Because famous figures or organizations are the primary draw for the mainstream audience over random users. And many use it because they themselves hope to use the huge platform to promote or try to become an influencer.
Yep, without actual big content creators the platform is just randos talking about their private life. That's not inherently a bad thing but Mastodon often feels to me more like Facebook for software developers than something like Twitter where'd if actually find interesting new people to follow or art/music/games to enjoy.
Lack of proper discovery tools and algorithm is also a big issue.
Threads was able to be pushed through other large commercial platforms, and onboarding was trivial for anyone coming through the portal.
Mastodon lacks that kind of exposure and the onboarding process of choosing an instance makes it feel more confusing.
As a result, Threads starts off with a network effect that is quite a bit more advanced than Mastodon’s. It has more high profile users that maintain an active account. It also claims to want to join the fediverse, which makes users think that they can easily onboard with Mastodon in the near future.
I'd bet most of the people on theads aren't looking for a "Twitter alternative" they just clicked on the button in the Instagram app. The rest are lost journos and clout chasers.
I don't get it
If people want a twitter alternative, why don't they just go to mastodon instead of threads?
Because famous figures or organizations are the primary draw for the mainstream audience over random users. And many use it because they themselves hope to use the huge platform to promote or try to become an influencer.
Yep, without actual big content creators the platform is just randos talking about their private life. That's not inherently a bad thing but Mastodon often feels to me more like Facebook for software developers than something like Twitter where'd if actually find interesting new people to follow or art/music/games to enjoy.
Lack of proper discovery tools and algorithm is also a big issue.
You badly underestimate the proportion of people who have never heard of Mastadon.
Mastodon seems to be more confusing than Threads or Bluesky for most users
I’d guess there’s a few reasons.
Threads was able to be pushed through other large commercial platforms, and onboarding was trivial for anyone coming through the portal.
Mastodon lacks that kind of exposure and the onboarding process of choosing an instance makes it feel more confusing.
As a result, Threads starts off with a network effect that is quite a bit more advanced than Mastodon’s. It has more high profile users that maintain an active account. It also claims to want to join the fediverse, which makes users think that they can easily onboard with Mastodon in the near future.
I'd bet most of the people on theads aren't looking for a "Twitter alternative" they just clicked on the button in the Instagram app. The rest are lost journos and clout chasers.