I keep seeing a lot of discussion about how, if you change instances, you lose the "identity" you've built up on the instance that you were on and that's a problem because your identity should be portable... which leads me to two questions:

1. How is your identity not portable? You are always you... unless, of course, what you mean is that you lose the social currency you have built up by curating your posts to create a personal brand and a great deal of followers, in which case I have to ask-- why are you here and not just over on the birdcage or Instagram where that shit is expected and rewarded?

And 2. Why on earth would you be the same in every instance? Is your behavior the same in every circumstance, despite the setting and the social mores that dictate that particular social dynamic? Then why wouldn't you be some of your complete, authentic, entirely portable identity in one space and some of it in another?

People... you can be so much happier when you stop confusing "personal brand," the size of your "reach," and the quantity of your received "impressions" with yourselves, and if Mastodon doesn't allow you to successfully port over your social currency, then maybe that's not a bug, maybe it's a DAMN FEATURE.


@SuzanEraslan This is the kind of mentality I am trying to unlearn.

@brwarner It takes a few days, I found, to finally stop thinking about talking in a way that builds followers and buzz, but when you do? It's WONDERFULLY LIBERATING.

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Octodon is a nice general purpose instance. more