John Scalzi: 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

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

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

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

Please do!

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

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

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

I knew I was in the right place

Me too!

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

Be both!

THAT WOULD REQUIRE JOINING TIKTOK. No bandwidth available. :shudder:

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

What’s with this “were” business? :-)

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.

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

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

*return fistbump* 😆

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

I’m still a weirdo AND a tech nerd.

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

(hums in Vorlon) Yes.

😆

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

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

Haha. Did we go to the same high school?

I'm more Anthony Michael Hall's character.

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

Alex Keaton.

This supports my theory that instagram is the Gen X of social media.

This is hilariously accurate

Feels good to be back at my home table.

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

One caveat: TikToc is *Musical* Theatre Kids. Us normal theatre kids hang out with the weirdos and stoners.

Weirdos AND stones? Sounds nice.

I ticked both boxes!

Heeey, Me too!

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

Proud to be a weirdo and stoner!

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

I was always a weirdo.

I'm totally embracing this!

It was time I found out I guess.

Post