At the moment social media is very much like a high school cafeteria, which each instance being a table: Mastodon: Tech nerds Threads: Popular crowd Bluesky: Weirdos and stoners TikTok: Theater kids Former Twitter: Incels and trolls Facebook: Teachers and staff - ThreadSky

scalzi.com • 475 days ago

At the moment social media is very much like a high school cafeteria, which each instance being a table:

Mastodon: Tech nerds
Threads: Popular crowd
Bluesky: Weirdos and stoners
TikTok: Theater kids
Former Twitter: Incels and trolls
Facebook: Teachers and staff

Reposted from Andromeda Yelton

This is hilarious, given how much of mastodon is dunking on Bluesky for being influencers

Comments

cwnidog.bsky.social•475 days ago

I'm on 4 of the 6 (not on TikTok or Xitter). I'm such a mess.

ninjamasterdave.bsky.social•475 days ago

Nice I’m in the right place

xanialei.bsky.social•475 days ago

And, as it was in high school, I bounce table to table...

kimberlyhirsh.com•475 days ago

And those of us prioritizing the web revival over social media? https://thoughts.melonking.net/guides/introduction-to-the-web-revival-1-what-is-the-web-revival

dragonsroost.bsky.social•475 days ago

TBF, "Bluesky" does imply one is outside -- where the weirdos and stoners hung out.

Um, so I have heard.

sahnet.bsky.social•475 days ago

And where does Post fit in?

handle.invalid•475 days ago

I feel like facebook is for your racist uncles as well.

capnmarrrrk.bsky.social•475 days ago

I do FB only to get invited to cool events and parties

ametria.org•475 days ago

One correction: Facebook is clearly not teachers but an angry parents meeting.

sffcorgi.bsky.social•475 days ago

[thumbs up]

ambienowl.bsky.social•475 days ago

This tracks. I’m a weirdo.

Threads/Insta seems to be really good at making me feel isolated and outcast.

jamieholm.bsky.social•475 days ago

Love the simplicity of this.

My own take: https://bsky.app/profile/jamieholm.bsky.social/post/3kdbpxqlxgx2n

rifka.bsky.social•443 days ago

ehhh

amissionfromdog.bsky.social•475 days ago

I knew I was in the right place

msmeredith.bsky.social•475 days ago

Me too!

aliafonzy.bsky.social•475 days ago

Don’t forget the racism and Nazis Bluesky has welcomed thanks to team!

cmelonwheels.bsky.social•473 days ago

Yup, that pretty well aligns with my attitudes towards bluesky (about as good as I could hope for), mastodon (solid but not ideal), threads (not gonna touch it with a 10 foot poll), and twitter (run for the hills)

forrestaguirre.bsky.social•474 days ago

Thank God I finally found the right place.

vrneuroscience.bsky.social•475 days ago

Reddit: Meme philosophers

steveherd.bsky.social•475 days ago

I feel seen.

andrewbaron.bsky.social•475 days ago

YouTube: carpet baggers
NextDoor: nimbys
Tumblr: IDGAFs
4chan: rebel preteens
Reddit: this is finers
Snapchat: happy go lucky

danipayson.bsky.social•475 days ago

Sadly the wanna be twitter influencers are starting to show up, ruining the stoner vibe.

cosettemuffintop.bsky.social•475 days ago

I’m defo in the right place then 😜

tinabowering.bsky.social•475 days ago

I’m so glad I get to hang out with you other weirdos and stoners. ❤️

dawnbritten.bsky.social•475 days ago

That must be why I feel right at home here.

arjun.bsky.social•475 days ago

Both the tech and popular crowds resent Bluesky because, let's face it, the the weirdos and stoners are the cool kids. The tech folk and popular kids share nothing except their overall insecurity...

arjun.bsky.social•475 days ago

LinkedIn: the weird group who started wearing ties in grade 9.

sffcorgi.bsky.social•475 days ago

Alex Keaton.

deepcuts.bsky.social•475 days ago

All of the above: Authors desperately trying to promote their latest whatever, searching for an audience that doesn't exist.

rhywden.bsky.social•474 days ago

I’m in this thread and I don’t like it

drabraxas.bsky.social•475 days ago

Wow. No matter where we go in life we just come back around to where we were.

pearljamfixer80.bsky.social•475 days ago

Spoutible or Tribel?

lynnemthomas.com•475 days ago

I guess I’ve graduated from theater kid to weirdo, but I’m cool with that.

scalzi.com•475 days ago

Be both!

lynnemthomas.com•475 days ago

THAT WOULD REQUIRE JOINING TIKTOK.

