Mastodawn

Javier Apfeld Dec 16, 2022

I've been thinking that there are a few different ways to engage in social media:

1. I want to hear the news (fine).
2. I want to be the news (yuck).
3. I want to contribute to and benefit from the community (yes!).

For anyone who is 1-ish and hasn't yet converged onto 3, I'd like to plant a seed. #3 requires a bit of thought around what you want to be surrounded by, and then a bit of commitment to help make that happen (through follows, posts, boosts, & likes). It's a bit more of an intentional process than #1. But I really do believe that it transforms social media into a more positive experience (at least that's been true for me).

As we all think about our intentions for 2023, want would you like to see us surround ourselves with? I'd love to hear!

Nicole Rust Dec 16, 2022

As I think about the answer to my own question ...

I want to be surrounded by interesting ideas, both about how the brain works, as well as other things. I also want to hear from a diversity of voices and perspectives (even when I don't agree with them). And I want to see us all challenge one another in positive ways in all ways. In the realm of science in particular, that helps science and scientists progress.

Did I miss anything? It helps me to pin down what I'll be following/posting/boosting/liking.

Craig Froehle Dec 16, 2022

@NicoleCRust 👏 I literally just posted this morning about one practice I'd like to see more of here: https://sciences.social/@cra1g/109523343580047139

Craig Froehle, PhD (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image I've been on the birdsite for >14 years now and I got very used to "liking" each post I appreciated. One big difference here, that I've been hoping you, my fellow Mastodonians, might give me some insight into is why "Favoriting" ⭐ here is so much less common. I get that it doesn't feed some algorithm or shape what others see, but starring a post still says to the author "thanks for sharing this." Why is that expression of appreciation not the norm here, which seems more generally prosocial?

sciences.social

Nicole Rust Dec 16, 2022

@cra1g
Agreed! Don’t hold back with those likes.

The Quiet Force Dec 16, 2022

@NicoleCRust @cra1g
In my personal case, it boils down to semantics.
I "like" nice tweets/toots/posts;
I "appreciate" insightful ones;
I "fave" only a few ones with the idea of responding to them later on.
There is no Like nor Appreciate here, so my feedback was limited. It could be a theme to expand in 2023.

Ben de Bivort Dec 16, 2022

@NicoleCRust My version of 3 is wanting to cultivate the "pocket friend hive mind" — a pool of diverse talented people for mutual brain-extension.

Nicole Rust Dec 16, 2022

@debivort Yes! I agree and I think it's something we don't talk about much - the power of collective intelligence. We're able to interact so much more quickly now than 30 years ago and *work*stuff*out. There's no question in my mind that this facilitates progress.

Antonio Páez 🇲🇽🇨🇦Dec 16, 2022

Todd Jordan Dec 16, 2022

@NicoleCRust A quick hit on what I'm looking for here in 2023:
Diversity of people and opinions.
Intelligent discussions.
Find my fellow fans.
Connect with developers of apps and games.
Connect with experts in various fields. I love science and other geekeries.

Great prompt and now I have to set back and ponder how to work there.

Nicole Rust Dec 16, 2022

@tojosan Excellent list!!

Eumenes Dec 16, 2022

@NicoleCRust interesting. I went backwards. On both Twitter and masto I find my curated feed very interesting to me. As in real life, I enjoy being around people smarter than me. I also enjoy random conversations. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time around books, and they always made me feel better, so I have people here that talk about books and post interesting things. History is a living, present thing to me, so I enjoy people that talk about it.

Eumenes Dec 16, 2022

@NicoleCRust And certainly the science writers, who I learn so much from. But I love even more the everyday life stuff. I'm just as interested in your favorite reality show as I am in facts that you learned in your profession. So the short answer is that I'm all over the place!

Nicole Rust Dec 16, 2022

@Eumenes Nothing wrong with that! One of the things that I really appreciate about social media is how you can individualize the experience via some combination of who you follow, your mute/block list, and what you just scroll by. Contrast that to, say, a radio or TV news program in which you are stuck with whatever pops up for as long as it's there.

Eumenes Dec 16, 2022

@NicoleCRust I sometimes wonder if by doing that, you're creating an echo chamber crafted by your own biases. Do we have to make a conscious effort to engage with way different opinions that may be equally valid? I think I just gave myself a headache...

Nicole Rust Dec 16, 2022

@Eumenes It's a great question. I think that's where it's important to be really intentional about it. For example, I want to hear a diversity of ideas about how the brain works - even the ones I disagree with. But now that I've worked through it, I'm no longer interested in discussing an individual with the initials E.M. and I've blocked those words; I'm largely over that discussion.

I really do think that our experience here needs to be net uplifting or we can't engage. In my early experience with social media, I just found it all so draining; being exposed to so many issues. We simply can't expose ourselves to the heap of problems in the world every time we log on; it needs to be measured! And thankfully, we all get to select the things we champion. (We also get to admire and applaud everyone doing good things).

Eumenes Dec 18, 2022

@NicoleCRust Even on here it can be information overload. It just reminds me how much there is to learn. I've enjoyed all of my interactions so far, while on my other platforms, I usually don't interact or comment. Honestly, I look forward to seeing more discussions on here where we don't agree but end up learning something new. And I look forward to seeing what you and others in your field have to share about things you've learned.

Shelenn Ayres Dec 16, 2022

@NicoleCRust Improve your reach with hashtags! #engagesocial

Nicole Rust Dec 16, 2022

@shelenn Yes! I keep advocating for hashtags and then forget to use them myself. New Years resolution: use hashtags in every post in 2023.

Umm ... #hashtags ?