The Microblog Wars!!!

Are you using X, Threads, Mastodon, or Bluesky?

Who cares?

I mean who goes on a microblog like X for example, and think's to their self hm... That was a very interesting diverse nuanced perspective. I'm glad I took the time out of my life to sit down and read that.

Almost all tweets can be summarized in 5 simple words: "I am right you're wrong."

It's even worse when it comes to group/herd/tribal behavior. Regardless of the platform, you have people in their own toxic bubbles screaming horrible things to cheerful roaring crowds. I really dislike that and I don't want to be apart of that culture.

We live in very interesting times... Maybe humanity is finally learning how horrible these applications are for us psychologically... Or maybe we still need a couple more lessons first.

RSS Feed Integration

I going to be honest, the only reason I use microblogs is to get updates from academics, scientists, researchers, engineers, and organizations through RSS Feeds, because those are the only people I would like to hear from.

RSS Feeds are nice, you don't need an account and you can get their updates right away. You don't even have to browse the platform. All the posts just show up in your RSS reader.

As far as the Fediverse goes, I am divided on it. I kind of like it, but then again I don't. I don't know how to feel about it. It's kind of cool for microblogs though. I LOVE some of the themes and customization that it brings from Mastodon to Misskey to Firefish. I think it's actually really cool.

X/Twitter
  • Not Open Source
  • Not Public
  • Owned By A Billionaire
  • Not Apart Of The Fediverse
  • Walled Off
  • RSS Feed Integration Is Hard To Set/Messed Up
  • Good Search Integration

I don't think I need to say anything. With the current CEO it pretty much speaks for itself. Still though, popularity and brand recognition are a hell of a thing. I'm glad it's dying, even if it's slow.

Mastodon
  • Open Source
  • Public
  • Not Owned By A Billionaire
  • Apart Of The Fediverse
  • Not Walled Off
  • RSS Feed Integration
  • Hard To Search/Find People

I love the fact that Mastodon is open source and is a public entity. I also LOVE RSS Feeds. The fact that so many academics, engineers, researchers, and scientists have moved to Mastodon makes me like it even more. The only main issue I had with it was the ability to find people/content. I think this is being improved upon and worked on constantly. Still though it's an issue with decentralized systems.

Threads
  • Not Open Source
  • Not Public
  • Owned By A Billionaire
  • Apart Of The Fediverse?!
  • Walled Off
  • RSS Feed Integration Is Hard To Set/Messed Up
  • Good Search Integration

Meta is a garbage company. Zuck is generally a horrible person who will exploit all your personal data for business. It's what made him so successful in the first place, so why would he stop now? Twitter was nice because it wasn't closed off, and it was easy to browse. Trying to make it some closed off system where you need a god-damn Instagram account to look at anything defeats the entire purpose. I hate the design and I think it's cringe as hell. A bunch of celebrities and corporations talking about how they are saving the world by switching from Elon to Zuck... Yeah, no thanks... Even worse than X...

Bluesky
  • Open Source
  • Not Public
  • Not Owned By A Billionaire
  • Not Apart Of The Fediverse
  • Not Walled Off
  • RSS Feed Integration
  • Good Search Integration

Bluesky is new on the market. I mean it took them forever to get up and running, but I think the wait was worth it. I actually really like its design a hell of a lot more than X or Threads. It has support for RSS Feeds and it isn't walled off. It's perfect if you want a more centralized system and you don't like the decentralized nature of Mastodon. For people that want the old version of Twitter back this is slowly getting better and better.

Firefish
  • Open Source
  • Public
  • Not Owned By A Billionaire
  • Apart Of The Fediverse
  • Not Walled Off
  • RSS Feed Integration
  • Hard To Search/Find People

Basically a carbon copy of Mastodon, but a way sexier design. Since it's on the Fediverse I like to think of it as an extension of Mastodon. It also has a set of unique features unique not found on Mastodon.

Misskey
  • Open Source
  • Public
  • Not Owned By A Billionaire
  • Apart Of The Fediverse
  • Not Walled Off
  • RSS Feed Integration
  • Hard To Search/Find People

Like Mastodon but Japanese. I also think the design is way sexier, and again it's on the Fediverse and it has a cool unique set of features not found on Mastodon.

Cohost
  • Not Open Source
  • Not Public
  • Not Owned By A Billionaire
  • Not Apart Of The Fediverse
  • Walled Off
  • RSS Feed Integration Is Hard To Set/Messed Up
  • Good Search Integration

I don't think I really have to talk about this one. Don't really see a reason for using it.

Conclusions

I think most microblogs are useless and I believe most people shouldn't do it. I think macroblogging is way better as it allows you to critically assess things a lot more. I also think most people's opinions on things are kind of useless, pointless, and stupid. Well, when it comes to microblogging at least. Honestly I think it's a waste of time and space.

That being said, I love both Mastodon and Bluesky. I love Mastodon's decentralized nature and I love Bluesky's centralized nature. You can get the best of both world's from either and I LOVE the fact that they are both open source and I LOVE their designs. I'll be using RSS Feeds for both.