I'm not too concerned with a company's PR account leaving the weird and nerdy world of ActivityPub federation. Even though you'd think that it aligns with their pro-freedom image. I'm wondering if...
I'm not too concerned with a company's PR account leaving the weird and nerdy world of ActivityPub federation. Even though you'd think that it aligns with their pro-freedom image. I'm wondering if this is due to the lack of mastodon support in marketing tools like HootSuite.
That said, I'm okay with self-hostable social media staying small and and human-focused in the same vein as IRC and non-p2p USENET newsgroups.
Everyone-screaming-for-attention-in-a-big-room style sites like facebook and twitter are a net negative in my book.
Honestly, I'm happy to see them go, for reasons entirely unrelated to Proton specifically. Corporate PR accounts are one of the things that ruin social media, slowly rotting it into an advertising...
I'm not too concerned with a company's PR account leaving the weird and nerdy world of ActivityPub federation.
Honestly, I'm happy to see them go, for reasons entirely unrelated to Proton specifically. Corporate PR accounts are one of the things that ruin social media, slowly rotting it into an advertising platform as more of the posts are companies trying to sell you things and less are people talking about interesting things. That it largely hasn't caught on among companies, and is still mostly social media, is one of the main reasons I use it.
Facebook was good back in 200x too, back when the only thing you saw there was posts from your friends.
On Mastodon, the timeline is strictly chronological. You can't pay or take advantage of the algorithm to be on top (Twitter), or rely on custom or specialized feeds to get more visibility...
On Mastodon, the timeline is strictly chronological. You can't pay or take advantage of the algorithm to be on top (Twitter), or rely on custom or specialized feeds to get more visibility (Bluesky).
If you want to advertise on Mastodon, you can only hope that your followers will actively boost your posts. I'm pretty sure companies have a muuuuch lower engagement rate on Mastodon than elsewhere, so it makes sense to not invest there.
You could post more often to appear on top of feeds more times a day. And that would be just a low hanging fruit of “growth hacking”. Never underestimate what a business can do to drain attention...
On Mastodon, the timeline is strictly chronological. You can't pay or take advantage of the algorithm to be on top (Twitter), or rely on custom or specialized feeds to get more visibility (Bluesky).
You could post more often to appear on top of feeds more times a day. And that would be just a low hanging fruit of “growth hacking”. Never underestimate what a business can do to drain attention to itself.
You're totally right. There is a lot of people using mastodon et al the same way they'd use any other social media site. That said, when I look at the federated firehose I tend to see more...
You're totally right. There is a lot of people using mastodon et al the same way they'd use any other social media site.
That said, when I look at the federated firehose I tend to see more representation of alt-artists, queer community members, and people that are deep inside FOSS tech rather than Debbie The Baker, Worldstar drama mongers, or Brand #5. Plus I've never seen a social platform that's trigger-aware enough to make content-warnings for photos with eye contact a normal thing.
This is also my personal take from the last time I took a peek at the raw feed sometime in early 2024, of course a glance today is very different due to bombastic current events. Maybe the fediverse has suffered its Eternal September sometime in the last 6-8 months due to X/Instagram enshittification?
This is almost certainly because they were getting piled on for their board member's shitty takes about Trump and the republicans. Reddit, and many/most of the others, will allow them to delete or...
This is almost certainly because they were getting piled on for their board member's shitty takes about Trump and the republicans. Reddit, and many/most of the others, will allow them to delete or hide comments that they don't like. Proton is feeling more and more gross by the minute.
They’re not the same world class encryption mega privacy vibes, but I’m probably moving to FastMail soon because they’re bound by the Australian Privacy Principles which means if they’re...
They’re not the same world class encryption mega privacy vibes, but I’m probably moving to FastMail soon because they’re bound by the Australian Privacy Principles which means if they’re harvesting your data, they have to be pretty explicit about it, and so far their privacy policy doesn’t have them harvesting data.
They seem like the kind of down-to-earth fair-dinkum vibes that I’ve seen a bit of an increase in Australia’s tech sector recently. Their funding model is clearly laid out on their website and they provide useful features for users without the kinds of “new features for the sake of new features” bloat that I’ve seen elsewhere.
Overall, seems like a pretty good modern email client with some privacy features and transparent business model.
