Looking for a social network that offers state-of-the-art privacy protection, decentralized hosting, and an open-source platform? Mastodon promises all of these features and more. So here is this complete guide to help you get to know this cutting-edge technology from the inside out and to include it in your social media strategy.
We’ll answer your questions about Mastodon’s safety, run you through its setup process, offer guidance on how to use and customize it, use apps compatible with it, investigate its social dynamics, and dive into its excellent features, including shared inboxes and hashtag search filters.
Contents
What is Mastodon?
Mastodon is a revolutionary social media platform created by Eugen Rochko in October 2016. It’s a non-profit organization that strives to provide a decentralized network for global social networking, offering users autonomy and decision-making power over how the platform’s functions. Unlike other social media platforms, Mastodon comprises thousands of independent servers, each organized around a specific interest, topic, or industry, so people are not locked into one company’s control.
Mastodon is free and open-source software, which means anyone can use it to create their server or join an existing one. What’s great about it is never having ads pushed on you or profiles favored above others; plus, you can move between different servers with your own rules and regulations.
The social media platform has grown rapidly, now having millions of monthly active users and hundreds of thousands of posts per day, making it seem like a less toxic version of Twitter. As part of the “Fediverse” community, Mastodon connects its users worldwide while providing them with unique content from multiple servers, creating an overall safe experience for its members.
How does Mastodon work?
Now you know that Mastodon is made of independent servers owned by individual owners. Unlike other networks, it’s not controlled by one company or organization, meaning each server has its own rules and regulations.
On Mastodon, you can follow people like you do on Twitter and engage in conversations with folks from around the world thanks to the ActivityPub protocol, which allows different servers to interoperate with each other creating a unified federated timeline.
But that’s not all! Each server is moderated by volunteers who set their own rules and protocols – so before joining any server, read through the guidelines carefully and hit Accept if they suit your needs.
And lastly, Mastodon allows you to customize your experience even further: choose topics that interest you most – locality, shared interests or specific careers – and get content tailored just for you.
Servers
Mastodon servers are the backbone of the social network. They are independent of each other and owned by individuals or non-profits. Each server has its rules and protocols – some may require content warnings while others don’t.
The differences between Mastodon servers are minimal; they’re just like different addresses on an envelope. This means that users can follow anyone from one account, no matter which server they’re on.
Mastodon servers provide freedom of choice for users, giving them control over their experience. They offer various rules and protocols so everyone can find what works best for them. Plus, with one account you can follow people across all servers. But I’m sure you know that by now.
Timelines
When users join a server, they’re welcomed with a home feed that contains all the posts from people they follow. This is known as the local timeline. It’s like other social media app feeds, such as Twitter, but without notifications from other accounts.
The federated timeline is where Mastodon shines. Here users can see posts from people on different servers, which is not possible on platforms like Twitter. This opens up conversations and answers to questions across the world! You don’t need multiple accounts to follow someone on another server.
Moderation
Mastodon also has a powerful and secure platform for social networking. It allows users to flag posts that violate the server’s rules and block people who are being abusive or harassing so you can feel safe while using it. Submissions to be featured on the official Mastodon page are also reviewed manually, ensuring only quality content is shared.
Moderators can manage the security of their spaces individually and the users can also report any unusual behavior or harassment to the server owners who will take action. For example, they can freeze the spammers’ accounts in order to stop them from posting or silence their actions to hide them from the rest of the users. In serious cases, they can even suspend the account, resulting in its deletion.
If a user is spamming persistently and creates new accounts to join a community, their IP can be checked by a moderator and banned as a result. This way, they won’t be able to come back and harass others on the server.
Mastodon also offers an option to filter out unwanted keywords and phrases. If you don’t want to see people talking about certain topics, you can simply ban them in the settings and never worry about them again.
How to create a Mastodon account
1. Go to the Mastodon website: Start by opening your web browser and typing in “mastodon.social” or “joinmastodon.org” in the address bar.
2. Click on “create account” button to join the community. Don’t worry, you won’t need a compass or a treasure map to find it.
3. Choose a server and preferred language, also called an “instance”, that you want to join. Think of it like choosing a house in a neighborhood. You can choose a server based on its theme, rules, and community.
4. Create your account: Once you’ve chosen a server, click on the “Sign up” button and fill in the required fields, such as your username, email address, and password. When selecting your password, ensure it is strong and unique, combining uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters for enhanced security. You can also choose an avatar (profile picture) and write a bio to introduce yourself.
5. Verify your email address: After you’ve created your account, Mastodon will send you an email to verify your email address. Don’t worry; it’s not a test. Just click on the verification link, and you’re good to go!
A few extra tips after creating your Mastodon account:
- Explore Mastodon. Congratulations, you’ve now created your Mastodon account! Take some time to explore the different features and options, such as following other users, creating toots (Mastodon’s version of tweets), and joining communities (called “instances”).
- Don’t be a spammer. While Mastodon is a place where you can express yourself freely, remember to respect the community guidelines and the other users. Don’t spam or feed the trolls; nobody likes that.
