在Facebook(Facebook)和Twitter等主流巨头接管该行业之前，社交媒体已经成为一种东西（还记得Myspace吗？）。(Myspace)如今，您可能会觉得您可以使用这些服务，也可以不使用其他服务。但是，有许多竞争网站可能会提供更多您想要的东西，或者至少提供更少您不(don’t)想要的东西。
无论您对社交媒体市场领导者的具体抱怨是什么，您总是可以求助于社交媒体。
乳齿象(Mastodon)
Mastodon 是Twitter微博服务的开源(Open Source)、去中心化替代方案。它的外观和工作方式很像Twitter，因此当前的Twitter用户不应该花太多时间来调整。您发送的不是 Tweets，而是最长可达 500 个字符的“toots”。
然而，在引擎盖下，Mastodon的工作方式与(Mastodon)Twitter非常不同。Mastodon不是传统的托管网络服务，而是分布在“联合”网络上。
不同的Mastodon实例拥有不同类型的内容或不同的社区。每个人都有自己的规则和政策，但它们协同工作并毫无问题地共享数据。实例可以相互阻止或阻止来自其他实例的特定内容，但用户可以跨实例相互交互而不会出现任何问题。
它的联合网络设计使关闭Mastodon变得非常困难，因此它已成为多样化且通常处于边缘的亚文化的家园。
Facebook和Twitter等主要社交媒体平台都是以盈利为目的的企业。这(Which)是他们使用收集的用户数据向其他企业提供更有效广告的原因之一。
Diaspora* 是一个由用户拥有和运营的非营利性社交媒体平台。该系统被分解为独立运行和拥有的“pod”。就像 Mastodon 的实例一样，这些 pod 被联网在一起。甚至 Diaspora* 的最初开发也来自众包(crowd-sourcing)。
就其设计而言，Diaspora* 不能用于货币化或用于销售广告。根本没有收集个人信息的动机，更不用说它对关闭它的尝试极有抵抗力。整个系统是围绕去中心化、自由和隐私的原则构建的。Mastodon代码的DNA中内置的东西。
埃洛(Ello)
Ello最初是作为Facebook的直接替代品。主要区别主要在于Ello没有广告，因此不会收集或出售用户信息给广告商。从那以后，它变得不再像Facebook，而更像以视觉为中心的网站，例如Pinterest、Deviant Art 或Instagram。
Ello受到艺术家的欢迎，以至于该网站现在将自己标榜为“创作者(Creators)网络”。您会发现大量顶级艺术家展示他们的作品，还有很多机会让崭露头角的艺术家参与简报并展示他们的作品集。
Ello以其无广告政策和不强制实名而著称。用户(User)数据也不会出售给第三方。这使得它成为Facebook拥有的Instagram的一个引人注目的替代品，其中(Instagram)Facebook的某些方面被投入了很好的衡量标准。
圆点(The Dots)
The Dots实际上更像是LinkedIn之类的替代品，但是很多人使用Facebook或Twitter等平台来建立一个不太正式的专业网络，所以 The Dots仍然是我们需要在对话中包含的内容。
“不穿西装的人的专业网络”几乎是对 The Dots的最佳描述。他们的文案肯定获得了奖金！
Dots接待了一些最热门的初创公司和知名品牌的专业人士。这是公司招聘人才的地方，也是寻找可以帮助您、提供建议甚至在项目上合作的其他人的好地方。设置详细的个人资料很容易，这样人们就可以看到您与谁一起工作、您做过什么以及您希望从事什么样的工作。
隔壁(NextDoor)
许多使用Facebook的人只是真正希望与附近的人建立联系，例如住在同一街区的人。这就是为什么人们为他们的业主协会和学校设立私人Facebook群组的原因。(Facebook)
如果这是您使用社交媒体的主要原因，您可能需要考虑NextDoor。这是一个社交媒体平台，专门设计用于让居住在同一社区的人们在不接触更大的社交群体的情况下进行社交交流。您还可以访问当地资源，例如您所在地区的企业以及非营利组织和计划。
NextDoor要求每个用户验证他们的姓名和地址，但该信息不会与任何人共享。这样可以确保您与之互动的人真正成为当地社区的一部分。因此，您将了解自己附近的事件和问题，而不必担心随机的陌生人插手进来。
头脑(Minds)
被《连线(Wired)》杂志称为“反 Facebook(anti-Facebook) ”的Minds拥有独特的商业模式，您可以在该模式下通过在网站上的活动实际赚取代币或真钱。
它融合了不同的社交媒体元素。您可以发布博客文章、视频、图片和状态。有热门话题的提要，它也有安全的群聊。
如果您创建内容，您可以从粉丝那里获得美元(US Dollars)和加密货币的报酬。所以它几乎是Facebook和(Facebook)YouTube和Patreon等各种平台的混合体。
Minds 使用完全开源的代码，这意味着您可以查看他们的算法以确切了解它们的工作原理。他们的内容政策非常开放，并利用社区陪审团来确定某些内容是否不合适。这是一个拥有强大的言论自由基础的平台，因此请准备好接受强有力的意见，具体取决于您在哪里冒险。
信号(Signal)与电报(Telegram)
我们将这两种社交媒体替代品组合在一起，因为它们都是Facebook Messenger和Facebook 旗下的Whatsapp等类似应用的替代品。
Signal和Telegram都提供更加注重隐私的服务。尽管所有这些服务都使用加密来保护您的消息不被窥探，但Signal和Telegram 更进一步(Telegram)。
