Annalee Newitz 🍜Here is my article about #Mastodon, the #Fediverse, and federalism for The Atlantic. I did NOT write the headline, which suggests the article is about Ben Franklin (never mentioned in the article) and Bluesky (mentioned a couple of times). LOL but I'm still really excited for you to read this!!! https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/05/social-media-centralism-fediverse/674041/
Mike Hucka@annaleen How did they come up with that headline tho. Ben Franklin?
@mhucka I have no idea. Honestly, this is a thing you have to understand: writers do not get to write their own headlines.
NiftyLinks
Peter Butler@NiftyLinks @annaleen @mhucka not to reply guy (as I reply guy) but I write my own headlines, as do most of the writers at CNET 🤷🏼
I’ve written headlines for my stories at other internet publications as well
Traditional newspapers and magazines, sure, but online it’s onlythe big guys like NYT and WaPO (and The Atlantic!) who have copy editors write heds /ime
@peterbutler the only time I have ever written headlines was when I was an editor/writer on staff. as a freelancer? I might suggest a headline that ended up getting used, but that's about it.
@peterbutler @annaleen @mhucka Thanks! I'll update my expectations accordingly. :) My experience is in print journalism and it's pretty dated these days, too.
@NiftyLinks @annaleen @mhucka Yeah, it’s much more important in print because it’s gotta fit — I think that’s why it was traditionally left to copy editors — now we’re lucky if we even have copy editors. times are tight
@peterbutler @NiftyLinks @mhucka ugh so true. I always feel ridiculously lucky if I get fact checked and copyedited (both happened for this article).
BlueDot🇺🇦@peterbutler @NiftyLinks @annaleen @mhucka
I got a cruel lesson in headline writing when I was in high school.
Around the time the Clean Air Act became law, I was in my school's Ecology Club. I wrote a piece for the local newspaper about burning yard waste. 'Please don't burn piles of leaves, it pollutes the air.' Pretty mild stuff.
The editor chose to headline it "Burn Baby Burn."
Dana Priesing
Sheldon@peterbutler probably because your average American wouldn't recognize a satirical depiction of Alexander Hamilton from Sylvester the Cat whereas almost everyone can identify Ben Franklin from anything within low Earth orbit.
@peterbutler @annaleen @mhucka Who knows!? Why say Franklin would've like Bluesky, instead of Mastodon, the less corporate, earlier service? Mysteries to ponder....
Annaleen, I found your piece very diplomatic.
Annaleen, I found your piece very diplomatic.
Drew Mochak
ATellurian@annaleen A good read. But I assume you also didn't place the twitter link at the bottom of the article. 
@ATellurian I am the writer, not the publisher. So no. I don't do the art, the layout of the page, or any of that stuff. Just the words!
@annaleen oh I know. I'm just having laugh at the link.
Pyperkub@annaleen very nice, but definitely needs more analysis of whether BlueSky will be subject to @[email protected] 's #enshittification curve or if whatever decentralization mechanisms it has can prevent that. thanks for sharing!
Scott Purdy@annaleen Unless Bluesky is unexpectedly pro-dick-pic, I feel like the headline author might have a differing view of what Ben Franklin would be like on social media from mine.
@scottpurdy Bluesky is very pro-dick pic. Especially Alf's dick.
Darlene Cypser@scottpurdy Ben Franklin would be a hoot on social media.
We can hope that he would flag his "air bath" pictures as "sensitive."
We can hope that he would flag his "air bath" pictures as "sensitive."
@DarleneCypser Maybe, but I see him more as a “Why are you so upset? I was just joking.” shitposter. With the very specific additional thread of “Why is everyone retweeting this @dril tweet? I don’t get it. I spend that much on candles (for *sexy* reasons), doesn’t everyone?”
@scottpurdy Have you ever read his bio?
@DarleneCypser The autobiography? Portions of it, forever ago. But there are other records that don’t present him (and his personality) in quite so glossy a light.
v̾i̾t̾r̾i̾o̾l̾i̾x̾@annaleen luckily they changed the title too "Social Media Has Entered Its Chaos Era - The Atlantic"
amey@annaleen great article... I like the takeaway at the end. no network lives forever, but that shouldn't be the goal. social media is a tool that can make connecting with others enjoyable, and decentralization allows users to customize this tool in a way that's prohibited by prior networks. thanks for sharing your thoughts.
malena@annaleen this essay soothed my aggravated bluesky v fedi nerves. So comforting to see wide & thoughtful coverage
Carl Heath@annaleen thank you for a very interesting read!
