Mastodon’s latest update makes it easier to follow the news
Lists in the Android app are a small but handy feature.
Mastodon, the decentralized Twitter / X alternative, is adding lists to its Android app, according to a blog post from CEO and founder Eugen Rochko. Lists are available as part of the most recent Mastodon for Android update.
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I'd really just prefer a recommendation algorithm. I tried curating it for months and I rarely go on mastodon. Because I'm either seeing 100000 posts that I'm not interested in to find one decent one, or reading posts from the very few people I know I like and closing the app in 2 minutes. I'm honestly not a fan of the purely chronological approach.
An algo requires analyzing user data, which is exactly what the fediverse doesn't want. There are front ends that surface popular Mastodon posts, but that's about it and that's how they like it.
If it's based on what I like and repost, and recommends things that people with similar likes and reposts enjoy, that information is already out there. No extra data collection required. Doesn't need to be mandatory either, just a separate feed.
Fediverse could absolutely do better on just that data, though I do want to note the really effective (or addictive) algorithms for TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, etc. work on a hell of a lot more data than that. Not just what you directly interacted with, but did you even just click on the link? Did you go to the comment section? How long were you in the comment section? What comments did you expand? When you follow a link or look at an image, how long till you go to the next post?
Like I said, there are ways to do better with what we have, but the "ideal" behavior is secretly fueled by a whole lot of extra data collection that gets distributed everywhere.
Oh I know, and I fully agree with getting rid of that. I'm not looking for ideal, I'm just looking for SOMETHING better than "oh you aren't finding interesting content? Subscribe to hashtags that get spammed with BS by thousands of bots per day. Or search some obscure websites for 'trendy' mastodon users to follow. Or y'know what, this instance probably isn't for you, research a bunch of other instances and see if something works better."
The experience right now seems like one, to me, that a very small niche of people would enjoy. And that's fine if they want to stay that way, just wish there was something better. And I think it'll come with time.
Then you should make that!
I can't, given I don't have the time or webdev experience. So I'll comment about features I think would be nice in the currently most popular fediverse twitter clone.
They just implemented search and you have to opt in. There's a value system in place that may change over time (many things do!), but that ain't happening any time soon. It took a huge push to even allow search.
which is exactly what the fediverse doesn't want
Did the fediverse tell you that itself?
There's no single vision of the fediverse. There's no arbiter of truth on the fediverse. So count me in the camp of people who would absolutely love an app on the fediverse that tailors content to me.
That's right, there is no single vision. That's why there's so many different front ends. I currently pay $5/month to 4 different ones cause I like where they're going. Which do you support?
So obviously we're talking about it and you want one and there isn't one. Why do you think that is? Do you think that maybe projects and protocols "speak" direction by the implementation? Do you think that the fact there's a bunch of front ends and apps for Lemmy and Mastodon and all the rest and NONE of them have this feature might be a clue that the fediverse is trying to tell you something?
No, I mean, I guess "the fediverse" didn't come right out and say it to me, but I guess I can read between the lines.
But I'm super excited to see your investment in what you want! Post back here with what you come up with.
Everytime I say this, I get gaslit into being told it's actually way better this way! It's boring as hell lol.
Same. And I really gave it a chance, but it's just not better unless you're using it as a small chronological feed of people on your local instance. Which I know some people enjoy. I know interesting people and posts are on there, I know there are hilarious people on there, because I follow some of them. But the vast majority of them I discovered by random chance, it took a long time, and I'm still too bored by the app to bother opening it. Not to mention, if some important news is trending, I don't see it right away. Which is something I'd always valued twitter for. I could pretty much be "in the know" within seconds of opening the app.
The people are there, the content is there, there's 100% a discoverability problem
The trending content was at least interesting on Twitter too. With Mastodon, there's only one specific one that is almost entirely dominated with the exact same political opinions. I'm so tired of the same politics being entirely my feed.
Lol exactly. It's often like the same exact 4 accounts on that trending page too. And it's always these topics:
It's just politics and Linux. Which is fine if you like that, I like Linux, but not this much. Being completely overwhelmed by political takes was part of why I left Twitter, with the blue checks being boosted. I'm so tired of seeing that same dude in a suit with a white beard removed about [insert today's controversial political topic] every time I open it. It's like he has residency on the page.
Fediverse in general really needs to adopt the multireddit approach to feed categories, or in other worlds let us group them properly. Sometimes I want to see news, sometimes I want to hear from some content creators and other times I might want to see what my friends are up to. Keeping it all in one feed (even worse if it's just chronological) is just a terrible way of handling it.
Dunno if lists are quite that but maybe we're finally moving towards it at least.