Mastodon – The New Twitter or Flash in the Pan?

There’s no doubt our society is constantly switched on, due largely to the rise of social media.

With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and SnapChat dominating the market share, there’s always a watchful eye on what will come next.

And that, according to some, could be Mastodon.

What is Mastodon?

The platform is an open-source network, meaning a single company won’t monopolise your communications. It does this by running on different servers, where people communicate based on their interests, called instances.

People then share toots, which consist of up to 500 characters. In other words, it appears to be going directly for Twitter.

In a world where many look to be turning their backs on Twitter, which continues to try and monetise its’ platform to keep up with the likes of Facebook – could Mastodon be the new micro-blogging platform of choice?

The Next Twitter?

Recently Mastodon increased its user base by 73% in two days. This also caused a lot of trouble, with the primary instance being closed, as the server couldn’t support the new sign-ups.

But with it being open platform this was do-able.

Mastodon also differentiates itself by being highly regulated, meaning discrimination involving race, gender, sexuality etc. is strictly prohibited.

But so is advertising. And that could be its downfall.

Some brands have already moved in and created accounts on the platform, such as Walmart. However, with the creator saying they aren’t interested in the money side, will other brands be quick to jump on-board?

The Power of Advertising

Social platforms were quick to notice how powerful they could become in the world of advertising. With hundreds of millions, and in Facebook’s case, billions of users, the data and reach they could provide, and at a relatively low cost, changed the marketing and advertising industry in a way it had never experienced before.

Which makes you wonder, will the younger generation of social media users move in on Mastodon in order to stay away from brands? And could this new interest, causing pressure on servers, coupled with the founder’s lack of interest in monetising the platform, be its downfall.

But, with everyone wondering if it’ll be the new Twitter, in a world where even Google couldn’t create a popular social platform, does Mastodon run the risk of heading to the pre-historic social media wasteland, if it doesn’t jump monetise while interest is still forming?

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