Who here is talking that the way to grow the network is by applying the techniques from Big Tech? It seems like you've created this giant strawman in your head.

All I am asking is for us to be more welcoming to people here, even if they are not exactly like what you wish. Or to help your friends to try it and see if they can help enough people/content for them to remain invested. Or even (possibly?) reaching out to someone on Twitter/YouTube and say "hey, I want to keep following you, but I don't want to stay here. Would you consider creating an account on Mastodon/Peertube?", etc.