A fresh, non-commercial approach to social media? What I think about Mastodon as an artist

From time to time I get the question: do I still manage to stay away from social media? After all, I deleted most of my social media accounts in 2019 (except for my Youtube channel), and I’ve done a few q&a’s about how I run my art business without the obligatory seeming Instagram and TikTok accounts.

I thought right now is a good moment to look at this question again because of the current shifts in the social media landscape: Twitter seems to burn down to the ground while alternatives like the non-commercial Mastodon are on the rise. What is it all about? Why do I even care as someone who has quit social networks a few years ago? Let’s take a look.

Here’s a video version of this post in which I narrate this post while showing a relaxing painting process:

Should you join Mastodon as an artist? Non-commercial social media

Watch this video on YouTube.

Most of you old readers know this particular story already. I’m not a fan of marketing myself as an artist on these platforms: the ads, the infinite scrolling and algorithmic feeds that cause addictive behaviour, the low self-esteem you get from comparing yourself with others, the endless hunt for likes, the tracking surveillance caused by these platforms, and the awful tone and trolling that is just around the corner. All of this felt like a meaningless rat race, designed to make people feel miserable. It certainly didn’t feel like the community most people are looking for when joining these networks.

So I was pretty happy without using social media actively except for Youtube – Youtube was a place I could log on to post a video, answer questions from viewers, and then ignore again more or less. I sort of missed the internet of the 90s, when people built small websites or came together in forums and talked about topics they enjoyed, without any commercial aspect and the need to constantly shove your marketing into other peoples’ faces.

Some of you may have followed this: in the past few weeks a very rich douchebag has bought Twitter and immediately started ruining the platform. I was never a very big fan of Twitter because it attracts all kinds of trolls, hate speech and other things I don’t want in my daily life. In my brief time there, I tried to forge connections with other artists, followed scientists and authors, and tried to enjoy the bright and witty sides of the platform – which are definitely there. But it didn’t work for long, because the algorithm keeps pushing controversial content into your face no matter what, and there are just so many trolls and people with really bad manners on the platform.

Now Twitter is burning and will maybe even shut down, and a lot of people have been looking for alternatives. This has brought alternatives to the spotlight, especially Mastodon. Usually this wouldn’t interest me a lot, but Mastodon is a bit different: it’s not run by a corporation, but by individuals, it’s open source software and non-commercial. It’s not centralized, but there are many small servers with different communities. All of these communities can communicate with each other (more or less), and the entire structure looks a lot like Twitter: a microblogging platform on which you can share thoughts or pictures and connect with people who share your interests.

Mastodon is part of the Fediverse – there are more social platforms on the Fediverse, like Pixelfed (similar to IG) or Peertube (similar to YT), and all of them can interconnect. There are no algorithms, no ads, and no marketing schemes, and many communities (or instances) are moderated well, so trolls or harassers usually don’t get very far. At least this has worked with the smaller user base so far, we don’t know how the existing culture will change and adapt with so many new people joining.

In any case, the Fediverse shows that you can make connections with others on the internet without using commercial big tech apps which want nothing more than keeping your eyes on the feed (to watch ads), and essentially take your data. Remember, the old saying goes: if the app is free, then you and your data are what’s being sold, the real customers are the advertisers. The Fediverse doesn’t work like this, and we all hope it will stay this way. All instance admins and programmers I’ve met so far rely on donations, there is no big company behind any of this, and no-one will sell your data to advertisers. For now this seems like a very viable alternative to commercial walled-garden platforms.

If you want to learn more about the whole concept, take a look here: https://joinmastodon.org

I was curious and signed up on an art instance with the thought: well, why not, let’s make this the last social media experiment I’ll try, this sounds different at least. And I have to say, so far I really like it.

There is no-one who is shoving ads or corporate bullshit in your face, there’s no doom-scrolling and excessive trolling like on Twitter (or at least you can very effectively block it), and there’s no pressure to advertise yourself all the time and be perfect, because it’s supposed to be a community, not a marketing scheme. People are actually having discussion withs arguments without derailing. Moderation seems to work overall, depending on your instance. It’s a bit like the internet in the 90s (not entirely though), and I found I can make this experience into what I always envisioned Twitter to be: to connect with interesting people, enjoy art, and have nice chats, and share my art when I feel like it. This is the first platform that doesn’t make me feel bad when I log off.

Why am I telling you all this? I’m still not a fan of corporate walled-garden social media (and I will never go back there), and while Mastodon is quite different, it is still a feed-based platform, so you have to be careful not to waste too much time there. Yes, I’m sure there are awful coronary-inducing discussion to be found there (especially with a lot of new folks showing up), but you don’t have to be part of them. The instance I’m on (mastodon.art) is well-moderated, friendly and I really feel part of the community there.

If you feel like your life is totally fine without any of this, I totally get it. No-one “needs” to sign up to Mastodon or any other social network, and you can absolutely make and enjoy art without any of these platforms. I use these networks to learn about interesting topics from artists, authors, scientists, game devs – I can follow all kinds of people to get news about cool stuff I love, and I can curate what kind of topics I want to see in my timeline. I also connect with fellow artists – I find this kind of community nice as a self-employed artist working alone from home all day. Of course I also show my work. A tip for other professional artists: this isn’t a place that you should use to “build your brand” (how I hate this term), that’s not really the culture over there, as opposed to places like Instagram. You’re welcome to mention your shop or services as often as you like, but you can drop all the marketing lingo. This in not about engagement, or likes, or boosting your reach, and there’s no algorithm you need to game or stay on top of. I found this took a lot of pressure away from me (other artists have reported the same).

If you’re curious and want to give Mastodon a try, take a look at https://joinmastodon.org first and see what this it is all about. You can join any instance (and later change instances if you want), although I would say see if the rules and community vibe speak to you.

You can take a look at my profile here: https://mastodon.art/@naturesketchbook

Here are a few instances that are creatively themed:

https://mastodon.art/
https://artisan.chat/
https://bytetower.social/
https://indiepocalypse.social
https://photog.social
https://writing.exchange

How do you approach social media these days? Are you as tired as I am of the commercialized internet, surveillance capitalism and walled-garden social platforms? Do you want to be part of the change?