Tag: social-media

Posted in Social Media, Trends

Mastodon – A Social Media Site Similar to Twitter, But Different

Posted on by Phillip Vélez
Mastodon logo

I have been using Twitter since 2009 and it has become a major source of news and information for me throughout the years. It has been a great ride, but the social media website is currently experiencing uncertainty since it was purchased by Elon Musk. Whether it weathers the sensational storm or not, the online town square has definitely changed and it may be time to find a suitable substitute.

Mastodon may very well become the alternative. I have read a few articles (several linked in this post) and decided to give Mastodon a try. Though the social media network is very similar to Twitter, there are some major differences.

If you are familiar with Twitter, Mastodon will not look odd and you should be able to pick up the basics easily. You follow people who in turn hopefully follow you back, but like with Twitter, that’s not always the case. Twitter has garnered an impressive membership roll of over 200 million users since it was formed in 2006. Meanwhile, Mastodon was founded in 2016 and just approached one million registered users.

I joined Mastodon almost two weeks ago and so far I love it for its greater sense of community. People seem much friendlier and more willing to reshare content. I plan to give it a go and see how the site develops over time.

One huge difference with Mastodon is that you first join a server or “instance” and then you create your profile. Servers are either based on a specific topic like news, technology, or genealogy, or they are general in nature. Whichever instance you chose can be changed later and anyone you join will allow you to connect with users hosted on other servers.

Mastodon is a decentralized network of many servers coming together to form the “fediverse” which is an open-source federated platform. The wonderful thing about Mastodon is that it’s a non-profit company based in Germany that is open to the world. This makes it stand apart from a private company owned by a billionaire.

If you are looking for another social media network to replace or co-exist with your Twitter account, I would definitely recommend you check out Mastodon.

Feel free to connect with me on

Mastodon.

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Posted in music, Networking, Social Media

The New Myspace Site May Be Worth Checking Out

Posted on by Phillip Vélez

(Screen shot of the new Myspace site.)
(Screenshot of the new Myspace site.)

Remember MySpace? If you thought it was dead, think again. The social networking site that was the precursor to Facebook has been recently resurrected by a group of new investors including Justin Timberlake.

The new owners have been revamping the site since September and opened it up to the general public in January. Like millions, I have not actively used MySpace since the explosion of Facebook. I was curious to see what Timberlake and company did with the dinosaur of social media so I took it for a little spin.

If you remember your old MySpace login info you can use it on the new Myspace. You can also register with your Facebook or Twitter account or set up an entirely new account. The new Myspace is not going to compete with Facebook or Twitter so those companies have nothing to worry about. However, Spotify might want to keep an eye on the new Myspace.

When you log in to the new site using your old info, you’ll notice that none of your old friends, photos, music, artists or bands are automatically transferred. You begin your new Myspace journey with zero connections. A connection on the new Myspace is similar to a “Like” on Facebook. So if you are a musician on the old MySpace, you’ll have to start from scratch on the new Myspace to rebuild your fan base. That alone has many critics predicting the demise of the new site.

But after taking a tour of the new Myspace and testing it out for about two weeks or so, I have to say I’m a fan of the new entertainment site. You can connect to a song, an album, artist, video, photo, and another new Myspace member. The focus here is really not on collecting a lot of friends or followers, but on enjoying music you love.

I compare the site to Spotify because unlike Pandora, you can listen to a particular track whenever you want (as long as it’s available) and as often as you like for free. Similar to YouTube, you can also view music videos whenever you want.

You can create your own profile, display your top eight favorite artists, highlight a profile song, post updates like on Twitter and post pictures like on Flickr. The search option allows you to find your favorite music/artists and the discover option allows you to find new music from up-and-coming independent artists.

Not everyone is going to love to the new Myspace and some might not see the need to dive into another social networking site, but if you love music and want to have another online vehicle to listen and view your favorite artists and find new ones, the new Myspace site may be very well worth your time.