It's great to see so many new people joining various services.
Let's talk about some terminology to help you -- don't worry, we will keep it simple.
The #fediverse is a word used a lot. Basically, it is a way for lots of social servers to talk to each other and share posts. Like email, we are all on different email servers, but they all communicate.
When you join the fediverse, you pick a server to join. Some servers cater for niche topics. Don't worry, they still talk with the fediverse, but it means your server has people with the same interests as you. Other servers are more general.
There are various server types. Here are a few examples:
#Mastodon -- very popular; similar to Twitter. You can post messages, attach images, reply, like, share (called boosting)
#Calckey -- similar to Mastodon, but has some extra features (example, text formatting)
#Akkoma and #Misskey are also similar to Twitter but more niche
#Pixelfed is a phenomenal alternative to #Instagram. You will feel very at home there.
Importantly, all these servers talk to each other. So, if you are using Mastodon you can follow someone on Pixelfed and Lemmy and Calckey, all from your one account -- and interact with them too. How great is that?
There are NO computer algorithms in the fediverse to force content on to you. You only see posts from people you follow. So follow lots of people; you can unfollow later.
Do an #introduction post to let people know about you. Use the hashtag '#introduction' to allow others to browse collective posts and maybe follow you.
You will see I have used the # a lot here. Hashtags help others find similar posts. Use them for key topics in your post.
Don't be afraid to ask for help if you are not sure.