🔴 I don't know where we should go.. 🟡Well there is chaos.social so ;p
Autumn the Red Sage
Jillianne Hamilton@annaleen Er, is THAT why Jake Tapper was calling Ben Franklin a “huge slut” on BlueSky earlier? (I mean, he’s not wrong…)
Warner Crocker@annaleen They really did you a disservice with that headline and framing.
Sumocat 🐈⬛@WarnerCrocker @annaleen To me, it reads like it started as a joke based on how Franklin famously looked forward to cloudy skies, like “Bluesky is so federated even Ben Franklin would love it,” then was rewritten by someone who didn’t get it.
Denis 🌏@annaleen excellent article! Thank you for writing it. (The Atlantic is the only publication I currently subscribe to)
@annaleen this was a fantastic summary of where we are, how we got here, and why the coming years could be very interesting.
It reminded me why I decided to throw in with #Mastodon / #ActivityPub when I've been having second thoughts with (unavoidable) bickering flaring up lately and other alternatives becoming available.
Carl Malamud@carlmalamud @danhon is a goddamn legend
@annaleen This was a really great article! I particularly appreciate the story about Chanda Prescod-Weinstein. I have heard anecdotally that the fediverse is unwelcoming to minorities esp. black and brown minorities but had not seen what I assume to be a prominent example. Thanks very much!
Evan Prodromou
Roy Brander🍁Any mention of "money" as in "not sure this free thing will last, in the presence of Money"... all such comments should note the Wikipedia, and its amazing success.
@RoyBrander wikipedia is a large nonprofit and does fundraisers every year. that is a financial model.
Right, it is, it's a charity, so it has that thing that 'ensnared the early web: Money'. They have $155M a year coming in, though they are also, (I think) angry-billionaire proof. I just don't see a risk of Wikipedia becoming "enshittified" for money or politics, but - they can make payroll for 700 and keep running indefinitely.
Strypey@RoyBrander
> I just don't see a risk of Wikipedia becoming "enshittified" for money or politics, but - they can make payroll for 700 and keep running indefinitely
There's a trade-off here. The WP loses resilience in some ways by being centralized, but it's easier for them to attract and manage donations. The fediverse is more resilient as a platform - it will never all go down at once - but each component part has to struggle for funding independently.
Thank-you both. So, Wikimedia and a fistful of Linux-related projects all manage with charity, basically. There will be a cost-level where donated labour and mere charity are sufficient funding.
Much of the Fediverse may need only that - a little guilt-tripping with posts from your server admins that resemble Wale's pleas on the wikipedia main page.
Then there's the PBS model - corporate sponsorship for a modest acknowledgement, i.e. minimally-annoying ad.
@RoyBrander
> Much of the Fediverse may need only that - a little guilt-tripping with posts from your server admins
I've yet to see a server shut down for lack of donations to cover upstream costs. Usually it's a lack of sysadmin or mod volunteers. More money may help with this but doesn't always. Then there's all the software dev and standards work, which is covered by a combo of voluntarism and funding grants. Again, more money may help with this but doesn't always.
(1/2)
@RoyBrander
A Fedi Foundation has been floated, either as a standalone charity or under the umbrella of an existing Free Code charity like FSF or SFC. The politics of this would involve extreme cat-herding.
(2/2)
@RoyBrander I don't think Wikipedia will be ruined by money, but that wasn't my point in the article. My point was that every social media platform has to support itself somehow, and that defederated media is at a stage where people are starting to ask how that will work. I pointed out that some Mastodon servers have chosen a donation model, while others chose co-ops. Bluesky, otoh, has refused to say what their funding model might be.
D. Zinn@annaleen Read it and enjoyed it. Your article brought me to Mastodon.
Jai Half-Elven 🏹🍜🐉😆 Articles should have:
Article by:
Headline/Title by:
So then we can laugh/blame/applaud the author of the headline/title. 😆😆
@annaleen
I never had any faith in Fakebook because they are a crappy platform with no accountability or transparency at all. Fakebook is a complete joke. I would leave it but it still is a way that I can connect with certain people. But I don't spend much time there anymore.
I never had any faith in Fakebook because they are a crappy platform with no accountability or transparency at all. Fakebook is a complete joke. I would leave it but it still is a way that I can connect with certain people. But I don't spend much time there anymore.
Hypx@annaleen The "chaos" era is how it should be. There should never be a monopoly on any particular type of social media or communication system. There should be hundreds of available options at all times.
abhijith@annaleen Why did they need a clickbait title? I would click it just for that image of Ben Franklin checking his phone.🤣🤣🤣
podo@annaleen Would be interested to read it, but after #Atlantic had articles SPONSORED by PFIZER throughout an extremely complex PANDEMIC, there is no F-ing way i am paying this bullshit corporate-feeding rag to read their articles ! @smallcircles