Mastodon is a social network that was born, in 2016, as a decentralized alternative to Twitter where freedom of expression prevailed and where users did not have to see more and more advertising. In its first 5 years of life, this social network gained 1 million users, a more than respectable figure, becoming a niche for all users who, for one reason or another, left Twitter. However, since the arrival of Musk, the number of users of this social network has grown exponentially, gaining 4 million more users in a matter of weeks. Mastodon is finally becoming an alternative that can shake Twitter.
But do we know exactly what the main key differences between Twitter and Mastodon are? Let’s see them.
Changes in “likes” and “retweets”
Instead of make a like to a tweet, in Mastodon what they take are the “favorites”. It is basically nothing but the same thing, with a different name. The interface, moreover, is very similar, and the icon, in the form of a star, is practically the same as the one that Twitter had before the change to the heart. A touch of nostalgia that never hurts.
Also, instead of retweet, what we do at Mastodon is «boost» or «enhance» a message, being something that helps said message reach more people, but regardless of how popular we are or not.
Instead of a server, there are “instances”
Twitter is all a single server, within which all users are located and interact with each other. In Mastodon, the social network is distributed, with anyone being able to set up their own server, or “instance,” and users can choose which instance to join.
We can sign up for the main mastodon.social, or to any other themed instance where we will find people talking about the topics that the room is about. Initially, we can only see and read users from that instance, but we can also follow people from other instances using their own ID and the instance ID.
OpenSource experience are a taste of freedom
And, of course, we cannot forget another of its main advantages: freedom. All the development of this social network is free. Mastodon is not controlled by a large company that seeks to make money in any way, but it is the users themselves who, without profit, set up their own instances and provide the service to other users.
All platform development is open. And, in its regulations we can find that freedom of expression prevails, above all, as long as Nazi issues are not dealt with or disrespect to others. Mastodon does not have global moderators, but it is the person responsible for the instance who is usually in charge of controlling controversial messages.
Also, Mastodon is ad free, and has a chronological timeline. Everything we want Twitter to be, in the end, we find here.
