Going viral is overrated* - a mini-thread
(*prays this post doesn’t end up on Explore)
Yesterday one of my toots (about the need to bust the myth that there is no engagement on the Fediverse) ironically went viral.
It was the top post on Explore for hours and ended up getting 255 boosts, 494 likes and dozens of comments (as of now).
And you know what? It made me realize that
there’s something beautiful in staying small
because you can build genuine connections with others… (cont’)
2.
When one of your posts goes big, you are inundated with comments by strangers - super smart comments here on the Fediverse - and it’s so hard to reply to everyone…
I’m still playing catch-up.
This is frustrating and it makes you feel guilty - because a stranger took the time to write a long, thoughtful response to something you had posted.
You feel rude… and the constant steam of new comments makes the task of replying Sisyphean.
(Cont’)
3.
I never had that problem before and I have a newfound appreciation for toots that “stay small” - because you can genuinely engage with others that way.
I have been learning so much on the Fediverse thanks to the generosity of others… and I’ve enjoyed getting to know many of you here.
These kinds of genuine interactions are impossible when you have an avalanche of comments coming at you every few minutes.
(Cont’)
4/4
So small is beautiful
and those who complained to me yesterday that they saw little engagement: that can be a good thing! You can build real friendships that way. Organically.
So, to conclude: visibility is a privilege that I am grateful for, but there’s real value in staying small, too, because you can build beautiful relationships that way — without all the noise
Addendum: dear people of the Fediverse, you were NOT supposed to make *this* thread go viral too
As always:
- thank you for your thoughtful comments
- RIP my mentions
- I’ll try my best to reply!
@_elena The calm and clarity of a timeline where boosts are hidden and one only reads the thoughts of those one chose to follow. How little time it takes, freeing me to move on with my day, having caught up with those with whom I decided to rely on.
@albertcardona @_elena But hiding boosts may mean you miss out on something or some interesting because the subject of the boost is outside your sphere.
I’m still considering if it’s an all round good thing to do.
@missingbrighton @_elena One switches back on boosts in the same way one sits down at a TV to see what's on.
@albertcardona @_elena True, it’s not permanent.
@missingbrighton @albertcardona @_elena I often hide them, but switch to viewing only boosts occasionally, to catch up on wider goings-on. It makes my consumption feel a bit more intentional.
@_elena thank you for this thread. Having had a few high-popularity toots myself, this matches my experience well.
When my follower count reached a certain level I've noticed that when I respond in a thread, especially a thread that happens to be controversial and polarizing, that might bring a bunch other people to also reply – potentially leading to a pile-on of sorts.
So I switched my default post visibility to "Quiet public". That helped a lot, and felt like the responsible thing to do.
@crittero exactly.
In other words, if someone is following you, but is not mentioned in your reply, they won't get that reply in their home timeline.
There is one exception, I believe, which is when they are following both you and the author of the toot you are responding to. Then it will pop in their timeline, apparently.
@rysiek @_elena : having myself quite a few viral toots (with one having more than 2500 reshares), I must add something about virality:
It disappears as quickly as it appeared. And, in 99,9% of the cases, that doesn’t change anything in your life (except making you thirsty for more virality if you are that kind of person).
Ok, I must make a strong exception for the viral tweet (10k retweets) that allowed me to meet my wife ;-)
@_elena this thread triggered so many interesting reflections on the nature of our online social networks and how we consider it normal for companies to share these spaces as if they were individuals and, even worse, how the infrastructure is built around their needs of influence and monetization and how that deeply influenced our digital identities and, consequently, our real identities (if there are even any boundaries left between those).
@_elena Small IS beautiful
https://ethicalrevolution.co.uk/amazon-alternatives/?ebs-path=%2Fbooks%2Fm%2Fol%3AOL1622912W-is%3A9780099225614-is%3A9780061997761%2Fsmall-is-beautiful-e-f-schumacher&ebs-authors=E.+F.+Schumacher&ebs-cover=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ethicalbooksearch.com%2Fimg%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fcovers.openlibrary.org%252Fb%252Folid%252FOL5477466M-M.jpg%26sig%3Db5469bc6e577eb31b6cdd79519172ba70bbf2f47a28a94a909b4affec3afb37c%26width%3D150&ebs-title=Small+Is+Beautiful
@_elena btw that's true for small servers especially... get off mastodon.social it's a too-big-to-properly-moderate instance, and eugen ignores all good advice (like breaking up the too-big instances)... Yes definitely, small is beautiful. Scale is a bullshit capitalist trap.
@_elena always good to have an instance to hide.
@_elena yeah, genuinely asking to make it not go viral was probably counterproductive. That only works if you're trying a double-cross and use that as an excuse to make things go viral 8-D
@_elena Well, stop posting smart stuff people like then.
@_elena I have been saying that I am not a departament store, I don’t need engagement, I need interaction