Mastodon, is it the social network of the future? Will it leave behind Twitter?
There is something new that is trending on Twitter in India these days. Users are tweeting about moving to different social networks called "Mastodon" with features and interface like those of Twitter. People are tooting not tweeting, yes you heard it right! On Mastodon, you can toot...
All the talk about Mastodon originated from individuals who grumbled that Twitter prohibited the account of the Sanjay Hegde Supreme Court lawyer. Hegde, who declared that he would move to Mastodon, soon directed an army of the Twitter user to join the social network. Individuals likewise contend that Mastodon is a superior choice to Twitter and that the previous has stricter control rules. If you have been wondering what Mastodon is about and how to enter the social network that is "trending."
What is Mastodon?
Mastodon is an open social network for users across the world. In 2016 it was created by Eugene Rochko, and as of now, it has more than 2.2 million registered users. Its user interface and features are a bit similar to Twitter. On Mastodon, users can share 'toots' with photos and videos, follow other users, DM people, make favourites and create lists. The UI of Mastodon is also like Twitter's, where you have the feed on the home page.
Follow friends and discover new ones among more than 1.6M people; Publish links, pictures, text, video. #Mastodon is free, non-commercial, decentralized, and optimized for your convenience, not advertising.
— Mastodon (@MastodonProject) December 30, 2018
📌 Sign up on any server: https://t.co/DJqwWHjlYJ
How is Mastodon different?
When compared from other social networks, Mastodon is different as it runs open source and isn't owned by any single company or corporation. It allows people to create their versions of Mastodon, which is known as 'instance'. Each Mastodon instance runs on a different server but has the social network at its core.
Users can follow people from other servers and with the same Mastodon instance too. Mastodon instances are owned and modified by the community, and most of them are crowdfunded. Mastodon claims it has "effective anti-abuse tools to help moderate instances as users see fit". Mastodon also says it cannot be either sold or go bankrupt.
Watch this video to know how exactly does it work...
Here's a short video explaining the basics of how Mastodon works in simple terms: https://t.co/U9rTfctEK8
— Mastodon (@MastodonProject) November 8, 2019
How to join Mastodon?
If you are interested, you can sign up on Mastodon through this link https://joinmastodon.org/. Mastodon can be used on desktop, Android and iOS. There is no native Mastodon app for Android or iOS; instead, there are client apps. Users can download Mastodon apps like Amaroq, Tootle, and Stella, after you join, you can log in with your Mastodon credentials and start tooting on the platform. Each app offers a similar UI, but some of them have exclusive features as well.