No bandwidth available. :shudder:

dawnxianamoon.bsky.social•474 days ago

Co-signing. Also a theater kid. Hate the social media influencer video format and have zero interest in a Tiktok account except I should have started one years ago for professional reasons, sigh.

lollardfish.bsky.social•475 days ago

Were you a theater kid? Or were you a TECHNICAL theater kid. Because I could sing, dance, act, but really what I wanted to do was stage manage and do weird ladder tricks to hang and focus lights. TikTok is not for the tech theater kids.

bronxriverdigital.com•475 days ago

Theater kid here.

I feel like the theater kids and tech kids could split the on camera / off camera roles and absolutely DOMINATE.

madamehardy.bsky.social•475 days ago

I was a tech theater kid mostly, although I'll be honest and admit I was dating the guy who ran the lights.

lollardfish.bsky.social•475 days ago

As a former lighting tech guy I appreciate that we might be occasionally datable.

lynnemthomas.com•475 days ago

I was absolutely a triple threat THEATER kid. I ran spots for one show I wasn’t in, but I was there for the singing, dancing, and acting.

pecunium.bsky.social•475 days ago

I loved the tech, and the stage.

Stage Managing/directing weren't really for me. (I could probably do them now, back then; not so much).

But if I had to pick one slice of Theater... tech is the one.

lollardfish.bsky.social•475 days ago

ah well tiktok it is then scalzi has spoken (I kid! I kid!)

jasongreen.bsky.social•474 days ago

What’s with this “were” business? :-)

caffienekitty.bsky.social•475 days ago

The Theater Kid / Weirdo Venn diagram has a significant amount of overlap. Wonderful, beautiful overlap 😁

lynnemthomas.com•475 days ago

*fistbump* it’s where us weirdos/queerdos found each other in the pre-internet days.

caffienekitty.bsky.social•475 days ago

*return fistbump* 😆

bviola.bsky.social•475 days ago

Theater kids and weirdos are both good in my book. In junior high, I was known as the girl with the violin. Now I’m the old lady with the violin. Keep what you cherish and what nurtures you

fizzixrat.bsky.social•475 days ago

I’m still a weirdo AND a tech nerd.

kithrup.bsky.social•475 days ago

So you're on both mastodon *and* bsky, yes?

fizzixrat.bsky.social•475 days ago

(hums in Vorlon) Yes.

sffcorgi.bsky.social•475 days ago

😆

renaissancedreamer.bsky.social•475 days ago

This….this synopsis is really affecting my paranoia…..

sadsaltprince.bsky.social•475 days ago

I love how accurate this is

crowlady.bsky.social•475 days ago

Still no love for Tumblr? Home of art kids, goths, and furries?

rulesdontwork.bsky.social•475 days ago

Thanks for validation, Chief!

miscreation.bsky.social•475 days ago

Just ignoring those of us on Tumblr. Probably a good move.

zoekeating.com•475 days ago

So if social media is The Breakfast Club, we are Ally Sheedy’s character. Works for me!

michaelwhitepoetry.bsky.social•475 days ago

Ok but I feel like the only winners in this model are the theater kids. Actually I feel like, in social media, everything is completely effed and nothing matters any more, which is exactly what high school felt like

hiddenplans.bsky.social•468 days ago

Haha. Did we go to the same high school?

ddelony.bsky.social•474 days ago

I'm more Anthony Michael Hall's character.

robromero.bsky.social•464 days ago

Bluesky is definitely my people! 😂

purble.bsky.social•475 days ago

I know TikTok is actually significantly older than Bluesky, but TikTok is definitely too new for me, even as a theatre… well not a kid any more… as a theatre 30-something.

