a post (retweeting) is called boosting. Resharing a post (quote tweeting) with a comment isn’t allowed to prevent abuse.

Risk and governance

The governance within a federated network lies with the administrator or moderator of each instance.

Each Mastodon instance has its own moderation rules and can decide to report blocked user content. They can also decide to block networks that have a reputation for abusive content or spam. Moderation is likely to be the Mastodon’s biggest issue as it continues to grow.

In a federated network the security of an account switches from centralised control to the administrator or moderator of a local network. Server owners are being asked to give users three months’ notice of a closure.

Mastodon accounts can be switched between different servers. The process is set out on the Mastodon website.

Mastodon for brands

There is no advertising on Mastodon as it is open source, however there is no restriction to sharing commercial messages. If the social network continues to growth, it is likely that brands, companies, and non-profits will join the network from an earned and shared media perspective.

Mastodon is receiving attention because Twitter users are seeking the security of an alternative.

The failure of Twitter at the hands of an individual or corporate entity is Mastodon’s strength and its weakness. The technical barriers to Mastodon, moderation of instances, and lack of data portability from Twitter remain a challenge.