Despite the fact that Elon Musk’s acquisition of Mastodon brought it to prominence as an alternative to Twitter (now known as X), the platform has been existing for quite some time. Eugene Rochko, a software engineer from Germany, was the one who initiated the launch in the year 2016. It is a charitable organization that was established with the community’s welfare in mind.
During his time in high school, Eugene said that he became active in the web area due to the fact that his online programmer pals were interested in Identi.ca. Considering that he despises having to switch between different applications and connecting with his friends via a variety of apps, it is possible that he had the intention of developing a decentralized platform that would, in his words, “stay in operation forever.”
As of the year 2022, the only full-time employee is the CEO and co-founder of the company, while the other five members of the team are independent contractors. Donations made via Patreon are one of the key ways that Mastodon generates revenue. It is possible that in the future, Mastodon may launch a software as a service (SaaS) company that will provide hosting for Mastodon to those who voluntarily want it.
When compared to other social networking websites, Mastodon stands out due to its decentralized nature. Specifically, it indicates that Mastodon does not run on a single server and is not controlled by a single organization. Instead, it is composed of a large number of linked servers that are referred to as instances.
On the other hand, Mastodon is distinguished from other social media platforms by its decentralized nature. Because there is no central authority or control point, Mastodon eliminates the possibility of censorship and data monopolies, respectively. It’s a move toward democracy. In addition, Mastodon enables users to have better privacy and customization options. After all, each server has the ability to establish its own rules, regulations regarding moderation, and community standards.
When compared to other social media networks, Mastodon is the one that most closely resembles Twitter (which is currently represented by X). A microblogging site, Mastodon is similar to Twitter (which is now known as X). Tweets on Mastodon are referred to as “toots,” and the act of retweeting is referred to as “boosting.” “Replies” are the name given to comments made on toots. There is a restriction of 500 characters for Mastodon as well.
On the other hand, in contrast to the most popular social media sites, Mastodon is publicly available and decentralized. There are no algorithms, advertisements, or other methods of monetization. There is not a single company that owns Mastodon.
In order to establish an account on Mastodon, you must first join a server, which is referred to as a “instance.” At the moment, Mastodon.social is one of the most widely used examples. If you are interested in joining using a different server, you may look at the list that Mastodon provides, which includes servers that cover a wide range of subjects. Please don’t be concerned; the server that you choose is not a fixed option. You always have the option to move your profile to a different server at a later time.
Create an account on the Mastodon server of your choosing, which is the next step in the creation process. This procedure is comparable to the process of joining up for any social media organization. You will be required to choose a username, input some fundamental information, and validate your email address.
Donations from users, sponsorships, and grants are the four primary sources of revenue for Mastodon at the moment. Donations made via Patreon, on the other hand, account for the majority of that revenue.
There is a wide range of various contribution choices available on Mastodon, ranging from one dollar per month all the way up to five hundred dollars per month.
As an example, if you contribute ten dollars per month, you will be included to the list of sponsors on joinmastodon.org and will be granted access to the development Discord platform.
In the meanwhile, sponsors who pay $500 per month are allowed to include a logo of a medium size as a link on the top page of joinmastodon.org, which is accessed by more than 600,000 people each and every month.
The Gold tier, which costs $200 per month, and the Platinum tier, which costs $500 per month, both have limited capacity and are thus regularly sold out.
Users who pay on a yearly basis will be eligible for a reduction of ten percent off the rate that they pay. Up to this point, donations to Mastodon have been made by companies such as Medium and Raspberry Pi.
However, it is quite unlikely that Mastodon will be able to reap the benefits of all of the income generated via donations and sponsorships. When it comes to the capacity to receive contributions, Patreon charges anything from 5 percent to 12 percent of the total purchase price.
The implementation of auxiliary services that revolve around Mastodon’s decentralized network of servers is the business model plan that the company intends to follow in the future.
It is on the basis of the notion that centralized Big Tech platforms, such as Alphabet or Meta, are managing our personal data and the information that we consume that Mastodon came into being.
Their intrusive data gathering tactics are then being utilized to not only monitor our complete internet activity but also to provide highly tailored advertisements that are more likely to be clicked on by us.
In light of the fact that these tactics often result in increased engagement and, hence, more ad impressions, the additional anger and cultural gap are a direct consequence of those actions.
In an effort to flip that idea on its head, Mastodon intends to return control to the people who utilize its platform. As a result, it is the obligation of the user to monitor the activity on the server and to censor the material (Mastodon has blocked a number of servers in the past, mostly for pushing information that is discriminatory or even illegal).
In addition, this indicates that Mastodon is making an effort to avoid advertising, at least for the time being, in order to avoid further driving the enragement engine.
Instead, in order to collect contributions from users, it makes use of the noble narrative it has been spreading about decentralization, ethical data gathering techniques, and user empowerment.
The proceeds from these contributions are subsequently used toward the introduction of new features, which may or may not involve additional services for server owners.
At the moment, Mastodon is organized in Germany as a limited liability corporation (also known as a gGmbH), which is a non-profit organization.