jessicapfitzer.bsky.social•475 days ago

😂 I have never been on mastedon because I heard you had to pick a server and that felt like too much pressure.

dukat.bsky.social•475 days ago

I am perfectly happy being with the weirdos and stoners.

moonbeam95.bsky.social•475 days ago

Weirdos & stoners…the song of my people🥸😶‍🌫️❤️

smsaideman.bsky.social•475 days ago

Finally, I get to hang out with the weirdos and stoners!

michaelmunnik.bsky.social•475 days ago

I was always the weirdo-and-stoner adjacent nerd.

thatjbrown.bsky.social•475 days ago

🙋‍♂️

unksteve.bsky.social•468 days ago

Well, I'm in the right damn place then.

kezzcat.bsky.social•475 days ago

penguin42.bsky.social•474 days ago

I may be a weirdo, but I'm not a stoner. 😁

blooming-burbs.bsky.social•475 days ago

How's the climate discourse on Threads?

drkimshepherd.bsky.social•475 days ago

Awesome! As I'm not a stoner, that firmly places me as "weirdo"

Best compliment I've had for weeks 🤣🤣

brookebiologist.bsky.social•475 days ago

I don’t smoke. 🤔

renaissancedreamer.bsky.social•475 days ago

Gummies

maryb2004.bsky.social•475 days ago

What about Post? The thing I like about Post is the microblogging ability. Ex: People can post a recipe with pictures in one post. Or do a whole movie review. I don’t need to clog my RSS feed following a blog I may want to read once a year, it’s like a separate RSS feed. Plus nested comments.

bradsiroky.bsky.social•475 days ago

I guess that makes me a weirdo. I’m fine with that!

cliothegadfly.bsky.social•475 days ago

I’ll be out behind the student commons, smoking a joint and lighting my state-approved textbooks on fire in the garbage can.

foboardgame.bsky.social•475 days ago

Someone needs to illustrate this! Sunday Comic style!

imagardener.bsky.social•475 days ago

Post users didn't make the list....

physticuffs.bsky.social•475 days ago

Feels good to be back at my home table.

statenpoetry.bsky.social•475 days ago

Good to know I'm fitting in now in the same places I fit in 20 years ago.

hallie.bsky.social•475 days ago

This tracks.

sergimcontreras.com•475 days ago

🙌🏻

maegul.net•474 days ago

So what you're saying is that the internet is finally healing back to its intended design?

cpgorski.bsky.social•475 days ago

Top notch weirdos!

Though in re theater kids... I'll note that I logged in when they were firing McCarthy, the first thing I saw here was "Master of the House" parodies...

acecatlady.bsky.social•475 days ago

I guess by this I should also be on tiktok but lol no.

eldris.thellian.com•475 days ago

I’m a weirdo trying to hang out with the popular crowd while also embracing my fellow weirdos. And watching theatre club from the back.

prcullen.bsky.social•475 days ago

Threads is popular with no group of people. The only reason it’s relevant is because Facebook forces you to see it in instagram

daleleeack.bsky.social•475 days ago

Perfect!!!

matchateaowo.bsky.social•475 days ago

Goddamn, this is just like high school, I'm in three subcategories and having a panic attack in the bathroom

jeffkirwan.com•475 days ago

One caveat: TikToc is *Musical* Theatre Kids.

Us normal theatre kids hang out with the weirdos and stoners.

lucycheke.bsky.social•474 days ago

oooh that explains why I found followers here but not threads.

carolannie.bsky.social•475 days ago

This is funny, but my experience is:
Bluesky: people who talk a lot, classroom clowns
Mastodon: Eclectic collection of brainy people and "sensitive old souls" (sigh)
Post: People who repeat memes, creative types, "creative" types, "sensitive people"
FB: my family
I guess it depends on who you follow

squirrelbeer23.bsky.social•475 days ago

Weirdos AND stones? Sounds nice.

joestoner.bsky.social•475 days ago

I ticked both boxes!

squirrelbeer23.bsky.social•475 days ago

Heeey, Me too!

steffi.bsky.social•475 days ago

Reddit: the parking lot where the addicts of each group meet

edonavot.bsky.social•475 days ago

All the academics are migrating to Blu so… weirdos stoners and nerds.

