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Userbase being more friendly towards different ideologies.
People don't want to admit it. But this is a very toxic place for people who are not of a very specific ideology.
And when confronted about it the usual response is "I don't want people thinking like that here" which is a rephrase of "I just want people like me here". Which is ok, but inconsistent with a wish for growth as the idea of people turning your ideology because you think you are so convincing it's a fantasy.
Platforms and protocols should be tools first and foremost, sure, but communities should never be tolerant of fascists and nazis. Any viable platform should have, at the absolute bare minimum, enforced rules against hate speech, which is something that's not remotely enforced on any big platform today.
Letting the right run rampant is why social media is in the state its in today, and a shift to open platforms is our chance to take these spaces back and show the right that they're not welcome in society as a whole.
The principles of operation of the fediverse are actually very aligned with the “small government, personal freedom, free speech” ethos that conservatives in the US claim to have.
The culture on most fedi spaces is hostile towards anything less than luxury gay space communism politically but it’s pretty easy to ignore because the power structure of the fediverse is ideal and makes it so you filter out the very worst of the tankies if you so choose.
Now if you are a fascist who is only concerned about dominating others opinions and rights, and only care about freeze peach and not freedom of association and expression I can see how you might find the fediverse objectionable.
The fedi needs more voices from all sides, it does not need fascists.
Money, donate money to the projects.
It all needs to get a lot less complex and confusing. I know the complexity is a byproduct of the defederated nature of the whole thing, but it's also the primary thing limiting growth. The fediverse is never going to grow to anything other than a tiny niche if it isn't immediately understandable to people who have 0 background in tech.
Accessibility, as the easier it s with people with disabilities, it would be a lot easier for people who don't have them, accessibility is incredibly powerful and extremely good for everyone
While nice to have and good for people who need it. I won't think it would have an impact of very high statistical relevance in userbase growth.
As people with visual disabilities (the most common disability that needs adaptations for a social media service) is not a massive demographic group.
Time and contribution from users like me and you, probably more you because you've posted something!
Support the communities you enjoy, and report the trolls in the comments. Block people who are trying to cause trouble and encourage others to do the same.
Word of mouth and time. Lots of it. All the ones that need you to be your own algorithm will take longer to gain acceptance with the general public. We'll need a few more Muskerbergian s-storms to motivate people away from the silos as well.
I don’t think there is a future without algorithms, but I do think it’s important to implement them in a way similar to how bsky did where they’re opt-in and configurable by individual users.