I am not a fan of social media platforms. I was a fan many years ago when there was potential for social media and external websites with Open Graph and Twitter Cards that started way back in 2010. These days, most platforms either ignore or minimize external websites as the goal is to keep people using the platform and not to stray to an external site on the interwebs. Most platforms now have an internal website browser where you stay in the application, and the website is viewable, but this protocol is dying.
A good number of social media platforms are self-contained due to control. These are self-contained platforms where they only communicate internally. There are a handful of new social media platforms that are within the Fediverse. The Fediverse is a collection of platforms that communicate with each other through a common protocol. They are free and open source, and you can have your own instance on your servers if you wish. There is less owner control of these platforms as they are decentralized.
A good number of social media platforms have ways to find out who you are. They can use your device information and IP addresses. If you do things with your account that the platform doesn't like, they can limit your reach and will continue to do so if you create a new account or page. You would need to use a new network with new devices (computer and phone) with new contact information to be a unique new account. No one has time for this.
The Fediverse does have its issues, but it is gaining momentum with better user experiences depending on the platform.
Without further ado, as I like to ado, here is my review of social media platforms based on my experience.
FACEBOOK (META: Centralized) *
Facebook is for old people, which is true as users have been on this platform for over 20 years. I have had several pages in the past and have violated their community standards due to a satire account. These were not classified as parody/satire back when FB implemented these standards. My account was flagged several times, and it hasn't recovered since. I recently opened a new page and didn't invite any friends to see the growth of my page. So far, there are 0 followers after many posts. My account is dead on FB.
INSTAGRAM (META: Centralized) **
Another platform owned by META. They bought the platform back in 2012 and with FB, my accounts are dead there too. I did invite many friends on that platform, but I haven't had any new unique followers with my content. This is the big problem with centralized platforms as they can easily weed you out.
PINTEREST (SEVERAL OWERS: Centralized) *
This is another platform where I got into trouble with my parody/satire site. I really can't believe I got in trouble for showing an image of a guy sunning his ass with the title "Perineum Sunning Cures Covid." You don't see the guy's asshole but the silly position to sun your butthole. I have been off this platform for several years but recently opened a new account. 60 posts with 0 followers. This account was closed. I don't need Pinterest.
LINKEDIN (MICROSOFT: Centralized) *
Microsoft has done a great job at killing this platform. I used this place to obtain employment a few times, but the last few years has been a joke. I did have a post that went semi viral where it received 40k impressions, but it was for something stupid. Any important posts were sent right to the shredder. How can I have 800 connections but only 5 see a post? My content must be shit.
X: (ELON: Centralized) *
Hate much? I still post positively and have my 11 followers to thank.
BLUESKY (BLUESKY: MIX) ***
Bluesky was my introduction to the Fediverse but they still uses centralized servers. There is a mix here. The first platform where my posts reached end users. People are following and commenting. However, there is a strong resentment in current politics. Bluesky is the opposite of X / Truth Social. I like to stay away from politics.
MASTODON: (SEVERAL OWNERS: Decentralized) ****
Mastodon has been awesome for my websites and applications. A platform that embraces my posts and content. I am still gaining with followers but having my content viewable across many different platforms is cool.
PIXELFED: (SEVERAL OWNERS: Decentralized) *
I joined PixelFed as I wanted it to be a main point for only one of my sites. I post many different types of content on Mastodon and wanted to use PixelFed for just one. It started out great but then one night, my profile was gone. I have tried to get it back without success and have contacted customer support but have heard nothing back. This is where bad user experiences come from. There is no help nor do they care to help. I guess I don't need PixelFed.
Overall, I have more difficult time with centralized platforms vs decentralized platforms. The Fediverse is gaining momentum with Mastodon, but the others need to catch up. PixelFed will not replace Instagram with this type of support and bad user experiences.
I didn't add a TikTok review as I don't use it currently. I don't have any video content to post.
My focus point is my website. I can lose access and my content on these platforms, but I will always have my website where the content lives. Social media platforms are used as an extension, not the main source and this is a reason centralized platforms have an issue with my content. I thrive on Decentralized platforms and will continue to grow if these platforms don't change. The problem is that they always do.
