It seems that the once-favorite social media site has just been going down in flames. It is sad to see fake news and misinformation running rampant from paid accounts, restoration of banned accounts, and so many other things. Mastodon is an incredibly popular alternative to Twitter.

The Hive Social has recently made waves and I prefer simpler things. If you combined the two, what would you get? You can add some music to your profile page, as well as add a dash of the social networking site. While I have been enjoying my time at Hive Social, I have noticed a few things along the way.

Hive reminds me of the early days of Twitter

Twitter app on the OnePlus 10T.
OnePlus 10T Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Hive Social is different from Mastodon and reminds me of the early days of social media. The home feed of your Hive account is a combination of text and images. My home feed has given me a glimpse into the musings of my friends, some industry-related posts, questions and answers, and photos of food, pets, and other fun stuff.

I keep coming back to Hive even if there isn't much going on. It reminds me of the early days of Twitter, where people would post random thoughts and pictures of what they were having for lunch. It has been good vibes for me so far, and that is what I want.

Showing home feed on Hive Social featuring a post about Star Wars waffles
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

You can create a new post. You can attach photos and video clips to posts on Hive. You can also ask your followers questions. You can choose who you want to comment on your post from the start, which is something that took a long time to implement.

Remember the Fail Whale? Hive is similar to that experience, and I hope to see it improve with time. Without collapsing to the ground.

Simplicity is Hive’s biggest draw

iPhone 14 Pro in hand showing off profile page on Hive Social app
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

Mastodon was the "hot new thing" when I created an account. Everyone seems to be flocking over to Mastodon with all of the nonsense on social media. I gave it another try, but I still can't figure out how it all works. It's hard for me to find my old friends if I don't know which server they signed up on, and I don't like how usernames look when you aren't on the same instance as you. It's messy and the fact that every server can have its own set of "perks" makes it feel like a website. That is not what I would like in my alternative.

It is easy to enjoy Hive more than Mastodon.

Unlike Mastodon, Hive is a place where everyone can come together. People can find you if they have your usernames. It is not difficult to find your friends or favorite people online since most people use the same usernames. If a person is on Hive, they will show up if you search for their usernames. It's easy.

I am aware that there are people who are drawn to Mastodon because of the fact that it is not dependent on a central authority. Not me, but not the other way around. I want to be able to follow my friends wherever they go. It feels very disorganized because of having separate server. It is easy to enjoy Hive more than Mastodon.

There’s still a lot of room for improvement

The Hive Social app on a phone on a white background.
Hive Social Inc.

It seems that Hive is just starting. Hive is run by two people. It has had a million new users sign up in a single week.

It takes at least 10 seconds for my home feed to load up when I open the Hive app on my phone. If it doesn't pick up from where I left off, this is a problem. Hive's server weren't anticipating the number of new users so quickly, so things are a little slow I hope that Hive's developers add more server capacity sooner than later.

Search is useless right now, and there are multiple people with the same handle, which is odd. If a user doesn't manually tag NSFW posts, they won't see them in the Discover section, even if you allow it on your account. It is obvious that there is no moderation on the Hive platform.

Hive Social profile page showing posts on iPhone 14 Pro
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

Improvements could be made to the app itself. You can't just close out a contextual menu when you're browsing profiles because there are inconsistent touch zones. If you want to go back to the top of the device, you have to use the home feed. Adding a profile picture with an existing image is one of the things you need to do if you want the Hive app to work on your phone. To say it is rough is an understatement.

And the biggest issue that a lot of people are having with Hive is the fact that it is currently a mobile app only. There’s no website and no desktop app. Everything involving Hive Social is on your iPhone or Android phone. For Hive to succeed, it needs to be available on devices other than phones and tablets. I sincerely hope that the developers are working on this because I know a few people who simply won’t consider it because of this fact.

I just want pre-Elon Twitter back

Twitter Blue menu option on a white screen background which is on a black background.
Jeremy Bezanger/Unsplash

I know a lot of people don't like the service, but for me, it was more than just a hot mess. I started my career because of the social networking site, and I have met many amazing people through it. I find out about breaking news when I share my work with people who might be interested.

It is hard to keep in touch with the people you care about when you are separated from them.

Many of the people I have met have left for something else, so I'm trying all of these alternatives. I have been on the social networking site for 15 years and have built up a small following. When everyone splits up and goes to smaller places, it's hard to keep in touch with your friends and family.

Hive is the only alternative that I have used so far and it has a long way to go. Hopefully, more people will join once it makes some needed changes.

Until the next big social network option comes along.

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