Mastodon is taking cues from Bluesky with plans for its own starter ‘Packs’

Mastodon, the decentralized social network boasting more than 8 million accounts and close to 700,000 active monthly users, is set to unveil a new feature dubbed "Packs." This initiative aims to facilitate the onboarding process for newcomers by providing curated collections of users to follow, similar to a feature rolled out by Bluesky last year. The introduction of Starter Packs is designed to tackle the common "cold start" dilemma faced by users joining new social platforms. When individuals create an account, they often struggle to identify whom to follow, leading to a less engaging experience. Bluesky's Starter Packs addressed this issue by allowing users to curate suggested accounts based on various topics. Today, users can explore Packs that focus on diverse subjects and highlight prominent figures within the app. The concept has gained traction, prompting Meta to implement a similar functionality in its Instagram Threads platform. Now, Mastodon is eager to join the trend but with distinct differences. The platform emphasizes user control over their visibility in Packs, proposing that users can choose to opt out by adjusting their account's discoverability settings. This offers a more user-friendly approach compared to Bluesky's method, where users had to report or block to remove themselves from a Starter Pack. Additionally, Mastodon will notify users when they are featured in a Pack, ensuring transparency and user agency. The nonprofit behind Mastodon, Mastodon gGmbH, is working alongside other developers within the fediverse on a Fediverse Enhancement Proposal (FEP) that is currently available on GitHub. The initial rollout of Packs, along with other enhancements aimed at improving user onboarding, is expected in the upcoming Mastodon 4.6 release, with the platform currently operating on version 4.4.5.