AmandaGill
Duane O'BrienA front page article on the Washington Post telling people how to get started with Mastodon?
That’s a big deal.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/17/how-to-join-mastodon/
Gerard Cunningham ✒️
NerdShinobi
BillG
Tiakuh Son@duane Great!
Idealistic Pragmatist 
@duane Okay, but is it terrible? (I don't dare click through.)
@IPEdmonton actually no. I think it did a reasonable job of providing some clear, step-by-step instructions for people who might feel intimidated by the process. It’s beginner content aimed for people who are a little less tech-savvy and need a little hand-holding.
That’s why I think it’s a big deal. It’s a good attempt to make the whole process approachable for folks who might not otherwise make the switch. And it’s front page on the WaPo app.
Adam Haskin@duane @IPEdmonton I think you gotta normalize or start the journalistic outlet's own domain. It would be super easy to have just your writers on a mastodon instance.
It's the Blue Checkmark of tomorrow!
Dirk KS@kaizoman @duane @IPEdmonton I’m not sure outlet-owned instances are the best idea. Instant verification and protection from being banned by the platform owner, yes. But what happens, e.g., to Felicia Sonmez, if she’s hosted at her (now-ex) employer?
@DirkK @kaizoman @IPEdmonton my knee-jerk reaction was “same thing that happens to your work email when you change companies” but that’s the wrong answer.
I think the right answer could be to establish a common policy between outlets that reporters can export to a new instance when they leave, regardless of circumstances.
And, I think even if we’re not sure how it would all work, it’s a good idea to try it and figure it out.
I think that people have moved on and we know who they are. I think the fediverse offers the opportunity for those folks to have a more integrated identity, that allows them to keep who they are, no matter who they're doing it for, and they get to have the credibility of their publication when they need it.
Now that we're taking a step away from Twitter, there are so many options.
Justin Myers@kaizoman @duane @IPEdmonton A few takes on this recently from others I trust in the industry:
https://mastodon.social/@knowtheory/109394769721880820
https://journa.host/@jeremybmerrill/109394969613645339
https://social.tylerjfisher.com/@tylrfishr/109521494706554461
https://mastodon.social/@knowtheory/109394769721880820
https://journa.host/@jeremybmerrill/109394969613645339
https://social.tylerjfisher.com/@tylrfishr/109521494706554461
@duane WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!
Bellison22@duane surprised and pleased...but I feel these people are fleeting.
They have become accustomed to Twitterbuse. Reminds me a great deal of trump reign of terror
They have become accustomed to Twitterbuse. Reminds me a great deal of trump reign of terror
@Bellison22 they may well be. But it’s an encouraging sign, and they’re more likely to be fleeting if they don’t get some encouragement and positive signal along the way.
Fabio Romeo@duane @Bellison22 I think the biggest challenge for Mastodon may be the upkeep costs. People may spin up a server, get lots of sign ups, then get bored and kill the instance along with all the registered accounts and toots. Then people feels insecure and may not bother anymore. This could be a bad look for the network, but maybe my worries are overblown.
@fabioromeu @duane very good point
Mark Crocker@fabioromeu @duane @Bellison22 that's sort of what happened to those of us who joined mastodon.technology.
The site owner had a family situation that demanded a lot of his time. However, he didn't just abandon the site. He followed the covenant by disabling new account creation, announcing the situation and giving people 6 months to migrate to another instance before switching to read only mode.
https://ashfurrow.com/blog/mastodon-technology-shutdown/
mastodon.technology Shutdown
Dear mastodon.technology community, I have sad news that I have decided to shut down the mastodon.technology instance. In accordance with the Mastodon Server Covenant , the server will be shut down no earlier than December 1, 2022. The server is currently having problems with intermittent availability. The cause of…
@mcrocker @duane @Bellison22 yes, but that's the responsible one. I wonder if people will do that after the heat of a shiny new thing that's getting media attention wears off, realising how laborious being an admin actually is - specially if their instance grows up a lot and their wallets start to feel the weight of it. This is why I think centralised stays over decentralised, with the latter things blip in and out of existence constantly and people dont like that.
