mastodon
Just away from Elon Musk: How Böhmermann and Co. try to escape from Twitter – and how you can follow them
Drums on Twitter for the Alternative Mastodon: Jan Böhmermann.
© Sven Hoppe / DPA
Elon Musk has made himself comfortable as the sole ruler of Twitter – and has been announcing changes and innovations every day since he took over the network. Many users are therefore looking for an alternative – and celebrities like Jan Böhmermann recommend Mastodon.
Elephant instead of bird, trumpet instead of tweet – and no Elon Musk far and wide. While the Tesla boss and new owner of Twitter has been considering changes, cuts and new sources of income every day since taking over the network, many well-known users of the platform are planning to flee – or at least to create a second point of contact. The only alternative so far that is similar to Twitter, but differs in key respects, is Mastodon.
Böhmermann does not believe in a future for Twitter
In Germany, ZDF presenter Jan Böhmermann is by far the loudest drummer for the decentralized network with the elephant in its logo. So he not only added the Mastodon address to his name on Twitter, but also repeatedly called for people to follow him there. He regularly writes things like “It’s the future! Come on everyone! It’s free and works like Twitter! I’m there too” and speaks positively about the German network in his podcast (Fest & Flauschig “#Boomercringe 44”). Different his opinion on Twitter. Böhmermann thinks that Musk’s short message portal “will flush itself down the toilet” and that it’s fun to watch.
But after a quick look, it becomes clear: The new beginning on Mastodon will not happen easily, nor will it happen overnight. Even a person like Böhmermann only manages a tiny fraction of the reach (66,600 followers) on Mastodon that he has built up on Twitter (2.7 million followers). The moderator softens it down – it’s enough for him “when the cool people come,” he says in the podcast.
The slow growth could also be due to the fact that Mastodon is initially much more complicated than Twitter – and eked out a niche existence before the Musk era. Basically, the idea is very good: like that star-author Stephan Maus wrote in April, the network is “everything that Twitter isn’t: decentralized, open, not hungry for data octopuses and (still) very friendly in dealing with one another.” Here you can find out how Mastodon came about and why the program is called that.
The first steps are bumpy, after that it gets easier
Suppose you now want to take part in the virtual migration of peoples: How do you start? Since Mastodon is a decentralized network, you first have to find a home for your own profile. Unlike Twitter or Facebook, Mastodon does not consist of one provider that provides and controls the entire infrastructure, but of a combination of numerous, independent servers that together fuel the Fediverse. To explain this briefly: Mastodon is also often referred to as Fediverse. This is a portmanteau of the English words federation and universe, which describes a network of independent social networks – pretty much what defines the product. The easiest way to register is via the official site of Mastodon.
The selected server is then the starting point for excursions into the Mastodon network. It also forms the second part after your own profile name, which is always made up of your own identifier (in my case “hensen”) and the server (in my case “mastodon.social”). Otherwise, the choice does not play a major role, because the users can interact and follow each other independently. When choosing the right elephant house, various sites such as “Mastodon instances“, where servers can be filtered according to user numbers and local rules.
For example, there are providers who allow suggestive content on their network, prefer a language or are a collection point for a specific interest group. This does not affect the overall interaction, but only determines the content of the “local timeline” and rules according to which your own postings on this server are to be designed. And don’t panic: If the selected server instance no longer suits you, you can move it along with all content and followers at any time.
Once arrived, the rest of the registration process is the same as for other social networks. A few data here, a profile picture there – and you’re good to go. To start, Mastodon suggests a few profiles to follow – the rest looks like what you’re used to from Twitter – except that posts are now called “Tröt” and no one “owns” the network, it’s owned by the community is guided and designed.
Incidentally, this also means: local rules, no overarching moderation and no advertising. Accordingly, verified profiles and a central administration are missing. The former can be a problem with celebrities, however it is possible to self-legitimize with Mastodon. If a profile has a green tick (like Böhmermann), a homepage has been stored in the profile, which reports back to Mastodon with a code snippet that it has been assigned to the correct person.
If you miss your friends, there are tools to search for contacts from Twitter at Mastodon. These include Debirdify and the Fedifinder.
Fewer users – and more peace
The first time on Mastodon probably feels a bit empty. This is because the number of posts is significantly lower – and the amount of active people. The Fediverse currently has 5.8 million users – and thus only a fraction of what is happening on Twitter. Most recently, Twitter communicated well over 200 million monthly active users.
By the way: Because Mastodon is ad-free, the network depends on donations. Anyone who would like to help with the financing as a private individual can do so via a Monthly subscription via the Patreon donation platform or one individual donation via Open Collective do.