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The Mastodon site is shown on a smart phone in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 11, 2022. Sites like Mastodon and even Tumblr are emerging as new (or renewed) alternatives to Twitter. Barbara Ortutay/The Associated Press Twitter has been a bit of a mess since billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the helm, cutting the company’s work force in half, upending the platform’s verification system, sparring with users over jokes and acknowledging that “ dumb things ” might happen as he reshapes one of the world’s most high-profile information ecosystems. On Thursday, amid an exodus of senior executives responsible for data privacy, cybersecurity and complying with regulations, he warned the company’s remaining employees that Twitter might not survive if it can’t find a way to bring in at least half its revenue from subscriptions. While it’s not clear if the drama is causing many users to leave – in fact, having a front-row seat to the chaos may prove entertaining to some – lesser-known sites Mastodo...

The decentralized social media platform Mastodon has gained popularity as an alternative to Twitter and other social media platforms. hapabapa Some of the world’s biggest social-media companies have faced a reckoning in the public forum, and in response, many users have been rethinking their engagement and considering alternatives. Decentralized social media – platforms on which users, rather than corporations, are in control of their content – has become an attractive proposition. One option gaining steam is Mastodon. Launched in 2016, Mastodon is a federated network of independently operated servers (or “instances”) that work together to provide a decentralized social-media experience. No single company or entity controls Mastodon – it is run by and for the people who use it, funded through donations and crowdfunding campaigns. Unlike platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, Mastodon does not, and claims it never will , accept advertising dollars. That lack of advertiser-specific ...

Twitter has been engulfed in chaos since billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the helm, cutting the company’s workforce in half, upending the platform’s verification system, reinstating previously banned accounts including those of white nationalists and suspending journalists who’ve been covering him. While it’s not clear if the drama is causing many users to leave – in fact, having a front-row seat to the chaos may prove entertaining to some – lesser-known sites Mastodon and even Tumblr are emerging as new (or renewed) alternatives. Here’s a look at some of them. (Oh, and if you are leaving Twitter and want to preserve your tweet history, you can download it by going to your profile settings and clicking on “your account” then “download an archive of your data.”) Mastodon Sharing a name with an extinct mammal resembling an elephant, Mastodon has emerged as a front-runner among those curious about life beyond the blue bird. It shares some similarities with Twitter, but there are som...

Twitter users will no longer be able to link to certain rival social media websites, including what the company described Sunday as “prohibited platforms” Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon. It’s the latest move by Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk to crack down on certain speech after he shut down a Twitter account last week that was tracking the flights of his private jet. “We know that many of our users may be active on other social media platforms; however, going forward, Twitter will no longer allow free promotion of specific social media platforms on Twitter,” the company said in a statement. The banned platforms include mainstream websites such as Facebook and Instagram, and upstart rivals Mastodon, Tribel, Nostr, Post and former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social. Twitter gave no explanation for why the blacklist included those seven websites but not others such as Parler, TikTok or LinkedIn. Twitter is also banning promotions of third-party social media link aggregators such as...