What do you think of these newer social networks? Do any of them interest you, or do you prefer to stay with established networks?
Last year we joined Mastodon and made it one of our primary channels. Although it’s still not as popular as more established social networks, we’ve grown it to 270 followers.
Recently we joined the Bluesky beta, although at this stage we’re just using it to keep up with art and aren’t committing to making it a primary channel. But that may change based on interest levels and other factors.
Has anyone else joined one or both of these new federated social networking platforms? If so, share your profiles here and we’ll follow you.
Never heard of them Tbh. That said I’m not on TikTok, Snapchat. I find that all so fake and just an excuse for people to act silly. Its nice being on Twitter/Facebook and being able to speak to some of the SEGA and GameArts staff mind.
I think we’ll be seeing more of both Mastodon and Bluesky in the years to come.
Mastodon is loosely like email - you can follow others who aren’t on the same server as you, which means there’s more options in terms of moderation and software. It uses the open ActivityPub standard which is also being used by Mozilla, WordPress and eventually Threads (Meta’s new platform). I guess you could liken it to USB; assuming you have a computer that supports it, anyone can connect and interoperate with it.
Bluesky will be even more distributed from the sounds of things, with your account less dependent on a particular provider, and they’re also doing a good job (so far) of making the user interface friendly. But it’s early days.
The lack of gaming content on both is a problem, but I’m hoping that will change. Polygon recently joined Mastodon, but it’ll be a matter of convincing the game companies and individual staff themselves to branch out.
In any case, with both projects being maintained by non-profit organisations, it means that they’re dependent on profit driven algorithms, advertising, capturing attention etc. Most of the Mastodon instances use Patreon to fund the hosting and that allows them to remain independent and not have algorithm driven feeds.
Since the Twitter takeover by Musk, the site has increasingly filled our feeds with hate content. It’s honestly really troubling that some of this content remains up. For my personal accounts I don’t intend to return to Twitter, but with PDL it’s more difficult to leave since we’re locked in with a large following there.
Solo, I think Twitter has always been full of hate it’s just that Musk is more open to allowing hate from the other side; Tbh, I saw Twitter and Facebook get full of hate and go really downhill during the lockdown. I never saw such vile hate with people saying I hope your gran or grandfather dies over a Christmas photo, Hope you lose your job for people that went out after lockdown, I hope this or that Politician dies Ect, Ect never mind the number of people who were all over a sudden health experts.
I didn’t get that myself but I did have one lady have a right go at me when I was posting at a football match and despite being double jabbed.
The whole social media thing makes me sad with how people are so ready to believe what social media tells them or how people’s lives seem so sad, they live their lives on Facebook with people posting at god knows what time in the morning they can’t sleep, can we talk?
Then you get the ones who are against giving personal details to the GOV, but are happy to post their full names and exact date of birth on Facebook or Twitter.
I’m just so glad I grew up in the age of you only stayed in the house when the weather was crap, otherwise, it was out playing in the fields and you played the Master System when it started to get dark or it was raining (which in Wales was and still is a lot)
The Internet in general contains a lot of hate, but I think algorithim driven feeds have a way of amplifying that content. So I’m agreement that Twitter was problematic in that way before the Musk takeover.
I appreciate that Mastodon only show posts in your feed from people that you’ve followed (or content that they’ve boosted), rather than random clickbait material that an algorithm generates. It’s a refreshing and much needed change to be back in control. And if a server fails to moderate hateful content, your home server has the option to block the whole instance.
There’s something to be said for having the ability to “go offline”. People don’t really go offline anymore since their phone is always within reach.
I always saw hate towards MPs, Football Players, Ref’s on Twitter long before Musk. I’m not a fan of Top Hat Gaming Man or Jim Sterling but remember booth getting death threats when some on Reddit were saying they were going to give Mario Oddesy a bad score (a video game for crying out loud) but with Brexit and the lockdowns it seemed to give a green light for hate to be piled on anyone for having a view on something and that was before Musk too.
The lockdown was horrible for all sorts of reasons but seeing friends and family basically fight each other on social media was shocking, never mind seeing people like Andrew Neil, Piers Morgan Ect call for anyone who didn’t have a jab to lose their jobs and not be allowed out in a social setting
When we now know that having a jab, didn’t project gran and all and you could still pass the virus on.
Since Lockdowns, I don’t look to use Facebook much these days and I think Instagram is something pervs use to chat up young girls. It is so sad to see so many people live their lives on phones be that in work, in the pub or in the home.
Im glad I grew up at the time the only drug one ever saw was someone smoking a funny fag (weed) and when didn’t live life on the phone and actually went out and enjoyed the world by talking and playing with friends instead of being a phone zombie LOL
I’m into football and follow a few players… I’ve seen the hate they get if they make a mistake or miss a goal with people sending them death threats or how they’re going to get their kids, it’s even worse for a Ref who get so much vile abuse I’m sure most don’t even use social media.
I dislike the fact that so many want to live their lives on social media and so everything turns into a big competition of who can look the best, have the biggest birthday or Christmas presents What I really don’t like in the new social age is how people can’t have a different view on matters around the world without getting cancelled.
I see people who still believe in a flat earth, if that is what they believe in let them express and hold their views while trying to explain and show them factual data. These days if look to question experts or facts you are banned and silenced which I hate. Allow all views (with-in reason) to be debated. I don’t like the Daily Mail and their views on how gaming is bad and games like GTA should be banned but I wouldn’t want the paper not to be able to express their views even if I don’t like or agree with them
I also just don’t get this TickTok nonsense to me it seems an excuse for bad behaviour and for some people to act like utter twats and just don’t get the hook of Instagram.
Still, we are all different I love going to the pub every week with my partner if we’re not working when many now like to drink at home if at all and one of my best mates thinks anyone playing video games in their 40s is a sad nerd and needs to get a life, but then his fav past time is fishing and I doubt many SEGA fans will have Panzer Dragoon down as SEGA’s best ever game, nevermind the best game ever made of all time LOL
Sadly I can’t see the likes of BluSky matching Twitter or Facebook.
It’s so sad that on social media and gaming forums in general people spend more time slagging off games and systems compared to playing games and I dislike how so many people in the modern era judge a game based on nothing more than a YouTube video playthrough
It’s difficult to see what the future will hold. Because Twitter and Facebook have large established networks, they’ll be around for a while yet.
If Bluesky can create a user experience better than Twitter, and can gain traction with enough big names, there’s a compelling reason for people to switch, just as they did from MySpace and Bebo.
I agree and its sad because I want to stop using hatebook and Twitter but there is really not much else out there and Facebook is such a nice way of keeping in touch with what your school friends are doing who have moved out of the country.
Still, there are so many nice people and good stories still on Facebook or Twitter and that shouldn’t forgotten. I don’t like the death of gaming forums mind and so miss the glory days of gaming forums when people we so happy looking forward to new games and hardware.
Anyway it’s still nice you’re still got the website and looking for ways to reach out to more people after all these years
The poll has ended. Over a quarter of people who responded on X preferred an alternative social network to X, with the vast majority of those people preferring Bluesky over Mastodon and Threads.
