While Twitter is considered the most influential social network in the world, others such as Mastodon are gaining popularity among those who prefer a decentralized alternative to post their ideas and opinions.
Mastodon offers a microblogging platform with many of the same features as Twitter. However, the main difference between this platform and the social network that Elon Musk acquired at the end of October is that Mastodon is decentralized.
Its creators had the vision of democratizing social networks by building a federated, interconnected, open source network that allows its users to interact and create their own social communities with absolute freedom.
Eugen Rochko, one of the creators of the decentralized social network, told Reuters earlier this month that instant global communication is too big and important to be beyond the control of any single company or entity.
What is Mastodon and how does it work?
Unlike Twitter and other centralized social networks, Mastodon is operated by thousands of servers managed by independent users that coexist within a single environment. Each user of these servers has the ability to connect and share content and information with users of their own server, as well as users of other servers easily, thanks to its federated approach.
To ensure its decentralization, Mastodon uses a standardized open protocol called ActivityPub, which also allows users to connect to a wide range of social applications in the so-called “fediverse” using a single account.
On the other hand, like its main rival, Mastodon allows its users to set up their profile, post content, share photos and videos, create polls and hashtags and even mention users from other accounts. Mastodon also offers various privacy options for sharing content with a specific group or community.
Thousands of new users arrive on Mastodon this month
Since Elon Musk confirmed the acquisition of Twitter, many of its users have abandoned the social network to look for new alternatives, and one of them has been Mastodon. The Mastodon Users account reported that the popularity of this platform has been increasing, adding thousands of new users in recent weeks.
In total, The decentralized social network currently has more than 6,85 million registered accountsWhile this figure is still very small compared to the Twitter giant, it is a significant advance, as its number of users has multiplied exponentially this month.
Solo In the last week, the social network has welcomed more than 460.900 new users..
Source: Mastodon Users
On the other hand, through Mastodon, Rochko reported that the social network has launched a new iOS compatible version, which includes several improvements to continue extending the possibility of using this microblogging social network to the millions of people who use this operating system. Rochko also said that several former Twitter employees have begun to operate a node on his social platform, something he could not have imagined 6 years ago.
The importance of data privacy
In addition to the boom that Mastodon has been experiencing in recent weeks, the decentralized social network has also has attracted the interest of privacy-conscious lawmakers.
Ulrich Kelber, Germany's former federal commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, supports the idea of government agencies using decentralized platforms to open their social pages and share proprietary information. According to Reuters, Kelber said there is no way to ensure that centralized social media pages, such as Twitter and Facebook, comply with European privacy laws.
What's up with Twitter?
Twitter is going through a lot of changes at the moment. Now that Elon Musk has become its owner and CEO, the platform is preparing for a transformation. Twitter's plans for the end of this month include the launch, once again, of the Twitter Blue Verified service, which integrates the verification tick into accounts.
Twitter may also be looking into possibly integrating Dogecoin as a means of sending and receiving tips or micropayments alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum on the network, which has the DOGE community excited, especially given Musk's track record of support for the digital asset. Twitter is also testing New NFT features on the platform.
However, the chaos that has erupted on the social network following a wave of staff layoffs, the impersonation of verified accounts and a series of other events is causing users, businesses and advertisers to leave Twitter and seems to be giving decentralized social networks a chance.
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