Decentralized Social Media Platforms Misskey and Mastodon Face User Surges and Challenges
Misskey, a decentralized social media platform, has seen a surge in users, leading to increased costs for volunteer moderators. Meanwhile, Mastodon, another decentralized service, has experienced both growth and challenges in its user base.
Misskey's biggest server, run by Murakami-san, faced a tenfold increase in maintenance fees due to higher data usage in February. Many Misskey servers, supported by volunteers and with fewer ads, rely on donations to cover costs. Murakami-san called for help and received donations through Patreon.
Mastodon, founded by Eugen Rochko, saw a fivefold increase in active users to 1.26 million by June 2022, following Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition. However, both platforms have since seen a decrease in active users. Mastodon's figure stands at around half its peak, while Misskey's biggest server has also seen a significant drop.
Analysts point out challenges for decentralized services in going mainstream, including smaller user numbers and compliance with local privacy restrictions. Eugen Rochko sees these services as important for empowering communities and avoiding US regulation dominance.
The sudden increase in users for Misskey and Mastodon, likely due to changes at Twitter, has brought both opportunities and challenges. While donations helped Misskey's server administrator, both platforms face ongoing user base fluctuations and mainstream adoption hurdles.