- Have fun. Mastodon is a friendly and creative community where you can connect with people from all over the world, share your interests and ideas, and have fun. So, let your imagination run wild, and enjoy the Mastodon ride!
Benefits of using Mastodon
Mastodon is a revolutionary social network offering users the freedom to customize their experience and set their own rules. Unlike other tech companies, Mastodon is free and non-profit, which means no ads or monthly active user data points here.
Mastodon social also has plenty of features that make it stand out from the crowd. For example, its content moderation system gives users control over what they see on their feeds. You can restrict certain accounts from showing up on your timeline. You can do that by opening the drop-down menu when opening a certain profile.
You can also choose to hide an entire server. However, you will lose all of the followers gained from that server and you won’t be seeing any of the posts or comments made in that space on your feed. Thanks to this feature, you won’t have to see any unwanted content.
But most importantly, having your own Mastodon server can be a powerful marketing tool. You can host your own content and reach more people than ever before – perfect for market research or affiliate marketing opportunities. It’s also great for building relationships with like-minded individuals in your community.
Open Source
Mastodon is open-source software that’s free and non-profit. This means users can customize their Mastodon instance with themes, plugins, and other features they find useful. Developers benefit from it too. They can create new features and improve existing ones without worrying about monetization. Plus, users can report bugs, suggest new features, and contribute to the code base – making it easier for the platform to grow in popularity. But why is open-source software so beneficial?
Decentralization
Decentralization is a feature of Mastodon that gives users complete control over their own servers. Posts are replicated from one server to another, meaning the platform can’t be terminated or removed by a company or individual – making it reliable and long-term. But what does this mean for users?
It grants them more power over their data and time on the platform. It makes it easier to access Mastodon from anywhere in the world, join any server regardless of location, find content they’re interested in, join communities they identify with, and create content warnings, all while maintaining privacy. In short, decentralization gives control back to users.
Decentralization is seen as a positive feature because it means that Mastodon is less vulnerable to censorship or control by a single entity. It also allows for more diverse and varied communities to exist on the platform, as each instance can have its own unique culture and rules.
How to use Mastodon social as a business
When it comes to advertising on Mastodon, companies should brace themselves for some pushback – and finding influencers of the same size as those found on other networks? That can be an even bigger challenge. Mastodon is great for discovering new markets but difficult to advertise on due to resistance and lack of influencers.
So how can you use this social media platform if you’re running a business? Here are some ideas:
- Market Research. Market research is a crucial step for any business looking to stay on top of the latest trends. And Mastodon is a fantastic tool for doing just that! It gives you access to a huge and diverse audience, with real-time interaction and data from multiple sources. This provides priceless insights into customer behavior and preferences, offering the edge they need in today’s competitive landscape.
- Affiliate Marketing and Sponsorship. Affiliate marketing and sponsorships are the to-go strategies for monetization on social media. Affiliate marketing allows companies to promote their products and services, while sponsorships let them pay servers to host ad campaigns. But like a stubborn mule, Mastodon doesn’t serve ads – there’s no one-stop shop for “doing marketing” here. Finding the right server can be a tricky task that requires time and effort.
- Community Outreach. Mastodon is a great way for businesses to connect with their target audience. Companies can create accounts, post content, join servers related to their interests and engage with users. And searching for other accounts with similar interests and following them opens the possibility of building meaningful relationships with your audience.
How to build a successful brand on Mastodon
In order to build a successful brand on Mastodon, it is important to follow a few basic but important steps, all explained below:
Make your profile pop
Choose a username and profile picture that represents your brand and make it easy for people to find and recognize you. Then, fill out your bio with relevant info about what you’re all about and link to any other social media accounts or websites. Oh, and don’t forget to add industry-related hashtags so you can connect with like-minded folks!
Post content that people love
If you want your business to get noticed on Mastodon, you need to post content that resonates with the community. Share interesting stories, funny memes, or even take a poll to get feedback from your audience. And don’t forget to use hashtags to make sure your posts show up in relevant searches.
Mastodon social for businesses wrap up
With no pesky ads or content restrictions, it’s a breath of fresh air. And for businesses, there are plenty of opportunities to do market research, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and community outreach programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s so great about Mastodon?
Mastodon is great for users looking to break away from the centralization of social networking platforms. It offers a decentralized network composed of individual servers that allow users to join and interact with other members regardless of their server.
Unlike many other services, Mastodon is ads-free and provides a safe and secure space for users to share ideas and connect with like-minded people.
What is Mastodon used for?
Mastodon is an open-source, decentralized social networking platform. It provides an alternative to large, centralized services like Twitter, offering individuals a greater degree of control over their data.
Users can create servers and follow topics and other users across different servers, allowing them to connect with a larger community of users.
Paulina is a digital marketing professional with expertise in SEO content writing. Passionate about aiding businesses in their online growth and targeting their audiences. With a sharp learning ability, Paulina quickly grasps complex concepts. Her exceptional communication skills allow her to simplify intricate ideas into easily understandable terms.
