@altucker - Totally.
One thing, though, I think if SM's going to be deeply decentralized, platforms should do away with Likes/thumbs-ups and let people judge posts by reading their written reactions. The Like button turns SM discourse into a dopamine chase and also fosters a mob mentality. People with low follower counts who put up great posts feel like losers when nobody engages, and meanwhile, people with a lot of friends but who post boring, redundant swill get their mediocrity encouraged.
@altucker - Lol I was just listening to a Twitter pod run by one of the most popular center-leftists; it was centered around gaining followers. Unintentional hilarity. Also kind of sad really.
@esaeger I've been happy that there doesn't seem to be the desparate follow seekers that there were on the bird thing. I never understood those folks that burnt calories chasing followers. I've stumbled upon some great people here and I hope to do some more stumbling.