>I never really had a good answer for the second question in the case of Twitter, and I don't actually have a good answer for either question in the case of GNU Social.
A good number of them have a very minimal simple sign up form: Display Name, Email, Password.
As for finding friends/family, that isn't really the point of Twitter I feel? That's what Facebook is for. Twitter is more of a news aggregate or social/niche center. For example, I can follow all my favorite Cosplayers and major ___-con hosts to get updates on Cons and Cosplay. If you had family into racing or cars, they could follow their favorite racers or car enthusiasts, etc.
If you want to keep "up to date" for your interests, Twitter is fantastic for that by following leaders or major players in the industry/niche.
Which yes, is something GNU Social lacks and I admit that. But Twitter isn't required to fill that role. It just requires people to move to the better option.
A good number of them have a very minimal simple sign up form: Display Name, Email, Password.
As for finding friends/family, that isn't really the point of Twitter I feel? That's what Facebook is for. Twitter is more of a news aggregate or social/niche center. For example, I can follow all my favorite Cosplayers and major ___-con hosts to get updates on Cons and Cosplay. If you had family into racing or cars, they could follow their favorite racers or car enthusiasts, etc.
If you want to keep "up to date" for your interests, Twitter is fantastic for that by following leaders or major players in the industry/niche.
Which yes, is something GNU Social lacks and I admit that. But Twitter isn't required to fill that role. It just requires people to move to the better option.