As Elon Musk continues to play around with Twitter, netizens have been swarming to the latest Twitter alternative, Mastodon. The new social networking site seems to mirror Twitter’s features but has its own personality.
Musk seems to recognize that a Twitter vs Mastodon war is brewing. He previously admitted that he is looking for a new CEO. And now, he admits that he wants someone who can breathe new life into Twitter. In simple terms, the key difference between Twitter and Mastodon is that the latter is an open source software that has led to the creation of alternative social media sites. Almost 500,000 users flocked to Mastodon after Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
Twitter vs Mastodon
Mastodon is made of users using different servers for various purposes. Individuals can choose the server they like as it has categories from journalism to games. On the other hand, Twitter is a one-stop-shop where you sign up to the site and can explore all topics under one roof.
If there was a Twitter vs Mastodon scenario on who will store your data until eternity, Twitter wins hands down. But Mastodon allows you to erase your embarrassing past and set the time for auto-deletion of posts, giving you greater control over your content.
Mastodon’s features also include content tags that provide greater clarity for readers. Labeling posts helps identify material you wish to consume while others can continue scrolling. Content warnings are a built-in feature on this Twitter alternative. On Twitter, we can search by hashtags.
Mastodon has a 500-character limit per post in comparison to Twitter’s 4,000. Most of the original Twitter users find it perfect enough to get creative within a limited space.
In a Twitter vs Mastodon debate, the open source platform gains an upper hand in customization. As it is organized on a number of different servers, the customizations options are just as many. Some communities can even ask users to hide posts behind content warnings while Twitter does not allow that level of customization.
Mastodon is not just a Twitter alternative to some but also an opportunity to create something they want and enjoy. Because it is open-source, it is fundamentally different from any other social media site currently on offer. The creators intend for it to be free and ad-free forever.
The Mastodon social media app might appear a little confusing at first but most users vouch that it is worth the trouble. The differences between Twitter and Mastodon seem to have worked in the latter’s favor.
There is no data mining or advertisements on this site, forcing you to see content you do not want. Twitter, on the other hand, has made major changes to its service, even making recommended feed a default setting.
Differences between Twitter and Mastodon are evident when it comes to verifying identities. While twitter offers the subscription service, Mastodon has no such verification policy. Also, if users want to tag someone who is part of a different community they must include the username and community handle. For example, @mulan on @mastodon.social can be tagged as @mulan@mastodon.social.
User Opinion on Mastodon features
A user by the name of Thomas G posted on Google reviews, “Unnecessarily difficult to get started. Barriers to entry. There’s a learning curve. YET excellent community and idea IF you do the work to set it up/figure it out. The developer (who’s had a recent windfall via Patreon) hopefully will put the newfound money towards optimizing the site and recovering from the lackluster reviews. The soul of Mastodon is inherently good, but it’s the details that are lacking.”
Kristy JSM gave the app four out of five stars and wrote, “I really enjoy Mastodon. I guess many people had issues setting up an account, but my experience was it was quick and simple. The only confusion for me was about servers, I didn’t know how to go about selecting a server and which was appropriate. That was confusing and why I didn’t give 5 stars. Once on, I’ve enjoyed the communities and have found some of my fav social media people, even those on different servers. No advertising which is FABULOUS!”
A vast majority of the users seem to mention their struggle with understanding Mastodon’s confusing UI/ UX. However, many are enthusiastic about the customization options and hopes that as user counts increases, the UI experience will improve.
Mastodon offers greater flexibility than twitter and does have ads, which have currently made it a crowd favorite, amongst those who have figured out how to navigate the maze.