在这两者中，Signal在隐私方面是最严格的。它坚决反对在其服务器上存储元数据，并且不存储或共享信息，例如您上次活动的时间。Signal也根本不存储有关其用户的信息，但这当然意味着它最终使用起来不如Telegram方便。
我们实际上建议人们同时使用Telegram和Signal。Telegram非常适合作为具有有趣社交功能的更私密的通用信使应用程序，而Signal非常适合您需要以最高级别的隐私和安全性进行通信时。
以您自己的方式使用社交媒体
不同(Different)的社交媒体平台有不同的开展业务的方式。他们有自己的政策、前景和公司结构。有些人想赚钱，有些人想建立社区。这些选择没有本质上的好坏之分，重要的是你有(have)选择。
对于任何一种服务或产品来说，完全垄断从来都不是一件好事，这些社交媒体替代品让你决定你想做出哪些牺牲。
8 Best Social Media Alternatives to Facebook and Twitter
Social media was already a thing (remembеr Myspace?) before mainstream juggernauts like Facebook and Twitter took over the industry. These days it can feel like you can either use these services or nothing else. However, there are many competing sites that might offer more of what you want or, at least, less of what you don’t want.
Regardless of what your specific complaints are when it comes to the social media market leaders, you always have a social media alternative to turn to.
Mastodon is an Open Source, decentralized alternative to the Twitter microblogging service. It looks and works a lot like Twitter, so current Twitter users shouldn’t have too hard a time adjusting. Instead of Tweets, you send “toots” which can be up to 500 characters in length.
Under the hood however, Mastodon works very differently from Twitter. Instead of being a traditional hosted web service, Mastodon is spread out over a “federated” network.
Different Mastodon instances are home to different types of content or different communities. Each has its own rules and policies, but they work together and share data with no issue. Instances can block each other or specific content from other instances, but users can interact with each other across instances without any issues.
Its federated network design makes it hard if not impossible to shut Mastodon down and so it’s become a home for a diverse and often fringe set of subcultures.
Major social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are businesses aimed at making profit. Which is one of the reasons they use collected user data to offer more effective advertising to other businesses.
Diaspora* is a non-profit social media platform that’s owned and operated by users. The system is broken up into “pods” that are independently run and owned. Much like Mastodon’s instances, these pods are networked together. Even the initial development of Diaspora* came from crowd-sourcing.
