Mastodon is just one of several platforms that have gained new attention as some Twitter users search for alternatives. There is also Post.news, Hive Social and Spill. Casey Fiesler, an associate professor of information sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder, says many new social platforms experience fleeting popularity, spurred by a catalyst like the Twitter saga. Some disappear, but others gradually transform into larger networks.
“It’s very difficult to launch, because what makes social media successful is that’s where your friends are,” Fiesler says. “This is one of the reasons why platform migrations tend to happen more gradually. As more people you know join a platform, you are more likely to join it.
People who created a Mastodon account last year but stopped using them might come back as more users join. And other events might push people to give Mastodon another spin. Twitter announced last month that it would no longer support third-party apps. A few days later, the developers of one of these applications, Tweetbot, announcement that they had created Ivory, a similar client for using Mastodon. After Twitter recently announced that it would start charging a fee for an API, the developers behind many top bots have decided has turn them off.
Eugen Rochko, the founder of Mastodon, did not respond to an email inquiring about the platform’s growth and the decline in the number of active users.
For some, the end of the wave brings welcome relief. Rodti MacLeary’s instance, mas.to, had 67,000 active users as of mid-December. By February, that number was down to 40,000. That’s still a lot more than before the Twitter takeover, but it’s manageable. The server bill costs about £1,000 a month (about $1,200), but enough people have donated to cover it, MacLeary says.
Mastodon is not the same as before: there are more traditional voices mixed with counterculture. But in the calm following last fall’s chaos, administrators can return to enjoying what they loved about social media, without the backing of voracious advertising companies.
“I loved Mastodon for fun. For a little while, Mastodon became a job. I came close to burnout at the end of last year,” says MacLeary. “The figures are decreasing after the sharp increase, but they are stable. The service is profitable. We have help with moderation. It’s back to being Mastodon for fun.
