Why I left Twitter and went to Mastodon.

There are a few reasons. The first reason is Twitter has such an angry algorithm. Whenever you log in a Twitter you see a tweet by some angry person. Someone I have never heard of before. Twitter’s algorithm promotes speech that elicits responses both negative and positive. Anything that’s controversial moves up on your Twitter feed because of the algorithm. 

Another reason why I like Mastodon is that you are able to label certain posts as sensitive information or disturbing content. On Twitter it’s all just in your face. It’s not that way on Mastodon. Due to the majority of my social media time is now dedicated to Mastodon, I’ve not seen the video of the Memphis Murder. And I don't want to. 

Everyone on Mastodon has been completely nice and sane. When people would respond to me directly on Twitter, I would get a little “gun shy“ before I saw their tweet. I automatically assumed it was going to be something negative or an upsetting response to what I wrote. Often times it was. So far, direct mentions in Mastodon have been to keep the conversation going or to seek information. Not to annoy. 

Mastodon is also open source. No one can own it. It’s created by the people and for the people and is free. This has some good implications for its users. Third party applications that aggregate data and improve user experiences are more easily created since the code is open to all, specifically developers. Twitter just started “pulling the rug out from under some developers.” Things like Twitterific, Fenix and Twitterbot have all had their applications cut off at Twitter without much of an explanation. 

I also can’t support Twitter anymore. There are just too many people spreading lies. Lies that can actually hurt people and Twitter is doing nothing to police these lies now that has new ownership.

I’m not saying that Mastodon is not like Twitter; they are very similar. I’m also not saying that the things I dislike about Twitter won’t happen to Mastodon. For now, I need a timely, diverse and responsive personal learning network for my own growth. So, for now, Mastodon is that tool.