Is anyone using Mastodon as their primary social media and is it working for you?

@LianaBrooks

Y/Y
I do wish more of my off-line friends were on here, though. And most of the outdoor adventure/photography community is on Instagram, where I have an account that I rarely use. I check there regularly to check for any messages or comments I need to reply to, but try to minimize any interaction that will give Meta more data.

But just this evening I saw someone follow me and it was an activist friend whom I haven't seen in person in almost 40 years. If I recall right, we had some online interaction 20+ years ago on Facebook or somewhere. I might send her a quick DM saying hi with my contact info. But I wish I could feel OK about just chatting, like I do here.

The other downside about the Fedi compared to Instagram in particular is that, as a photographer, I would get way more notice and traction there. I still occasionally post a photo and tell people to go look at my website, but it just makes me barf to know that everything I post there will feed Meta's AI slop machine.

@LianaBrooks Yes! I stayed away from all other platforms because.... billionaires. I barely ever post, but feel that here in the commie wierdo corner of the social Web, I have become less alone.

@LianaBrooks

"Yes" and "yes?" (depends on what you mean by 'working'!)

Quit Facebook for one year. Recently opted to rejoin Facebook because there are groups and events that only exist there, and I'm a little isolated geographically + socially where I live. Facebook is a hellsite, and I spend 97% of my social media time here. I like it here.

@LianaBrooks @dusk Yes, yes!

@LianaBrooks @dusk Yep. By far better than anything else. Blue sky a distant second.

@rebelyn2 @LianaBrooks Do you follow any hashtags?

@LianaBrooks

Yes. The only other one I have is Bluesky & I don't spend much time there. I get better interactions & good conversations here.

@Mikal @LianaBrooks i actually responded before I noticed because it is so immaculate. I looped back when I realized I had been played

@LianaBrooks yep, for two years!

@Mikal @LianaBrooks mastodon was the first social media to have age verification. Our age verification is flawless. No one would bother to join mastodon if they weren't practically senile already.

@Montaagge @LianaBrooks

Oh, I responded because it is a legitimate and interesting question. But also, guaranteed engagement bait. Not in a bad way like a commercial sites.

@LianaBrooks yes, and mostly

@LianaBrooks

YES & YES

@LianaBrooks I am. and i enjoy it so far

@LianaBrooks Define "primary" and define "working for you"?

I don't use social media in an attempt to become famous or become an "infleuncer".

@Mikal @LianaBrooks absolutely perfect but I knee jerk responded I looked back and everyone had said the same thing

@LianaBrooks
Yes. It's awesome.
I deleted my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn accounts and went all in on Mastodon. Best decision ever. Fuck that shit.

@LianaBrooks Yes, and not really. The app I’m using (the mastodon app) doesn’t seem super reliable so there are days I can’t load it on my phone (and I know I should try a different app but I haven’t). Mostly I don’t feel really connected here, which is mostly because I don’t interact regularly. But it just hasn’t replaced the feeling of friends and connection I had on fb. (I won’t go back to Facebook though.)

@LianaBrooks yes and I'm much happier here than anything I tried since like 2005

@LianaBrooks Yep, it's enough. I can connect with local people and far away people who share interests. It's true there's a lack of diversity, and that makes it less engaging for me, but I view that as a plus because there are things I'd like to do outside of cyberspace, and this being somewhat less engaging is a feature not a bug.