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.
  • dmtalon@infosec.pubEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    It 100% brought me here. Didn’t know what Lemmy was until the chaos over there. ultimately deleted my account never looked back. And that was a lot of eyeball time they lost from me.

    We’re missing the overall mass of people that both generate new, and answer questions on the content that was there, but I’m OK with that and I actually get better engagement here with those missing mass of people. I’m sure there’s a point of more is not better when it comes to users.

    • Lemmy_2019@lemmy.oneEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      I don’t want to get all ‘Rick and Morty is for high IQs’ but I would imagine the type of user that left Reddit in the recent protest is a bit more clued in than the average r/jokes commenter.

      The discussions around here certainly have a flavour of the Old Reddit, before Digg even.

  • ElJefe@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    11 months ago

    I hate that my attention span and adhd make it so hard to read interesting studies.

    • TimewornTraveler@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      it just takes familiarity. In grad school we had a checklist on what to look for when reading. turned it from a slog to a scavenger hunt.

      I can’t remember the exact list but it was something like: what’s the title, what’s the purpose, what’s the question, what’s the prior research, what’s the methodology, what’s the data, what’s the conclusion, and then finally what’s the abstract. or something, idk, I’ll try to find it but I don’t know you jefe