judet.bsky.social•475 days ago

....goddammit

edonavot.bsky.social•474 days ago

You contain multitudes @judet.bsky.social

mdlafrance.bsky.social•475 days ago

Not a stoner, so I guess I'm one of the weirdos, by default.

mollieg.bsky.social•475 days ago

We stoners like hanging out with non stoners. Someone has to be paying attention.

afunkyfennec.bsky.social•475 days ago

I like it here. Mastodon was confusing to me.

jennifergrand.bsky.social•475 days ago

I feel seen.

paul.bsky.social•475 days ago

What’s Instagram?

ac927.bsky.social•475 days ago

Seems right to me.

analogblackhole.com•475 days ago

I was a Mastodon kid that always wanted to hang out with the weirdos and theater kids -- and now I can!

agpasquella.bsky.social•474 days ago

Hey! I may be a weirdo and a stoner, but... uh... what was the third thing you said?

jimmyswings.bsky.social•475 days ago

Xitter is also for people whose pocket friends have not moved to other sites & it's the only way to keep track of them. I keep trying to evangelize BlueSky, but if they even sign up, they just park & keep posting on the troll site.

I really wanted Spoutible to be It, but there's no one there.

lisalisalei.bsky.social•475 days ago

Post didn't make the list which makes sense. Now, do the same comparison, but with the owners/CEO of each platform.

loukas.bsky.social•475 days ago

The food served at the Threads table includes additives which are not cleared for export to EU.

edibleflowers.bsky.social•475 days ago

I find myself wondering how Tumblr fits in.

wscotgrey.bsky.social•475 days ago

I get more PCU vibe from Mastodon. Lots of overzealous social justice there. And Threads is built by the Principal, so why it’s cool is beyond me.

ottergauze.com•475 days ago

Speaking as a user of fedi / mastodon too, this is entirely true.

kimintime.bsky.social•475 days ago

Tumblr are the kids who write fanfic about people’s butts. I miss tumblr.

janetrad.bsky.social•475 days ago

Who are you calling a weirdo?

wrygrin.bsky.social•474 days ago

Wow. I ended up at the weirdos and stoners table again? Okay, that scans, actually...

spaceghoti.bsky.social•475 days ago

I'm not a stoner, so that makes me a weirdo?

I'm good with this. Me and Gonzo, to the end.

darkoverlordofdata.com•475 days ago

After my first day, I felt like I was back at Parasite Valley High with all my freaks and stoners.

baro.bsky.social•475 days ago

This is the problem none of the twitter replacements have solved. On twitter we'd have ALL these groups interacting with each other in total chaos. Gone is that energy. It's all tiny cliques now.

anomily.bsky.social•475 days ago

Weirdos is my jam!

trexpushups.bsky.social•475 days ago

Ah, so Bluesky is for me

cjsubko.bsky.social•475 days ago

Yep this tracks.

moosens.bsky.social•475 days ago

I’m obviously in the right two places the

geekcliche.bsky.social•475 days ago

*does a weirdo wave* 👋🌊

enskyment.bsky.social•475 days ago

This explains... a lot

nachonachoman.net•475 days ago

Proud to be a weirdo and stoner!

tari-too.bsky.social•475 days ago

Wait... That must mean I'm a weirdo. 🥲

nevetsboy.bsky.social•475 days ago

I was always a weirdo.

nachonachoman.net•475 days ago

I'm totally embracing this!

tari-too.bsky.social•475 days ago

It was time I found out I guess.

kstewto.bsky.social•475 days ago

I’m a proud weirdo.

sleightedge.bsky.social•474 days ago

But what if you were the tech nerd who ate with all the art kids???

martynahb.bsky.social•474 days ago

Reddit - niche hobbyists and extremists?

baskin99.bsky.social•475 days ago

Wait.. so I'm a teacher hanging around with stoners.. Who's holding?

emmavaria.bsky.social•474 days ago

As a dedicated professional tech nerd, allow me to express my opinion that ain't nobody got time to figure out Mastodon. I tried.

insightersed.bsky.social•475 days ago

Does that make Spoutible the faculty lounge?

