Tag: fediverse

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From web to client: The Mastodon experience

Mastodon is an open-source social networking platform for microblogging. While it has a web-based interface, many users prefer to use a client to access Mastodon. Clients are programs or applications that allow users to access and interact with the Mastodon platform from various devices, including computers, tablets, and phones. I moved to Fosstodon in 2019, and it has become my primary social networking site.

Web Interface

Like most users, I started using the Mastodon web app by pointing my browser at joinmastodon.org. I found an instance to join, created an account, and logged in. I used the web app to read, like, and reblog posts from my favorite Mastodon users. I also replied to posts without ever having to install anything locally. It was a familiar experience based on other social media websites.

The disadvantage of the web app is that it lacks the richness of a dedicated Mastodon client. Clients provide a more organized and streamlined interface, which makes it easier to navigate, manage notifications, and interact with others in the fediverse. Clients also make it easier to find and generate useful hashtags, which are essential to sharing your message in a non-algorithm-driven environment.

Mastodon is open source, though, so you have options. In addition to the web apps, there are a number of Mastodon clients. According to Mastodon, there are nearly sixty clients for Mastodon available for desktop, tablet or phone.

Clients

Each client app has its own unique features, UI design, and functionality. But they all ultimately provide access to the Mastodon platform:

I started my client journey with the Mastodon app for iOS. The app is easy to use and is open source. The app is written in Swift. It is the official iOS app for Mastodon.

I moved to MetaText which is no longer being developed. I liked the Metatext interface. It made interacting with Mastodon easier on my iPhone. Metatext is open source with a GPL v3 license.

I am currently using Ice Cubes which is my favorite Mastodon app for both iOS and MacOS. Ice Cubes has everything I was looking for in a Mastodon client. Crafted using SwiftUI technology exclusively, this application boasts impressive speed, minimal resource consumption, as well as user-friendly functionality. It features an intuitive design framework on iOS devices like iPhone/iPad and MacOS systems.

My favorite desktop Linux app for Mastodon is Tuba. It is available as a Flatpak. It’s intuitive and easy to use. Tuba is open source with a GPL v3 license.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

How is Mastodon changing your reading habits? What are your favorite apps? Be sure to comment.

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The Fediverse is rich

I am really enjoying the Fediverse and what it has to offer. That doesn’t just apply to the instance that happen to belong to either. There are so many rich conversations from all over. I am interested in open source in the broadest sense of that word which includes Linux of course which is my daily driver. I am also interested in open education and open educational resources, Python, libraries, educational technology, open organizations, Creative Commons and more. I have found all of that here and the best part of this experience is that it is not driven by an algorithm. This morning I was thinking how grateful I am that I was literally driven here against my will. I haven’t left Twitter entirely but my focus has definitely shifted. If you are new to Mastodon as I am and you are looking for help I suggest you follow Fedi.Tips.

If you are new to the Fediverse I suggest you take a look at this help for beginners. Consider following the Fediverse group which is a community dediated to Fediverse news and discussion.

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Welcome to the Fediverse

Three years ago when I first signed up for a Fosstodon account I really had no comprehension of what a wonderful universe of learning I was getting involved with. Fast forward three years and the impending erosion or collapse of the birdsite and I’m reevaluating my use of social media. I had forgotten how great it was to be with folks who posted interesting content and were more interested and engaged with what I was sharing too. I’m still a neophyte in this federated blogging world but already I can appreciate the richness of what is offered.

I am only beginning to appreciate what it means to be federated and to enjoy what the fediverse has to offer. I spent much of a good deal of my work years in public education and while I was there I worked as a school district technology leader and a classroom teacher who specialized in keyboarding, coding, staff development and digital citizenship. In addition to that I worked as a system administrator for Windows, LInux and LInux servers some of which existed as virtual machines. That unique mix of teacher and technology administrator left me with a broad skill set that I still enjoy today.

The district that I worked didn’t always have robust funding and that sent me looking for innovative solutions for teachers and students. Discussion outside of the classroom and insights from friends led me to consider Linux and open source as viable alternatives for education. I have found in the past almost twenty-five years that open source can provide answers and opportunities not found in proprietary solutions. WordPress is one of those open source gifts. When our school was struggling to afford software for our students and staff that provided a common platform for discussion I saw WordPress as that medium and I continue to believe that WordPress could easily be used in many PK12 classroom and could easily be used in most educational settings to provide an inexpensive and flexible program for home and school interaction.

I see some of those same possibilities with Mastodon and the federated blogging that it supports. At this point Mastodon has not seemed to make as many inroads into PK12 as it has into higher education. I hope that can change. I am recommending it to all of my personal learning network who are still mostly stuck at the birdsite. How can we get the word out to those folks in a way that doesn’t disparage what they are currently using. I think it’s possible to use Twitter and Mastodon. I don’t see it as an either/or but a both/and universe.