AmericaTheBluetiful💙🇺🇸🌊✌️
Dan GillmorDear journalists: Twitter is now the platform of choice for right-wing extremists -- a platform where they are welcomed, promoted, and even in some cases paid by Musk's site.
Why, when there are real alternatives, is it still your site?
Jay 🆘@dangillmor I think, sadly, when it comes to reach, there is no real alternative to Twitter.
There are some cases of Mastodon posts getting more engagement per follower than on Twitter, but I don’t know whether that’s the rule or the exception.
@jsit I have half the followers on Mastodon that I had (in theory still have) on Twitter, but I've had ~10 times the engagement here.
Adding: And it's high-quality engagement, boosts, real conversations, and very little trolling (so far).
Helchose@dangillmor @jsit I've seen a lot of people say that.
Engagement on Threads was great for the first couple days, but it's since dropped off a cliff just like Facebook.
William Hughes@Helchose @dangillmor @jsit don't forget the quality too. With little to no profit motive there's no real benefit to stoking anger and division. Not as much to be gained by artificially inflating fringe hate filled theories (especially in the name of "equal time" or "free speech").
The social networking sites that morphed into "social media" became instigators of division, because division keeps people on the site clicking refresh and posting angry replies (and buying beer and toilet paper from ads).
#Mastodon and #Lemmy don't demand the attention that the Bird Site and Snu Site did. They don't have the bots and trolls, either.
@wdhughes Sure, but if one’s goal as a journalist is just to get eyeballs on one’s writing, then none of this matters.
Bernie The Wordsmith@Helchose @dangillmor @jsit Agree here. The difference in engagement is abysmal. The absence of algorithm
Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸@dangillmor @jsit most of the trolling probably comes from me honestly. 🎣 🐠
@dangillmor What do you think is the answer to your original question, then? Journalists and other famous and semi-famous people are still using Twitter and not Mastodon. Why is that?
Kevan@dangillmor @Em0nM4stodon @jsit When I first started Mastodon in November of last year it was great. It still is, but I'm not on as much. I still like it more than Twitter, which I hardly use now. But the hype might be dying down a bit I think.
Big Jesus Trashcan☑️🏴@dangillmor @jsit that's my take as well. Half the people twice the joy
@jsit @dangillmor I have never had as much engagement on Twitter as I do here. It's just a matter of finding your people.
@chris @dangillmor It depends what the goal is. Many journalists don’t want to have a conversation; they just want clicks. This is their livelihood. I don’t know of any numbers on that for Mastodon vs. Twitter.
In fact a lot of people on Mastodon are constantly echoing: “If you’re here to ‘do numbers,’ GET LOST!”
Why would someone whose career *depends* on doing numbers want to be in a place with that message?
@jsit @dangillmor There is a lot of anti-social messaging like that on here but it is lessening, or at least getting drowned out, and that’s a good thing. Frankly, those type of people don’t want to be in a place with lots of other people around anyway. And that’s ok because the Fediverse gives tools to be able to create those small spaces while also creating the large spaces that journalists need to get people looking at their creative works.
SueI'm not sure how true even that is - I hear a lot of feedback that when people post links here, they get overwhelmed - I tried to click on a link to emptywheel's blog this morning and found it overwhelmed. I think what is said later on this thread, access to sources and other reporters doing real time reporting is the draw. I wish we could get that here.
Jamie MasonThere's definitely truth here. I think the sad thing is just the demise of Twitter in general..
Jamie
Nick@dangillmor fediverse is a journos best friend. Nobody can shut you down if you’re on your own instance. Its a democratic way to disseminate information.
C0ppertop@dangillmor
Twitter does have a lot groups that do not deal with politics, rumours, lies and much of the other garbage that bungs up much of Twitter.
It’ll take a while for all those people to switch ships.
Twitter does have a lot groups that do not deal with politics, rumours, lies and much of the other garbage that bungs up much of Twitter.
It’ll take a while for all those people to switch ships.
Comrade elronxenu@dangillmor Because journalists are there to talk, not listen.
Executor@dangillmor I gave up on any hopes of tweeter's redemption
MemphisDaPlaya 🎲🎲It's a mental illness and/or low self esteem, I guess?
Unprecedented 2023
M8_d@dangillmor this is a confused or confusing post