this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2023
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Fediverse

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The mastodon and lemmy content I’m seeing feels like 90% of it comes from people who are:

  • ~30 years old or older

  • tech enthusiasts/workers

  • linux users

There’s nothing wrong with that particular demographic or anything, but it doesn’t feel like a win to me if the entire fediverse is just one big monoculture.

I wonder what it is that is keeping more diverse users away? Is picking a server/federation too complicated? Or is it that they don’t see any content that they like?

Thoughts?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Do we really need 10s of millions of people here???!

Having gone through the time when AOL first allowed its members access to the Internet, the impression I ended up with was that it was exactly having the sub-culture of the time overwhelmed by the vastly larger culture of the AOL members that mainly screwed things up.

I think the desire for massive crowds is just a reflection of what we've become used to in the last couple of decades rather than the conclusion of thinking it through.

Mind you, I'm not saying that I have the answer, I'm trying to throw out there the idea that maybe in a forum of forums system "the more" aren't "the merrier" because the sweet spot of participation to make a forum pleasant is somewhere in the middle rather than more always being better.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think the desire for massive crowds is just a reflection

of capitalism. outsiders don't consider you successful unless you have x amount of users or make x in revenue or are top 3 in your category. and even when you match the desired characteristics, it's still not enough. what about this quarter? profits over everything. the solution isn't to bend for other people, but to create something that's authentic to you and be satisfied with what you have.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, that too.

I reckon that many people's expectation and even desire for what's familiar (a natural human preference for the known and familiar which is often confused with actually liking it) that ends up as a desire expressed in these comments for a BIGGER Fediverse is due to the their constant exposure to big and crowded situations again and again, which in turn is because Capitalism tends to create those in all kinds of context (virtual or otherwise) as they're more profitable.