@mcrocker @duane @Bellison22 just to be clear, I'm not saying I prefer centralised ove decentralised. Just saying that the volatility of a federated network must be taken into account when making a decision, and many don't think about that. For a big brand, for example, it could be advantageous to make their own instance and plug it into the fediverse. I like that kind of modularity.
throAU@Bellison22 @duane it may well be the mild push to check it out and then discover you end up with a far less noisy, less confrontational feed
YurkshireLad@YurkshireLad I know. Baby steps, though. It’s still encouraging.
Pseudo Nym@YurkshireLad @duane Baby steps.
To be fair, if it's a piece about how to get on mastodon, you can't really expect the readers to contact you there. Bit of a chicken and egg problem.
Kind of like the decades ago writing a piece about setting up email, and giving your email address. You might have provided a telephone number instead. Whatever the previous tech was.
Tim J@YurkshireLad @duane Well, that's where people on Twitter who haven't moved yet and want to ask things will be, isn't it . . . ?
Jerry is watching Twitter burnHalf cringe, sure, but if the point is to reach people not yet on Mastodon it does make a little sense.
The Doctor@duane We're going to need a lot more servers.
Sriram "sri" Ramkrishna - 😼
JennyD@duane
That IS a big deal. I remember when I used to follow WP when they stood up for right and spoke up about wrong. Then something changed & they started not standing against trump and the cult. I stopped subscribing. The last couple of months I have seen them reversing and going back to being sane and with this news today, well, that is a Giant step. I like it!
That IS a big deal. I remember when I used to follow WP when they stood up for right and spoke up about wrong. Then something changed & they started not standing against trump and the cult. I stopped subscribing. The last couple of months I have seen them reversing and going back to being sane and with this news today, well, that is a Giant step. I like it!
John Panzer@duane Now all they need is a bio of John Mastodon by Alexandra Petri
Steven Hilton@duane is Wapo on mastodon yet?
Svetlana
Erny@duane
Sorry want to read but cannot... No subscribtion... 🤔
Sorry want to read but cannot... No subscribtion... 🤔
@Erny I can’t vouch for the link, but someone replied with what appears to be an accessible archive.
Olav@duane if they were serious, there'd already be a WaPo instance.
Ben Gabriel@duane Is the Washington Post on Mastodon?
I can only 'find' this Washington Post Bot.
I can only 'find' this Washington Post Bot.
AdaZell@duane
excellent and timely!
excellent and timely!
AKLynneFirst step on the "guide"...subscribe to Washington Post (paywall).
V 🐘
Randy Noseworthy 😼 
GlenG🌻 - Support Ukraine@duane Very interesting; good, free advertising. Much better than a lot of the earlier articles when this all started early November.
@duane That’s why I’m here!
Katma
Schuyler
datAX@duane Yes to decentralization!
@duane I think the media outlets setting up their own instances is a no brainer
Sean@duane They should stand up their own instance and really get this going...
Anne Fisher@duane
Unfortunately, it's behind their paywall. Public access would be better, but I'll take what I can get.
Unfortunately, it's behind their paywall. Public access would be better, but I'll take what I can get.
AnnaIrac ☮️🫂🕉️🏳️🌈@duane it sure the f#ck is
Mrs Mouse at work
Awijeet Shandilya 
@duane now i know the reason, why twitter feels insecure
🇺🇦🇺🇦 Walter White 🇺🇸🇨🇦@duane Expect another migration surge ;)
Holy Cow!
ClipperChip 
@duane And not even paywalled.
cowboybanjobiker 🤠🪕🚴@duane That is an awesome article. Thanks for sharing!
Stacy AnnIt took me awhile, but I'm ok with it now.