Hey all, I just wanted to give my personal view, now is the time to start talking about the Fediverse seriously with friends and family. I always have casually, but I'm starting serious talks with them now that the political climate has... shifted.

We are not the only ones who are concerned about our online privacy. Even people I thought didn't really care are suddenly concerned (or realizing) that their private chats and DMs may not be as private as they thought. I've found that many more people are interested than were even just a few months ago.

Fediverse is a bit harder, I've found it's easier to convince family with "It's a more private space for us to share vacation photos like we used to". Even my aging relatives know that facebook isn't safe to upload intimate family photos to, and they're looking for a solution. Friendica works well for this (and it's relatively easy to host a family instance).

Matrix has honestly been easier. It works similar to Discord so those users have been easier to transition, and you may be surprised how many of your friends are only in Discord to chat in your small servers anyway. If the majority of the conversation moves, they probably will to.

The biggest takeaway is, although we are techies, don't talk about the tech. It turns people away. Let it come up naturally. Describe the places as private, away from prying eyes. When asked "Well can I talk to other people?" Say yes, you'll show them how when it comes time for it. Don't bother with saying it's like email, or this, or that. To them, it's just an app. Send them to the registration page you want them to join at, and let it flow from there.

Good luck!

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[–] DiabolicalBird@lemmy.ca 5 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

I tried my hand at running a Matrix server with a couple of friends. Less than successful. Constant bugs and minor irritations that most people (and myself, eventually) don't want to deal with.

From notification problems, to decryption problems, to audio calls not working if the app isn't open on the screen for the entire call...

I really like the idea of Matrix, but it needs another few years in the oven before it's even remotely acceptable to recommend to friends or family. Most people have a hard enough time switching to something like Signal because battery optimization kills notifications, let alone something as convoluted as Matrix/Element.