I've used FastMail for like a decade at this point and I've never even considered going anywhere else. The pricing is high enough that I believe they can make enough money to stay in business, but...
I've used FastMail for like a decade at this point and I've never even considered going anywhere else. The pricing is high enough that I believe they can make enough money to stay in business, but low enough that it's not a significant concern. Love it!
Yeah I agree with your view on their pricing. The only worry I have is for some hypothetical future version of the company where “sustainable business model” is no longer the goal, and they start...
Yeah I agree with your view on their pricing. The only worry I have is for some hypothetical future version of the company where “sustainable business model” is no longer the goal, and they start seeking the “endless quarterly growth” that capitalism pulls towards.
Awesome, thanks for the feedback! I still won’t be able to take that leap yet^1 but I’m looking forward to it! ^1 - it’s that age old problem of “I’ll deal with that when things are less hectic”...
Awesome, thanks for the feedback! I still won’t be able to take that leap yet^1 but I’m looking forward to it!
^1 - it’s that age old problem of “I’ll deal with that when things are less hectic” in a life which seems to never be less hectic. If I’m doing something as big as changing the way I do email, I want to really set aside some time to sink my teeth in and get it done and set myself up
I always found it strange the polarization in America, like I skimmed this & I understand why it's bad for them to use the official Proton account for posting this. However, it really feels like...
I always found it strange the polarization in America, like I skimmed this & I understand why it's bad for them to use the official Proton account for posting this. However, it really feels like sometimes if one party comes out in support of a policy, and that policy was previously considered a good idea the supporters of the opposing party will now dislike that policy. This is probably not the place to post this but I just find that interesting from an outsider's perspective. To be clear, I feel for Americans right now and I am no fan of the current administration.
It's part of an attempt to form a cordon sanitaire around Trump. Unfortunately I think that's kind of futile when the person in question effectively controls all branches of government…
It's part of an attempt to form a cordon sanitaire around Trump. Unfortunately I think that's kind of futile when the person in question effectively controls all branches of government…
For reference, Proton still appears to be on Twitter, Bluesky, Threads, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Mastodon is the only one with this message posted as of the time of writing.
We're consolidating our social media presence due to limited resources and no longer posting on Mastodon. Follow us on Reddit for the latest updates: reddit.com/r/ProtonMail
For reference, Proton still appears to be on Twitter, Bluesky, Threads, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Mastodon is the only one with this message posted as of the time of writing.
I would assume it’s because it’s their least followed account? It might not be worth the effort to have a presence there for the number of followers/interactions.
I would assume it’s because it’s their least followed account? It might not be worth the effort to have a presence there for the number of followers/interactions.
What I dislike most about Proton is their marketing. Amazing Swiss Superprivacy! Wow, if only anyone else ever uses PGP for their emails. Sure, the products are solid but the aggressive...
What I dislike most about Proton is their marketing. Amazing Swiss Superprivacy! Wow, if only anyone else ever uses PGP for their emails. Sure, the products are solid but the aggressive fear-mongering marketing really rid Proton of all its appeal to me. Just take a look at their 'blog'.
I'm not too concerned with a company's PR account leaving the weird and nerdy world of ActivityPub federation. Even though you'd think that it aligns with their pro-freedom image. I'm wondering if this is due to the lack of mastodon support in marketing tools like HootSuite.
That said, I'm okay with self-hostable social media staying small and and human-focused in the same vein as IRC and non-p2p USENET newsgroups.
Everyone-screaming-for-attention-in-a-big-room style sites like facebook and twitter are a net negative in my book.
Honestly, I'm happy to see them go, for reasons entirely unrelated to Proton specifically. Corporate PR accounts are one of the things that ruin social media, slowly rotting it into an advertising platform as more of the posts are companies trying to sell you things and less are people talking about interesting things. That it largely hasn't caught on among companies, and is still mostly social media, is one of the main reasons I use it.
Facebook was good back in 200x too, back when the only thing you saw there was posts from your friends.
On Mastodon, the timeline is strictly chronological. You can't pay or take advantage of the algorithm to be on top (Twitter), or rely on custom or specialized feeds to get more visibility (Bluesky).
If you want to advertise on Mastodon, you can only hope that your followers will actively boost your posts. I'm pretty sure companies have a muuuuch lower engagement rate on Mastodon than elsewhere, so it makes sense to not invest there.