pennyrosenberg.bsky.social•475 days ago

I like Spoutible a lot but most of the people I want to follow are here. So that settles it. But I always used the dead bird site as a newswire.

sautter.bsky.social•474 days ago

What about Reddit?

peteashton.bsky.social•474 days ago

I knew there was a reason getting in here felt like coming home.

jkpolk.bsky.social•475 days ago

I am apparently in the right place.

sheadapts.bsky.social•475 days ago

In a nutshell. Emphasis on nuts.

dougieschwartz.bsky.social•474 days ago

I casually look around to see if I'm at the right table as I dip my fries in my mustard and shrug as people give me weird looks as they walk by, trying to avoid eye contact.

mosenkis.bsky.social•475 days ago

mikepalmedo.bsky.social•475 days ago

We're weirdos and stoners?

daremoten.bsky.social•474 days ago

Wait, I'm not a stoner!

...

Oh.

rrrowdy.bsky.social•475 days ago

Every experience I've had with other users on BlueSky suggests that they think they are the popular crowd.

whysharksmatter.bsky.social•475 days ago

Putting this into my “social media for scientists” lecture (with attribution)

scalzi.com•475 days ago

Please do!

andyread.bsky.social•475 days ago

Phew. As a new kid to this school, I'm glad I found the right lunch table.

danipayson.bsky.social•475 days ago

Same. I usually went to the library at lunch to write because I had no one to sit with.

irishtons.bsky.social•474 days ago

Would I ever point you in the wrong direction? ;) totally the right table!

justinbwilliams.net•475 days ago

The popular kids can keep their Threads. I like this table best!

joleon.bsky.social•475 days ago

Perfect. I also think bsky is the online equivalent of the kitchen at parties.

spitandtears.bsky.social•475 days ago

Explains why I am on Mastodon and Bluesky (not a stoner though)

plognark.bsky.social•475 days ago

Yeah. This breakdown feels correct.

thesasha.bsky.social•475 days ago

Thoughts on Instagram and tumblr? (Instagram to me is a mix of cool kids and art nerds)

dbressler.bsky.social•475 days ago

This explains why I'm comfortable everywhere except Threads.

As a teacher though, the best professional development is found on TikTok.

metafrantic.bsky.social•475 days ago

This is especially funny to me, since I have a Bachelor’s in Theater and the only one of these sites for which I don’t have an account is TikTok.

rmspencer.bsky.social•475 days ago

This makes me think I have chosen well.

elardee.bsky.social•475 days ago

I always love me a good extended metaphor!

legionbobo.bsky.social•475 days ago

Spot on!

djtommypizza.bsky.social•475 days ago

you guys meeting under the bleachers later i got a new piece

peacebird.bsky.social•475 days ago

Forever hangin with the Weirdos and Stoners

seamyst.bsky.social•475 days ago

This is hilariously accurate

ogmcduck.bsky.social•475 days ago

Thanks for confirming that I am on the right site.

cunobaros.bsky.social•475 days ago

Tumblr: The fandom kids, the ones too weird to be with the weirdos.

(And they're working on making it interoperable with the Mastodon protocol.)

melissadawnshaw.bsky.social•475 days ago

Instagram?

lunakersauzon.operajunkie.net•474 days ago

Me: weird theater stoner who's a glorified social worker.

jeremiahfromfargo.bsky.social•475 days ago

Whew I landed in the right place

ddelony.bsky.social•474 days ago

This compartmentalization is more reflective of real-world social networks. I'm fine with a social network being its own thing.

libbyann13.bsky.social•475 days ago

OMG that fits me perfectly. o.O

rramzee.bsky.social•475 days ago

I feel seen 😎

middleagedmorticia.bsky.social•475 days ago

So glad I found the weirdos and stoners app.

shd262623.bsky.social•475 days ago

Honestly, my experience is:
Mastodon: The "alt crowd" who simultaneously love and hate that nobody understands them
Threads: Artists and other weirdos
Bluesky: Stoners just reading Politics 101
Xitter: Still the popular crowd, but in a very different way

shd262623.bsky.social•475 days ago

(Although Xitter is debatable because 90% of my follows are non-Anglophone artists/creators & official accounts...)