Mastodon, a competitor of Twitter, has turned down more than five investment proposals from Silicon Valley VC companies in recent months, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The platform’s founder has promised to retain the non-profit status of the quickly expanding social media site following the rejection of the offers.
(Photo : JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)
This photograph taken on November 7, 2022 shows the logos of social networks Twitter and Mastodon reflected in smartphone screens, in Paris.
Untouchable Non-Profit Status
Ever since Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October, several figures and celebrities have quit the platform citing concerns over the billionaire’s leadership of the platform.
The open-source microblogging platform was created in 2016 by German software developer Eugen Rochko.
Rochko said in an interview with the Financial Times that he received offers from more than five investors in the US with hundreds of thousands of dollars.
However, he emphasized that Mastodon’s non-profit status will remain untouched to ensure its independence and its choice of moderating methods, which he claims is what makes the platform appealing to users.
He swiped a not-so-subtle jab toward Twitter when he said that Mastodon will not become everything that users detest about the former app.
Despite the similarities between the two networks, Rochko seemingly wants Mastodon to be anti-thesis to the business activities and principles of the blue bird app.
He mentioned that Twitter can be bought by a “controversial billionaire”, it can be shut down, and become bankrupt – which he claims is the difference between the two platforms.
“At Mastodon, we present a vision of social media that cannot be bought and owned by any billionaire. Your ability to communicate online should not be at the whims of a single commercial company!” the microblogging platform wrote in a tweet in April.
After sharing information on the route of Musk’s private jet, Twitter temporarily blocked the accounts of Mastodon and many journalists this month.
Twitter also said it would prohibit links to competing for social media sites like Mastodon, but it later changed its mind.
In response, Rochko said in a blog post that this served as a sharp warning that centralized platforms can place arbitrary and unfair restrictions on what users can and cannot say.
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Mastodon’s Popularity by the Numbers
Rochko observed an unexpected surge in users who had been using the app for months after Musk’s Twitter acquisition.
Mastodon reported a rise in monthly active users from 300,000 to 2.5 million over the months of October and November. Most importantly, more celebrities and influencers are trying out this app.
According to Mastodon, some 655,000 users have switched to their platform, following worries and speculations that Twitter will shut down after several workers from the company resigned from their posts.
The Twitter rival platform had a strong performance in November and it hopes to continue such an upward trajectory.
Related Article: Why Twitter Users Are Migrating to Mastodon: A Beginners Guide To The Open-source Social Network
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