> are all posting their updates on X - because, like the users, they have no choice, because no alternative exists.

The fediverse is a viable alternative. But most non-tech people don't know about it.

threetonesun an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Did websites and RSS stop working and I missed it? With more people doing AI searches a website is even more viable now, it's better for AI scraping than x.com.

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vaylian 38 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

RSS still works. But it doesn't offer writing comments like twitter/mastodon. Depending on the use-case this might be desired though.

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busywaiting 36 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> a website is even more viable now, it's better for AI scraping

That's not necessarily the endorsement you think it is.

	▲	threetonesun 16 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		It's 100% the endorsement I think it is, someone searching for "is there a fire near me" wants an answer. The main issue with websites (and why Twitter grew) is it became easier to colocate information and get real(ish) time updates. For sites that don't care about actual traffic being able to surface that data to AI bots is perfect. If it reinforces a loop of "oh [site] is the actual source of information" even better.
	▲	weberer 24 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Why not? I'd much prefer if I can just send my agent to gather info among these sites than have to sign up for some Twitter clone, enable Javascript, then click around through a sea of algorithm bait.

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johnnyanmac an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

I'm still honestly surprised that government entities didn't already solve this problem for themselves. We have means to mail, call, and even email our representatives, but technology seemingly stalled out 20 years ago and didn't keep up with the idea of having a digital forum. There are even multiple channels of verification to integrate, so such governmental forums could verify who is a constituent.

But that's not the end results. Senators have youtube channels, representative posts tweets and even tiktoks to update people, and emergency broadcasts post on Facebook. I'm not opposed to the expanded reach, but when that's their only official channel, it feels like something failed.

Recent years have only now made some non-US entities be pushed to start building away from this dependency, but it's a shame it had to get this far ingrained to begin with.

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carlos22 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

And it has much less users, I would say its max 1-5% of X users.

	▲	vaylian an hour ago \| parent [-]
		That doesn't mean that it's not viable for posting public announcements

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echelon an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

> The fediverse is a viable alternative

Bluesky attracted socialist progressives, furries, and kink-positive folks early on.

I'm not making any value statements, and there's nothing wrong with the userbase, but this is what dominates the feed for new users.

A lot of people are turned off by that when they see it as their first experience with the platform. Or they're actively turned away upon interaction. That's not how you build a big social network.

Mastodon is the exact same.

These platforms are also not winning people over by calling them "toots" and "skeets".

It's like Gimp refusing to adopt a Photoshop style UI for years and not changing their name.

Despite stated intentions, I think these platforms want to stay small and niche and non mainstream. If they wanted to grow big, they'd behave much differently. They'd try to get the Kardashians and would welcome posts about handbags and guns and sports.

	▲	RamblingCTO an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Mastondon/the fediverse feels even worse. Super lefty, super kinky, furry etc. Super weird. Fine that people have their bubbles, but as a normal person you feel totally alienated. X became a nazi dumpsterfire.
	▲	ageitgey an hour ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		> Despite stated intentions, I think these platforms want to stay small and niche and non mainstream. I think that's essentially it, whether they are doing it intentionally or not. Running a social network is like curating a party or conference. Who you do and don't let participate, and who you do and don't promote above others, is essentially the product. And that is a lot of work. Open protocols don't solve any of these problems, and people who care about open protocols don't tend to be the same people interested in curating giant parties and conferences for a mass audience.
	▲	shakna an hour ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Is that not precisely how Twitter built their original social network...?
	▲	raverbashing an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		You're right I'd say Mastodon at this point is mostly people talking in a vacuum (even more than BlueSky) No mainstream discussion or debate comes from Mastodon, you don't see screenshots around (and you do see skeets around) As much as SpaceXAi lost audience, there's a lot of discussion still going around there