Getting Started On Mastodon

Getting started on Mastodon can be a bit confusing. There is a learning curve to it, so we have created this to get you up and going on your journey. It will click at some point, if you keep at it one day it will seem as simple and obvious as email.

Background

Mastodon Is Software

Mastodon isn't a single social media website like Twitter or Facebook - it's a piece of software that anyone can install at a domain on the internet. An instance of Mastodon like mastodon.social can talk to another instance of Mastodon like mstdn.io. In the same way that a gmail account can email with a hotmail account. A user on one of these instances can follow a user on a totally different instance. They can like or reply to their posts, whether they are on the same instance or a different one.

Mastodon Is Part of the Fediverse

Taking things one step further. A Mastodon instance can also see videos from PeerTube or images from PixelFed, and a Mastodon user can follow, like, and comment on all of these. Taken as a whole all these websites is called "The Fediverse" but the big benefits of a unified open source "social media singularity" comes with a learning curve and some usability challenges that early adopters will know well.

Getting Started

Creating An Account

If you are new to Mastodon you'll need to join an instance.

On A Friends Instance

If you already have friends on Mastodon, you can sign up for their instances by going to their account in your web browser and clicking on "Create Account" in the menu on the right.

On A Public Instance

Alternatively you can join a public instance. The choice may seem overwhelming, but it doesn't actually make that much of a difference which one you sign up for.

Creating Your Own Instance

You can also create your own instance but it is a good idea to test the waters with an existing instance first. You can always migrate everything but your posts to your own instance later, once you're more familiar with how Mastodon works.

Finding People Without Algorithms

What Algorithms Do

Conventional social networks now use "smart" recommendation algorithms to feed you content they think you want to see (or they want you to see). They see what you engage with and feed you more of what holds your attention and gets you to react. This makes it easy to find new content and your posts have more reach. The problem is this ease comes at a high price. It can lead to doomscrolling, overuse, inaccurate political messaging, and hateful or threatening content.

Mastodon Is Algorithm Light

Mastodon has a low-algorithm approach similar to the early days of social networking sites. By default posts are shown chronologically and are specifically what you choose to follow. This does make it harder to find content that you are interested in.

The Consequence of a Light Algorithm

Since an algorithm isn't monitoring your behaviour and recommending you content, you're in charge of finding interesting posts. On a brand new instance, you may have to look for people you know of by searching for their profiles on the internet (not on Mastodon) to follow them. On an established instance, on the other hand, you can lean on the other users on the instance to find interesting content.

Remember: you won't see anything on your home timeline unless you follow people, so following people is key to seeing things! Also, boosting posts for visibility is good practice so that other people can also find interesting users to follow.

The Timeline

The first place to find accounts and hashtags to follow is on the timeline. On a standard Mastodon instance you have three timelines of recent posts.

• Home - Accounts you follow including posts they have boosted (reposted).
• This server - Posts from accounts on your instance.
• Other servers - Posts from accounts that people on your instance follow.

Hashtags

Hashtags are extremely important on Mastodon because they can also be followed. Following a hashtag is like casting a net to look for posts from accounts you may be interested in. These posts will then be integrated into your home timeline.

Finding hashtags

On the explore tab, you can view trending hashtags that your instance knows about. The website Feditags monitors the current tags being used across the fediverse and is a great resource for finding new tags to follow.

When you see posts that you are interested in check them for hashtags and follow ones that you are interested in.

Posting with Hashtags

You should also post with hashtags to return the favour and help people find you. If you put hashtags at the end of your post, they won't show up in full size or disrupt the flow of your post.

Mastodon App

Some Mastodon apps have a layer of recommendation built on top of them. Installing one of these may also help.