After nearly 10 years, I am stepping down as CEO of Mastodon and transferring my ownership of the trademarks and other assets to the Mastodon nonprofit. During my time at Mastodon, I have focused myself less and less on external communications, and to some extent, this is the culmination of that trend. Mastodon is bigger than me, and although the technology we develop on is itself decentralized – with a plethora of alternative federated projects demonstrating that participation in this ecosystem is possible without our involvement – it benefits our community to ensure that the project so many people love and depend on remains true to its values. There are plenty of examples of founder ego harming thriving communities, and although I’d like to consider myself the exception, I understand why people would prefer better guardrails.
But it would be ridiculous for me to pretend that there is no self-interest involved. Being in charge of a social media project is, apparently, quite a stressful endeavor, and I don’t have the right personality for it. I think I don’t need to belabor the point that so many people’s obsession with social media doesn’t always manifest in a healthy way. You will be compared to tech billionaires, with their immense wealth and layered support systems, but you will have no money or resources. This is reflected in what people expect from you and how people talk about you. I remember someone jokingly suggesting that I challenge Elon Musk to a fight (this was during his and Mark Zuckerberg’s martial arts fights), and I was quietly thinking to myself, I really don’t get paid enough for this. I also remember, for some reason, some Spanish newspaper article concluded, based on the very few photos of me I shared on the web, that I don’t dress as fashionably as Jeff Bezos. Over the course of a decade, these little things slowly slip away from you. Some things stick fast. I avoid showing vulnerability online, but last summer I had a particularly bad interaction with a user that made me realize I needed to take a step back and find a healthy relationship with the project, which would ultimately serve as the motivation to begin this restructuring process.
As far as what the legacy of my race will be, that’s hard for me to answer. For one thing, I think it’s not up to me to judge. On the other hand, it’s as much about what didn’t happen as it is about what did happen. I’ve always thought that one of my most important responsibilities is to say “no.” It’s not a popular thing to do, nor is it a fun thing to do, but being pulled in too many different directions at the same time can be disastrous for any project. I would like to think that by being careful I avoided some problems. But I also know that my dislike of public appearances cost Mastodon some promotional opportunities. Ultimately, although I can’t take full credit for it, I’m very proud of how far we’ve come in the last 10 years. From the most useless project written from my childhood bedroom, to one of the last remaining and thriving pieces of the original, community-focused Internet.
I’m very passionate about Mastodon and Fediverse. The Fediverse is an island within an increasingly dystopian capitalist hellscape. And from my perspective, Mastodon is our best effort to bring this vision of a better future to the masses. That’s why I’m sticking around, albeit in a more advisory and less public role.