++mastodon blog article

content/u/blog/2022-11-11-migrating-from-twitter-to-mastodon/contents.lr

@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+title: Migrating from Twitter to Mastodon
+---
+pub_date: 2022-11-11
+---
+author: ungleich storage team
+---
+twitter_handle: NicoSchottelius
+---
+_hidden: no
+---
+_discoverable: yes
+---
+abstract:
+How to move from Twitter to Mastodon
+---
+body:
+
+## TL;DR
+
+If you are in a hurry, here is the minimal amount of information you
+need to move from Twitter to Mastodon:
+
+* Find a server you like
+* Create an account
+
+Ready and go!
+
+## The longer story
+
+Mastodon is not Twitter and will never be. However both Mastodon and
+Twitter are social media networks. Mastodon however is
+**decentralised**.
+
+## Decentralised Social Media
+
+What does that mean, decentralised? It means anyone can run a Mastodon
+server and connect to everyone else. This is very much how the
+Internet was designed: a place of many systems that talk to each
+other.
+
+Twitter on the other side is a centralised solution. All data and
+communication is hosted by Twitter. If Twitter is going down, everyone
+is affected.
+
+Mastodon on the other hand is much more robust. You can and have to
+choose a Mastodon instance that you like.
+
+## Which Mastodon instance to use?
+
+There are plenty of instances around and you can choose the one you
+trust most or your friends are on. Or, you can even
+[run your own Mastodon
+instance](https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/run-your-own/).
+
+## Your own Mastodon instance
+
+Why would you want to run your own Mastodon instance in the first
+place? Let's take a few steps back, to understand the fundamental
+difference between Twitter and the Fediverse. The Fedi-what?
+
+We so far said Mastodon everywhere, but in reality, Mastodon is just
+one software that allows you to communicate decentralised. In general,
+we refer to the decentralised communication as the "FEDIVERSE". That's
+settled, now let's go back to why anyone would want to run their own
+instance.
+
+First of all, running your own mastodon instance allows you to use
+your own, custom domain. So my handle is
+[@nico@ipv6.social](https://ipv6.social/@nico) and it indicates I am
+somewhat interested in #IPv6 related topics, just from the domain of
+the instance I am on.
+
+If you already have a domain, many people also choose to use the
+subdomain "social", like social.example.com.
+
+There is a second, maybe equally significant point when it comes to
+Mastodon. That is the question of who is going to take care of the
+instance, who is going to update the software and who is actually
+going to pay for running the instance?
+
+## In the fediverse, you are not a product
+
+Compared to Twitter, where advertisement turns the user into a
+product, in the fediverse you are not a product. That also means that
+the organisation running a Mastodon instance does actually need to pay
+for the service. Whether that is running a VPS, running a Raspberry PI
+or having it hosted by someone else, somebody has to provide the
+resource for it.
+
+This is fundamentally different compared to Twitter, but also
+Facebook, where you are basically also just a product.
+
+The big advantage of this is that there is no advertisement, no
+central user analytics, but much more freedom. Like we say in
+Switzerland, you [Khasch nit z'Füferli und z Weggli
+ha](https://dict.leo.org/forum/viewGeneraldiscussion.php?idForum=4&idThread=1051992&lp=ende&lang=en)
+or in proper English: you cannot have everything.
+
+## Mastodon Hosting by ungleich
+
+Shameless plug at the end - we have just
+launched [Mastodon hosting by ungleich](/u/products/mastodon-hosting/)
+to provide you an easy way to start in the fediverse. Remember, you
+don't have to go with us, but the beauty of the fediverse is you can
+host your own, use somebody else's server or use a hosted Mastodon
+instance.
+
+Looking forward to hearing you in the fediverse and if you have any
+comment, do not hesitate to reach out to me at @nico@ipv6.social.