Update: 17th June 23: We are now past 150,000 users.
π πππ
GET READY FOR JULY 1st
Update: We are now past 140,000 users. Growth is still accelerating.
When I checked yesterday it was 91,000 users, itβs now 109,000 and counting up fast!
100,000 π
Stats can be found here: https://the-federation.info/platform/73 - this site has been hugged to death for the moment.
Stats can also be found here: https://lemmy.fediverse.observer/dailystats
I think it needs a critical mass to keep enough content flowing, but being a major player on the Internet isn't as desirable as it once was. A few million active users would be plenty. Once you get to Reddits size, undesirables are attracted... Companies want to advertise, governments take notice, news companies comment about everyday BS, and "investors" want to buy it and find ways to monetizing.
Good point. Once a website is too noticeable, it is much more scrutinized. This has been seen countless times and its much harder to have the free flow of information when everyone is in on it. Then again though, that's why there are hundreds of instances, you can drop ship in the mainstream one and take a quieter approach.
Don't forget scammers. The sub I was a regular in had 900k+ members and there were scam bots trying to farm karma with reposts, selling fake merch with stolen art etc. constantly, sometimes multiple at once. That basically never happened to the smaller subs I regularily visited, as they apparently weren't "interesting" enough for those people. ...and I have the feeling that this issue will get only worse with the planned reddit changes and whatnot, but that's no longer my concern.