You could post more often to appear on top of feeds more times a day. And that would be just a low hanging fruit of “growth hacking”. Never underestimate what a business can do to drain attention to itself.
Nerdy, sure. Is it really that weird? If you're looking at the wrong servers, sure. But there is a load of genuine and 'normal' activity on Mastodon.
I think you're reading "weird" negatively when it was intended positively.
Ahh. Yeah I did. Thanks for clarifying.
You're totally right. There is a lot of people using mastodon et al the same way they'd use any other social media site.
That said, when I look at the federated firehose I tend to see more representation of alt-artists, queer community members, and people that are deep inside FOSS tech rather than Debbie The Baker, Worldstar drama mongers, or Brand #5. Plus I've never seen a social platform that's trigger-aware enough to make content-warnings for photos with eye contact a normal thing.
This is also my personal take from the last time I took a peek at the raw feed sometime in early 2024, of course a glance today is very different due to bombastic current events. Maybe the fediverse has suffered its Eternal September sometime in the last 6-8 months due to X/Instagram enshittification?
This is almost certainly because they were getting piled on for their board member's shitty takes about Trump and the republicans. Reddit, and many/most of the others, will allow them to delete or hide comments that they don't like. Proton is feeling more and more gross by the minute.
Yeah, I agree. Keep it up and I'll pay somebody else to host my email.
They’re not the same world class encryption mega privacy vibes, but I’m probably moving to FastMail soon because they’re bound by the Australian Privacy Principles which means if they’re harvesting your data, they have to be pretty explicit about it, and so far their privacy policy doesn’t have them harvesting data.
They seem like the kind of down-to-earth fair-dinkum vibes that I’ve seen a bit of an increase in Australia’s tech sector recently. Their funding model is clearly laid out on their website and they provide useful features for users without the kinds of “new features for the sake of new features” bloat that I’ve seen elsewhere.
Overall, seems like a pretty good modern email client with some privacy features and transparent business model.
I've used FastMail for like a decade at this point and I've never even considered going anywhere else. The pricing is high enough that I believe they can make enough money to stay in business, but low enough that it's not a significant concern. Love it!
Yeah I agree with your view on their pricing. The only worry I have is for some hypothetical future version of the company where “sustainable business model” is no longer the goal, and they start seeking the “endless quarterly growth” that capitalism pulls towards.
But for now at least, they seem excellent.
Very cool - I'll check it out.
PS: I messaged Proton support with my irritation about it and they sent me here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i2nz9v/on_politics_and_proton_a_message_from_andy/?rdt=32913
I can confirm, based on my own experience, that Fastmail is an excellent product. I was pleasantly surprised by how polished the experience is.
Awesome, thanks for the feedback! I still won’t be able to take that leap yet^1 but I’m looking forward to it!
^1 - it’s that age old problem of “I’ll deal with that when things are less hectic” in a life which seems to never be less hectic. If I’m doing something as big as changing the way I do email, I want to really set aside some time to sink my teeth in and get it done and set myself up
Indeed.
As Mastodon is my only social network, good riddance.
It does appear that the "Trump supporting" was blown way out of proportion. Here's some additional context that I found interesting.
I always found it strange the polarization in America, like I skimmed this & I understand why it's bad for them to use the official Proton account for posting this. However, it really feels like sometimes if one party comes out in support of a policy, and that policy was previously considered a good idea the supporters of the opposing party will now dislike that policy. This is probably not the place to post this but I just find that interesting from an outsider's perspective. To be clear, I feel for Americans right now and I am no fan of the current administration.
It's part of an attempt to form a cordon sanitaire around Trump. Unfortunately I think that's kind of futile when the person in question effectively controls all branches of government…
For reference, Proton still appears to be on Twitter, Bluesky, Threads, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Mastodon is the only one with this message posted as of the time of writing.
I would assume it’s because it’s their least followed account? It might not be worth the effort to have a presence there for the number of followers/interactions.
Here's a more comprehensive breakdown.
What I dislike most about Proton is their marketing. Amazing Swiss Superprivacy! Wow, if only anyone else ever uses PGP for their emails. Sure, the products are solid but the aggressive fear-mongering marketing really rid Proton of all its appeal to me. Just take a look at their 'blog'.