I read something recently that gave me food for thought. An alternative has to be 10x better for people to switch; and the core experience is what convinces people, not cool extra features.
I don't know how universally applicable it is, but I wonder how Mastodon stacks up in that. Personally I think it's 10x better, but is it really? Or more importantly, are we communicating clearly that it is?
@Gargron "10x better" sounds like BS, to me, because you can't actually quantify relative quality like that in any sort of measurable way.
Taking the question as "enough of an improvement for people to switch", it depends a lot on two things. a) the use case of the person who might be switching, and b) how steep of a learning curve they're willing to go through to give another service a chance. (1/2)
@InspectorCaracal Yes, but it's like when the SV crowd talks about the 10x developer or whatever. It's unquantifiable, but at the same time you get an idea of what is meant. That being said you're right, this may not be applicable to Mastodon. For all we know, people would use literal garbage as long as enough famous people were also using it.
@oct2pus @InspectorCaracal 😔 jailed for power user crimes
@Gargron @InspectorCaracal i know this is a big commitment but i really do recommend a new and/or alternative UI at some point.
@oct2pus @Gargron @InspectorCaracal I strongly agree. The UI of mastodon is extremely intimidating.
@hinterwaeldler
Fourth'd - everybody I've managed to coax into using Mastodon disliked the Tweetdeck UI and, though neither them converted to active users so far, the two people I further coaxed into installing Mastalab greatly preferred the 1-column mobile UI, as do I. There's nothing wrong with the Tweetdeck UI for those who use and like it, but new users who never used Tweetdeck are like "wut."
@oct2pus @Gargron @InspectorCaracal
That's uncharitable. It's easier to find people who have similar hobbies or interests on Twitter because it has a larger userbase.
@InspectorCaracal i mean i just really don't think that way personally and i don't really get the argument...you can continue using both websites at once its not like you can commit only to one social media site.
i just made new friends and called it a day
-, digital natives Show more
@oct2pus interesting statement. Indeed the tweetdeck-alike UI isn't as good as it could be.
@Gargron @InspectorCaracal the immediate reason people don't try mastodon in my experience is entirely the UI is incredibly intimidating (its based on something intended for power users).
(the reason they don't stay when i do invite them is because 'their friends aren't here' which is pretty nebulous to me)