By its very design, Diaspora* can’t be monetized or used to sell advertising. There’s no incentive to collect personal information at all, not to mention that it’s extremely resistant to attempts to shut it down. The entire system is built around the principles of decentralization, freedom and privacy. Something that’s built into the DNA of Mastodon’s code.
Ello started out as a straightforward alternative to Facebook. The main difference was largely that Ello is ad-free and therefore would not collect or sell user information to advertisers. Since then, it’s become a little less like Facebook and more like visually-focused sites such as Pinterest, Deviant Art or Instagram.
Ello has been embraced by artists to such an extent that the site now bills itself as “The Creators Network”. You’ll find a large collection of top artists showcasing their work, as well as many opportunities for up and coming artists to engage with briefs and show off their portfolios.
Ello is notable for its no-ads policy and no enforcement of real names. User data isn’t sold to third-parties either. Which makes it a compelling alternative to the Facebook-owned Instagram, with some aspects of Facebook thrown in for good measure.
The Dots is actually more of an alternative to the likes of LinkedIn, but plenty of people use platforms like Facebook or Twitter to build a less formal professional network, so The Dots is still something we need to include in the conversation.
The “professional network for people who don’t wear suits” is pretty much the best description of The Dots you could have. Their copywriter has certainly earned a bonus!
The Dots plays host to professional people from some of the hottest startups as well as big established brands. It’s a place where companies go to hire talent, but it’s also a good place to find other people who can help you, give advice or even collaborate on projects. It’s easy to set up a detailed profile so that people can see who you’ve worked with, what you’ve done and what sort of work you’re looking to do.
Many people who use Facebook are only really looking to connect to people who are close by, such as those who live in the same neighbourhood. It’s why people set up private Facebook groups for their homeowners associations and schools.
If that’s your primary reason for using social media, you may want to consider NextDoor. This is a social media platform designed specifically to let people who live in the same neighborhood communicate socially without being exposed to a larger social group.You’ll also get access to local resources, such as businesses in your area and nonprofit organizations and programs.
NextDoor requires that every user verify their name and address, but that information isn’t shared with anyone. That ensures the people you get to interact with are really a part of the local community. So you’ll know about events and problems in your own neighbourhood without having to worry about random strangers butting in.
Referred to as the “anti-Facebook” by Wired magazine, Minds has a unique business model where you can actually earn either tokens or real money for your activity on the site.
It’s a mix of different social media elements. You can publish blog posts, videos, pictures and statuses. There are feeds of trending topics and it has secure group chat as well.
If you create content, you can get paid in US Dollars and cryptocurrency by your fans. So it’s almost a mix of Facebook and the various platforms such as YouTube and Patreon.
Minds uses completely open source code, which means that you can look through their algorithms to know exactly how they work. Their content policy is very open and makes uses of a community jury to determine if something is unsuitable. It’s a platform with strong free speech underpinnings, so be prepared for robust opinions, depending on where you venture.
We’ve grouped these two social media alternatives together because they are both alternatives to Facebook Messenger and similar apps like Whatsapp, which is owned by Facebook.
Both Signal and Telegram offer a more privacy-focused service. Although all of these services make use of encryption to protect your messages from prying eyes, Signal and Telegram go the extra mile.
Of the two, Signal is the most strict in terms of privacy. It takes a hard line against storing metadata on its servers and it doesn’t store or share information such as when you were last active. Signal also stores no info about its users at all, but of course that does mean it ends up being a little less convenient to use than Telegram.
We actually recommend that people use both Telegram and Signal. Telegram is great as a more private general-purpose messenger app with fun social features, while Signal is perfect for when you need to communicate with the highest level of privacy and security.
Social Media on Your Own Terms
Different social media platforms have different ways of conducting their business. They have their own policies, outlooks and company structures. Some want to make a profit, others want to build communities. There’s nothing inherently good or bad about any of these choices, but what’s important that you have choices.
It’s never great for any one service or product to have a total monopoly and these social media alternatives let you decide about which sacrifices you’d like to make.
