Being Verifiable Beats Being Verified

It goes without saying that knowing that the person you’re talking to is actually the person you think you’re talking to is important. That is why Twitter created the infamous verified blue check mark: People wanted an assurance that the Twitter account of a particular government agency or their favorite celebrity was legit and not some dude in a basement impersonating them.

As we move on from this particular walled garden, knowing who you’re actually talking to remains important, maybe even more so. On the fediverse (where Mastodon lives), there’s a plethora of users flaunting blue check marks, but without a verification authority like on Twitter, they lack the value of the original incarnation. Even the third parties that will “verify” you depend on your Twitter verification or presence.

Mastodon Breaks Social Network Advertising (and That's Good)

I’ve been online long enough to remember how the internet was before the Eternal September. I also remember being surprised when I first saw an ad online—a banner ad on Yahoo, around 1995 or 1996. Since that time, advertisement dollars became the engine of corporate social networks.

Twitter alone made about $4.5 billion from ad services in 2021, about 89% of its total revenue. The so-called “public town square” is actually a walled garden that persuaded 217 million people to come inside and now sells their attention to the highest bidder.

Sweet Thangs