Ever since Elon Musk bought Twitter, the once-beloved social network seems to be on fire right now. It’s a sad sight to see — fake news and misinformation running rampant from paid “verified” accounts, re-banning of previously banned accounts (they were banned for good reason), and so many other things I just can’t keep up with. Along with all these changes, there has been a rise in alternatives to Twitter, such as the incredibly popular Mastodon.
I prefer something simpler, like the new Hive Social that has been making waves recently. Think about Twitter and Instagram and what you’d end up with if you combined the two. There’s also a dash of Myspace, as you can even add music to your profile page. I’ve been poking around Hive Social since I joined a week ago, and while I’ve been enjoying myself there, I’ve noticed a few things along the way.
Hive reminds me of the early days of Twitter
OnePlus 10T Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
Hive Social is different than Mastodon and reminds me of the early days of Twitter (I’ve been on Twitter since 2007, crazy right?). After you set up your Hive account and follow some people, the initial feed is a simple combination of text and images. So far, from the people I follow, my home feed has given me a window into the random thoughts of my friends, some industry-related posts, Q&As, and photos of food, pets, and other fun stuff.
Although my feed has been a bit slow lately, I keep coming back to Hive, even if sometimes there isn’t much going on. For me, it was reminiscent of the early days of Twitter, where people would post random thoughts, what they’re up to right now, and pictures of what they’re having for lunch. No drama, politics, etc. so far — so far I’ve only been getting “good vibes” and that’s exactly what I need.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital trends
Creating a new post is also easy. Posts on Hive can have an unlimited amount of text, and you can even attach numerous photos and video clips. GIFs are welcome, and you can also poll your followers. Right from the start, you can choose who can comment on your post, something that took Twitter years to implement.
Again, the early days of Twitter were pretty rough — remember the Fail Whale? Right now, Hive is very reminiscent of that old experience, and I hope it improves over time, just like Twitter did. Just without the horrendous crash to the ground.
Simplicity is the biggest appeal of Hive
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital trends
When Mastodon came out a few years ago I opened an account because it was the “hot new thing”. But with all this nonsense on Twitter, it seems everyone has flocked to Mastodon. I gave it another shot, but I just can’t get over how confusing it is overall. The server/instance bit makes it hard for me to find my old Twitter friends if I don’t know what server they’re logged into, and I honestly hate how usernames look when you @ someone who isn’t on the same instance as you . It’s messed up, and the fact that each individual server or instance can have its own set of emojis and other little “perks” just makes it feel like Reddit or Discord. That’s not what I want in my Twitter alternative.
That’s why I enjoy Hive so much more than Mastodon — it’s easy.
Unlike Mastodon, Hive is simple — it’s one place for everyone to gather, just like Twitter. You create your account and have a username, and then people can find you, as long as they have your username. Since most people use the same username online these days, it’s not hard to find your friends or favorite influencers. No extra nonsense like servers — just search for someone’s username and it will come up if they’re on Hive. Easy with peas.
I know there are people who are attracted to Mastodon because it’s decentralized, and for some that’s exactly what they want. But not me. I just want one place where all my friends hang out and I can follow them. Having separate servers and whatnot seems very disjointed. That’s why I enjoy Hive so much more than Mastodon — it’s easy.
It still exists many room for improvement
Hive Social Inc.
Hive seems to be just getting started, and that’s okay. Hive has been around since 2019 and is run by just two people. But for all the drama on Twitter, it had an explosive number of new user sign-ups – about a million in a week.
I’ve noticed that every time I open the Hive app on my iPhone 14 Pro it takes at least 10 seconds for my home feed to load. This is assuming it doesn’t pick up where I left off from the last time I used it. I’m guessing it’s because Hive’s servers haven’t anticipated as many new users as quickly, so things are a little slow because of that — and that’s completely understandable. But I still hope that sooner or later the developers behind Hive will add more servers to handle the capacity.
I also noticed that the search is currently pretty useless and somehow the usernames are not unique (there are multiple people with the same name). NSFW posts also need to be manually flagged each time, so if the user doesn’t do this, then NSFW content may show up in the Discover section, regardless of whether you’ve allowed it in your account or not. Content moderation needs to be something that is seriously considered on the Hive platform because, right now, it’s obvious that it doesn’t exist.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital trends
The app itself could also use some improvement. There are inconsistent touch zones when browsing profiles, and you can’t just tap anywhere on the screen to easily close the context menu. On an iPhone, you can’t tap the device’s status bar to go back to the top (pro tip: tap the home source tab to do this). The Android version of the Hive app is kind of worse and you need workarounds for small things like adding a profile picture to the existing picture on your device. Yes, it’s definitely rough, to say the least.
And the biggest problem many people have with Hive is the fact that it’s currently only a mobile app. There is no website or desktop app. Everything Hive Social includes is on your iPhone or Android phone. For Hive to succeed, it needs to be available on devices other than phones and tablets. I really hope the developers are working on it because I know a few people who just won’t consider it because of that fact.
I just want Twitter back before Elon
Jeremy Bezanger/Unsplash
I know a lot of people have always disliked Twitter, but for me, Twitter has been more than just a mess all these years. I started my career thanks to Twitter, and I’ve met so many amazing people that I consider friends through Twitter — I’ve even met some of them in person. It’s also the way I share my work with people who might be interested, and that’s how I get the latest news.
It’s hard to start over and stay in touch with the people you care about when they all split up and go to smaller places.
I’m trying all these “alternatives” to Twitter because so many cool people I’ve met have left for something else. I’ll go where people go, but I’ve been on Twitter for 15 years now and I’ve built up a bit of a following. It’s hard to start over and stay in touch with the people you care about when they all split up and go to smaller places, instead of one big “public town square”.
So far, Hive is the only alternative I’ve really enjoyed using, but it definitely has a long way to go. I’ll stick with it for now and hope more people get on board after making some much needed additions.
At least, you know, until the next big social network option comes along.
Editor’s recommendations
Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn