There is now a newer version version!!! go to this one!!!
This article covers both general social media alternatives, as well as websites specifically for artists.
Twitter getting torn apart by Space Karen is a shame (although let's not romanticise it), and in this power vacuum, there's a real risk of jumping for the coolest, shiniest looking thing in the room. This approach would be a big mistake, and might end up putting you at the same dumb corporate or ideological whims that made Twitter hell in the first place, and what enabled Twitter to get purchased by someone like Elon fucking Musk.
So I think that there needs to be ways for people to assess what level of risk they're willing to put up with, because you're not going to find that on the sign up page, and this is what this post aims to do. I am currently updating these every couple of months because the field is constantly changing and expanding, so stay tuned!
What makes a social media platform less risky in my opinion?
- The company structure should either be...
- A privately owned company without odious investment (such as VC investment or investments from generally awful companies)
- A worker-owned coop
- Rules need to cover basic principles like 'bigotry is not allowed'.
- Needs to have trustworthy-seeming people at the wheel, not Silicon Valley techbros.
These factors are pretty important in predicting who are you going to end up having to ditch in five years because the leaders make the place insufferable to be on, either because they need money from their investors or shareholders, or because they have shitty beliefs about content moderation themselves.
This does not guarantee long-term success of a company or a platform - its currently not certain if social media can ever be done in a financially sustainable way - what this list is about is identifying risks that have already been seen before, things that are basically a guaranteed way to fuck things up far enough down the line.
Useful thing to note before we start - I have been in a business relationship with one of the social networks listed here (Cohost). I still had the same opinion I have now before they approached me, but you know, knowledge is power.
General social media options
✅ Low risk / okay
Cohost (this website - cohost.org)
Worker-owned coop, with decent community rules.
Mastodon (there is no one URL!)
It depends on what server you join - there are many community owned and run servers with good rules.
Pillowfort (pillowfort.social)
Private ownership, rules seem fine.
⚠️ Take caution
Bluesky
Like Mastodon, there is no one Bluesky, but right now, people are going to the original developer server - bsky.app.
There are a lot of conflicting reports about Bluesky right now.
- It was started by Jack Dorsey - the same idiot who used to run Twitter and now owns cryptocurrency shithouse Block Inc. He is no longer working at Bluesky, but he is on the board of directors (keep in mind, there are other board members).
- Bluesky was spun off by Twitter and was initially funded by them, but according to the team, they are 100% independent from Twitter and don't owe them anything.
- It's developed by a Public Benefit Corporation (which is certainly less bad than other structures on paper, but how less bad in practice remains to be seen), although their charter or investment is not public. Until their charter (the legal documentation that creates ethical restrictions on investors and their own actions) is public, I wouldn't take this corporate status very seriously.
I've heard conflicting things from people observing this space, and from Bluesky users themselves. I've heard bad things from people, and I've heard good things from people.
Hive (hivesocial.app)
Got angel investment in a 'pre-seed' round, it's not clear what the terms of that investment are or if they intend on getting more in the future.
❌ High risk / Just generally bad
CounterSocial (counter.social)
It's just a Mastodon instance with some weird jingoistic shit going on, like blanket banning accounts from 'hostile nations' (to the US military).
Post.news
VC-funded, including receiving funding from a16z - the VC firm that dumped billions into crypto bullshit.
Spill (spill.com)
It's VC-funded.
Threads (threads.net)
Run by Instagram, which is owned by Meta (formerly called Facebook). I don't think I need to state how bad they are! It kinda goes without saying for a Meta product, but this app is a privacy nightmare.
Tumblr (tumblr.com)
Owned by Automattic, a heavily VC-funded company.
Websites for artists
✅ Low-risk / okay
Cara (cara.app)
Run by volunteers, reasonable ToS.
Inkblot (inkblot.art)
Run mostly by volunteers, raises money from donations, reasonable ToS.
❌ High risk / Just generally bad
ArtStation (artstation.com)
Owned by Epic Games, which in turn is 40% owned by Tencent and some other not great corporate entities.
Tencent is a massive Chinese tech company that creates integral parts of Chinese surveillance infrastructure such as WeChat, and applies Chinese soft power on western entertainment companies through buying shares. If people were penalised or not allowed to protest about Hong Kong or Taiwan in the NBA or at a video games tournament, Tencent is probably why.
DeviantArt (deviantart.com)
A formerly VC funded company that is now owned by Wix, a publicly traded company. Neither of these things are good.
Itaku (itaku.ee)
Raises funds through public donations which means it's probably private with no investors. However, it has no rules against bigotry and has rules against politics, both huge red flags IMO.
