To follow people from any server you can use your instance's search to find them.
Another thing you can do is visit the web interface of another server, and watch its local timeline. If you see anyone interesting you can follow them, using your own instance.
If a server has an open timeline, it's usually found at <domain>/public/local
You should be able to connect a mobile app like Tusky to your server(s); that's the underlying idea. You may have to enter its exact URL manually.
Mastodon instances which run version 3 software do not have the feature of hash tag following, which is a crippling limitation; make sure you join an instance that's running 4.
This flowchart is helpful in understanding the visibility of a public toot.
https://mastodon.nz/@chriswerry/109316694545832112
When you toot something, it does not reach instances where you do not have any followers; it won't appear in their Federated timelines. (It will appear if someone from that instance boosts the toot or searches for its URL, but it seems that case would only happen if they went out of their way to other instances to find it, which is unlikely.)
P.S. "mastodon" not "mastadon".