J Multimed Inf Syst: User Sentiments and Dynamics in the Decentralized Web: Reddit Migration’s Impact on Lemmy
www.jmis.org
Decentralized alternatives like Mastodon and Lemmy are gaining popularity in response to growing complaints about centralized social media platforms such as Twitter and Reddit, which frequently prioritize business interests over user experience. This study employs a mixed-methods approach to scrutinize the impact of Reddit users’ migration on Lemmy. It elucidates user growth patterns, revealing significant registration spikes and centralization trends within decentralized structures. A sentiment analysis with VADER, incorporating a dataset of 48,272 comments from before and after the migration, depicts a predominantly positive sentiment towards Lemmy and criticisms of Reddit. A comprehensive survey with 354 responses from major Lemmy communities validates and supplements the findings, shedding light on users’ motivations, adaptation experiences, and long-term intentions. Furthermore, qualitative interviews with 16 purposively sampled users offer in-depth insights into individual experiences, community dynamics, and perspectives on decentralization and engagement. This study reveals a promising future for Lemmy, highlighting its adaptability and users’ commitment, and contributes valuable insights to the discourse on the sustainability and growth of decentralized platforms in a dynamic digital landscape.
  • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.ml
    18·
    11 months ago

    Neat, it’s nice too see the numbers and analysis. Looks like Lemmy is enjoying healthy growth. It’s also interesting to see the challenges people have when migrating from a centralized platform. I recall there was also a lot of confusion with the idea of instances when Mastodon started becoming popular.

    In my view, the key aspect to focus on is sustainability. There are three things that are required for an open source platform to thrive. It needs developers to maintain the code and add features, volunteers to host servers, and users to generate content on the platform. I’d argue that Lemmy is already largely sustainable in all three categories today.

    I think this is a key difference between open source platforms and corporate ones. A company needs to make revenue and show growth for the investors. This creates pressures to grow aggressively, and if the company fails to keep growing then it will probably die and the platform will disappear. On the other hand, open source doesn’t have these kinds of pressures, and as long as a project can reach sustainability it can exist indefinitely without needing constant sustained growth.

    • DessalinesOPA
      14·
      11 months ago

      There are three things that are required for an open source platform to thrive. It needs developers to maintain the code and add features, volunteers to host servers, and users to generate content on the platform. I’d argue that Lemmy is already largely sustainable in all three categories today.

      Those are great points, and we do hit them mostly.

      I wish we had a few more core devs on the lemmy project taking on issues, but I think we’ll get there eventually. We def already have a healthy ecosystem of apps and app developers now that makes lemmy’s future a bright one.

      And while we don’t need constant growth of users, it’s great to see a lot of people enjoying lemmy and sticking around.

      • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.ml
        9·
        11 months ago

        For sure, it’s really nice to see the community grow, and I find most people tend to be generally positive, especially on Lemmygrad. I suspect that having separate instances helps in this regard since people can just join an instance that suits them. I’m really excited to see what’s in store for Lemmy in 2024. And kudos on all the amazing work you’re doing on the platform. You’ve built an amazing thing, and I’m thankful to have this space with so many comrades. :)