I have a good friend that I have ALMOST convinced to join Mastodon. He’s considering a username still, but I keep hounding him to make his account. Despite being politically / socially left, he’s generally not got the strong feelings I have toward the pros of a decentralized social media platform. I seemingly convinced him that simply it’s different / interesting you’ll see stuff you won’t generally see on mainstream social media, and you control what you see AND it’s not ever going to have ads or be corporate-run. But I still think he’s not necessarily sold on the idea. This is my very close friend. As for people I am more casually acquainted with? I don’t think I’ll ever get anyone else to join. As someone else in the comments said, essentially, “who cares? This isn’t for those people”, to which I largely agree. I think people need to come to the fediverse on their own accord or will forever feel like it’s just some aggro tech bro space. My aforementioned friend who I describe above for what it’s worth was adamant that Mastodon is “for right wingers”. I had to politely insist while I’m sure there are far right instances, these are not what I’ve experienced AND the official Mastodon site promotes instances that are antiracist and anti-bigotry.

Anyway, my biggest wish for the fediverse is that it grows as far as more artists, bands, news sources, etc. join. I still really like it as is, but it’ll only enhance things to have more variety of sources and voices onboard.

It’s super easy to talk trash and criticize while offering zero solutions yourself. Bernie shifted the national discourse to the left and has a moral compass, whether or not you agree with him on all issues. He’s doing what he can to better the country. The left needs to coalesce and figure out real world ways to better it. I read lots of voices online in leftist spaces who talk disparagingly of Bernie and others, all while offering literally no solutions themselves. I’m sincerely hoping people on the left can unite for a positive and real world change. We need to go beyond “Bernie sucks” to tangible ways we can better this country and world. If you have a real idea, share it.