What You Should Know About Switching to Mastodon

Amid all the Twitter hubbub, the lesser known social site Mastodon has seen a surge of new users. Mastodon is a loosely connected network of individually run servers, which all play by their own rules and answer to their own moderators. It’s a very different environment than Twitter. But even though Mastodon aims to be a new form of social media, it could be prone to the same troubles that have plagued the platforms that preceded it.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior editor of security Andrew Couts joins us to talk about the ins and outs of Mastodon, and whether something like the decentralized network can ever truly replace Twitter.

Show Notes

Read more about how Mastodon is handling the influx of users. And here’s how to find your friends on Mastodon.

Recommendations

Andrew recommends Fi smart dog collars. Mike recommends So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley, by Roger Steffens. Lauren recommends the new season of the HBO show White Lotus.

Andrew Couts can be found on Twitter @AndrewCouts. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

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