• ren (a they/them)@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    not to be spicy, but… in all honesty, what’s the difference between posting on Pixelfed or on Mastodon. Post image + caption. Same on both, except on Mastodon I can choose not to post an image. I know Pixelfed is image-first, but if your friends and followers are on Mastodon and see/like/reblog my photos there. why would one need/want a Pixelfed account to manage too?

    Know what I mean? I’m just struggling to justify yet-another-social media account, especially as I wind down my time on IG.

    • ttmrichter@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Mastodon has limits for number of pictures. Pixelfed has higher limits out of the box. Pixelfed has image filters available. Mastodon doesn’t seem to. Pixelfed’s UX is oriented toward picture management. Mastodon’s is oriented toward the textual experience.

      They’re different products that happen to share a protocol.

      • ren (a they/them)@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        ironically, with the push for Threads, after the pressure to post Reels in the IG feed, people have been filling Threads with images again lol. It really feels like Threads will be the new IG feed at some point.

        Yeah, I get the idea is to force an image, but I guess I’ve been struggling lately with why bother with that limitation? Not sure if I’m describing it well.

      • ren (a they/them)@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        no, I understand all of that… i’m just wondering what the point of having an instagram-like experience in 2023 when you can post photos and be a photo account on Mastodon. It does the same job, especially when it’s all interconnected via the Fediverse.

        In the end, it’s all the same. Twitter, Threads, Mastodon, Instagram, Pixelfed, heck even Facebook: Post content, like/share/comment.

        • Izzy@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          It does a very similar job, but also it is good just to have options. I like that everyone on PixelFed is an account for photos so I know what I’m getting from everybody else. I also like the portfolio view which is a nice view of only the photos you want from your profile without any text or social aspect at all. It’s a good quick link to give friends and family who want to see your photos.

          • ren (a they/them)@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            true, love options, for sure! I guess it really comes down to that. Same with calckey and other “share content” platforms here. If you are image-first, pixelfed it is. But I guess then you can use Mastodon to get the word out to follow on pixelfed.

        • TheSaneWriter@lemmy.thesanewriter.com
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          1 year ago

          UX/UI design mainly. All social media follows a fairly similar pattern, post pictures/text and other people react to it. The difference comes from what the UI of different social media platforms emphasizes, Pixelfed emphasizes pictures, Mastadon emphasizes short-form text posts, Lemmy emphasizes variable posting types with extensive comment threads. Because each one emphasizes a slightly different medium, they can design their UI/UX to prioritize their whole schtick while making design decisions that may not be good for other mediums. Everybody has a different preference for the ways they like to consume content, so I understand that people prefer Mastadon/Pixelfed even though I personally prefer Lemmy.

    • priapus@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      It’s just a different front end, which is true for most of the fediverse. If you don’t care for an Instagram like experience, just follow from mastodon.

    • Adam@geddit.social
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      1 year ago

      It’s mostly just media first but there are a few features that don’t federate. Portfolios and stories are exclusive to pixelfed. And even if you just want to scroll a bunch of photos there just isn’t a better way. They have the best Fediverse app I’ve ever used and the experience is great because it was designed specifically for that purpose.

      Not that there’s anything wrong with not seeing the appeal. The best thing about the Fediverse is that you can just be wherever you want. So you can post on Mastodon and follow whoever you want on Pixelfed too without having to make another account.

      • ren (a they/them)@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, I’m not knocking pixelfed, love the platform and idea, just starting to feel redundant some to me. It’s all good though, yo are right that you get the portfolio view and other features.

        • Adam@geddit.social
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          1 year ago

          I think it just comes down to what you said: do you really want an experience like IG? If you’re a hard no, it’s probably not for you. I was kind of in the same place as you re: IG. Looking at my IG feed it’s about 50% recommended and promoted. So half my feed is what Meta wants me to see. It sucks now and I was over it. But a version of that without ads or algorithms is honestly pretty great – and I was skeptical of that until I tried it. I mean, IG has higher engagement than any network except TikTok, so it’s a format that people seem to like. They just hate the Meta part :)

          I don’t think it takes away from Mastodon at all though. Like, I’m using Calckey which is very similar to Masto (and being renamed in literally 40 minutes) and it’s not harming the community at all. I think Pixelfed will probably be the thing that makes people realize how powerful the Fediverse is. To most people, being able to communicate between, say, Masto and Misskey probably just seems like having different clients. But the idea that you could communicate with all of Facebook and Twitter from an IG account is kind of mindblowing.

    • notavote@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      And all of that is just an email, but different interface and a bit different rules will bring different people.