TY - JOUR
T1 - An analysis of mastodon adoption dynamics based on instance types
AU - Sabo, Eduard
AU - Gesthuizen, Tim
AU - Bouma, Kelvin J.A.
AU - Karastoyanova, Dimka
AU - Riveni, Mirela
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - Federated social networks have become an appealing choice as alternatives to mainstream centralized platforms. In the current global context, where the user’s activity on various social networks is monitored, influenced and manipulated, alternative platforms that offer the possibility of owning and controlling one’s own data are of great importance. Mastodon stands out among decentralized alternatives in the fediverse. In this study, we conduct a time-based dynamics analysis of various Mastodon instances, from popular ones to country-specific servers. Moreover, we conducted an analysis of registration account dynamics based on certain topics, such as academic, political and activism in general. Throughout the paper, we reveal the user adoption of Mastodon from multiple instances and metrics. Our results show a growth pattern of instances in terms of accounts in certain periods of time, and due to social events, reinforcing our assumption of it being already trusted as a decentralized platform. Our work holds significance in the wider context of studying and understanding the adoption rates of decentralized networks as ethical alternatives to centrally controlled ones.
AB - Federated social networks have become an appealing choice as alternatives to mainstream centralized platforms. In the current global context, where the user’s activity on various social networks is monitored, influenced and manipulated, alternative platforms that offer the possibility of owning and controlling one’s own data are of great importance. Mastodon stands out among decentralized alternatives in the fediverse. In this study, we conduct a time-based dynamics analysis of various Mastodon instances, from popular ones to country-specific servers. Moreover, we conducted an analysis of registration account dynamics based on certain topics, such as academic, political and activism in general. Throughout the paper, we reveal the user adoption of Mastodon from multiple instances and metrics. Our results show a growth pattern of instances in terms of accounts in certain periods of time, and due to social events, reinforcing our assumption of it being already trusted as a decentralized platform. Our work holds significance in the wider context of studying and understanding the adoption rates of decentralized networks as ethical alternatives to centrally controlled ones.
KW - Decentralized social networks
KW - Decentralized systems
KW - Mastodon
KW - Privacy in networks
KW - User adoption
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85203288277&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s13278-024-01341-7
DO - 10.1007/s13278-024-01341-7
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85203288277
SN - 1869-5450
VL - 14
JO - Social Network Analysis and Mining
JF - Social Network Analysis and Mining
IS - 1
M1 - 184
ER -