I'll go first...
My favorite Fediverse platforms as of 2024
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Mastodon - my main social feed platform that first introduced me to the Fediverse in general.
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Lemmy - my second main social feed platform that originally substituted Reddit from years ago.
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Matrix protocol - communication platform I use to connect with users on the Lemmy instance I'm on
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Peertube - would love to get an account going and use it more often but still don't know how but there's FediVideo.
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Bookwyrm - Goodreads alternative that I signed up for that could use more work for a genuine reading tracker.
BONUS: my least favorite Fediverse platform lately
WordPress - because I used to run art blogs on there before I heard word about drama about the CEO of the corporation so I basically had to put out my last existing art blog...RIP.
Mastodon has successfully replaced Twitter for me, so it's by far my favorite. It does still need better tools for dealing with large-scale posts and users, but overall it feels like it's actually doing the job I want done.
I want to like Piefed/Lemmy more than I actually do. The Fediverse answer to Reddit just doesn't feel ready for prime time yet. It's hard to find/connect with communities and the user base doesn't have that "can address basically any question" magic.
I've tried mastodon and followed a couple people. But I never did Twitter either. Could you recommend how I could best use mastodon? Who to follow, or for to sort/search out whatever what's popular? I couldn't figure it out
Following hashtags is really powerful and useful on Mastodon. You can click any hashtag on a post to see other posts that use it, and if you like it there's a button you can click to start following that hashtag. You can also search for hashtags in the Explore section. Since there's no algorithm, hashtags are the primary way to get things that interest you into your feed.
@[email protected] posts tips on how to use Mastodon, so it's really helpful to follow as a newbie.
@[email protected] posts lists of interesting accounts on Mastodon, usually by topic. It's a good way to grow your follow list!
https://nathanlesage.github.io/academics-on-mastodon/ Here's some lists in case you're into any niche topics.
Right now the tools wouldn't support mainstream users anyway. They will only come after those are ready, and even then it will be a struggle.
But for now, e.g. a good fraction of the time on PieFed.social a notification won't take me to where it is intending to send me, bc of some prior comment being collapsed, hidden, buried in a thread, etc. - and this is the kind of stuff that will quickly send mainstream people packing.