With the recent changes (in ownership, policy, and target audience) to various social media sites, as well as other current news, we know some people are looking to switch how they follow and communicate with others online. So let’s talk about some of the newer, recently popularized options to replace your X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media site of choice.
Obviously not every website is going to be for everyone, and you may still be perfectly fine with whatever you’re currently using. However with the issues of Meta’s services (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) automatically following or otherwise showing you the posts of specific people and being unable to unfollow or hide those posts, or the policy alterations at many social media sites allowing for more misinformation, bots, and abuse, it’s important to consider if they’re still worth using.
Aside from these social media sites, and the issues with them, there are other options such as Bluesky and Mastodon.
What’s the difference? What actually makes Mastodon or Bluesky better, or at least different, than these other social media websites? Simply put, it’s because they aren’t fully controlled by a single group.
Despite these two microblogging platforms being different in their specifics they’re built on the same general idea. Instead of being fully owned and controlled by a single entity (whether a single person, a business, or some other aligned group) they function on the basis of a set of protocols which can be used to build different more focused social media groups that are still able to interact with each other, should the people on them wish to do so.
Protocols are ways for different computer systems to receive and process data to ensure you are who you say you are doing what you say you’re doing. Your IP Address for example is the Internet Protocol Address that lets the websites you’re going to know that you are a real computer, which you might think wouldn’t need to be shown but it does help protect both them and you from certain kinds of cyberattack.
Of the two right now this matters more for Mastodon as the protocol system it’s using (ActivityPub) is older and more widely in use by a variety of websites in addition to the various Mastodon social websites. Bluesky however is using the AT Protocol which was developed partially by them when Bluesky was a side project at Twitter. What this means for the usage of each is a bit complicated, but can basically be summed up in that you can already find what you might want with Mastodon, while you’ll be able to keep up with the new developments and the bleeding edge of what’s being done using Bluesky’s newer protocol.
(We’ll have a more in depth article with details of these protocols, and protocols in general, up soon!)
Which one is actually best for you? It’s hard to say and really depends on what you’re trying to do.
Currently if you’re looking to break away from Twitter to something more well moderated and functional we can say that Bluesky is the better option. It also gives you that Twitter interface without the new X crap.
If you want to create your own little community it’s better to use Mastodon. There’s far more resources to assist with creating a server and since it’s able to connect directly to things like PeerTube (a video sharing service) and Misskey (another microblog platform) you can easily create a whole network of related social media websites. OR simply pick one created by others and enjoy the company. We like Counter.Social ourselves, though there are others.
Neither of these options are actually better than the other, but they both are more capable of being a good social media choice than the majority of single operator systems. Personally we have Bluesky accounts and are considering the creation of a Mastodon server for our clients to have an easier time networking and supporting each other, as well as friends and family that are known and trusted, during these coming times.
Why are we considering this? Because we want you to have a reliable community of real people, moderated by humans you trust, with the ability to connect and work together towards a better world.