I’ve been thinking again about the Mastodon experience for journalists.
Mastodon isn’t Twitter.
You’re not the main character over there.
And the moderators actually moderate.
Don’t be the guy walking into a quiet pub demanding they turn on the TV News at full volume.
You’ll get barred.
Sit first. Listen. Learn.
Twitter trains people to argue. It trains people to push back. That’s how you get an audience, how you build clicks and likes.
That’s a hard habit to break.
Mastodon isn’t Twitter. Maybe it isn’t for you.
Listen. Learn.
If it helps, think of CW as a headline. Not so much Content Warning, more Content Wrapper.
Not everyone wants to read every news article.
CW let’s the audience decide. And if they are curious, clicking increases their engagement, a good thing.
Those who do want the news will add you to lists, and CW set to off by default.
Chill.
Take time to learn the technology.
In my experience, “too technical” usually means “poorly documented”.
And that remains true.
Learning a new vocabulary of instances and servers can be intimidating.
Take your time.
It’s worth it. You’re not joining a new technology, you’re joining a community. Go make friends.
