Zooming out to this whole conversation on Twitter because it really is bizarre. To summarize:
Tracy Chou: I don't like that I have to use Mastodon to read stuff from tech people.
Doge Guy: Tech people have nothing worth hearing anyway.
Elon Musk: I hope tech people stay on Mastodon.
So basically, if you want to hear from tech people, you must use Mastodon.
But according to Elon Musk, why would you do that? Tech people have nothing worth saying anyway. And he hopes they stay on Mastodon.
Whether Elon Musk likes it or not, tech people have important things to say that a whole lot of other people want to read.
For example, here's Google employee @johnmu talking about search engine optimization.
https://mastodon.social/@johnmu/109879325577937391
This is actually something that a lot of publications might want to report on.
Social networks are not always about how many people use them, but more specifically *who* uses them.
Twitter itself was never that popular compared to Facebook.
It always had an outsized influence on public culture due to who used it.
Well, now tech people and academics have migrated over to the Fediverse.
Which means that if you want to talk to tech people and academics, you have to figure out how to use it.
For many people, the Fediverse is becoming critical for work.
In fact, the Fediverse is now so critical to the tech industry that GitHub rolled out support for Mastodon profiles this month.
That's not a small thing.
Again, if you want to talk to tech people, a Fediverse presence is paramount.
https://mastodon.social/@nova@hachyderm.io/109790532829442644
@atomicpoet @fediversenews GitHub supporting Mastodon isn't a sign the Fediverse is critical.
It's a sign someone in the org thinks supporting Mastodon is a good thing. That someone had sufficient pull to get the work done and announced, but isn't necessarily convinced of "critically".
Don't get me wrong: it's great, but don't read too much into it.
@snoda @atomicpoet @fediversenews
Perfectly true.
But it also demonstrates one thing very well. In all kinds of ways, entry to the Fediverse is low cost and low risk. Yes, the github move is trivial.
But that's the point.
Just like Medium setting up their own instance.
BTW - the Github support is very general and is any 'ol platform you want to link to.
And that in itself is important. It signals the recognition that the 'old order' is getting crumbly.
@mkarliner @snoda @atomicpoet @fediversenews
Oh wow! Does #medium have their own instance? Does this mean I will see posts from them, and then after reading the first paragraph and getting my attention I need to pay?
Honestly, I don't click on Medium articles anymore. It's cool and all for freelance writers, but I hate when it is used for #jurnalism.
@Stark9837 @snoda @atomicpoet @fediversenews
I feel much the same about Medium, but it wasn't really my point.
However, I'll let them speak for themselves...
https://blog.medium.com/medium-embraces-mastodon-19dcb873eb11
Chris Trottier
snoda
MikeK
Stark
Jupiter Rowland