Mastodawn

Sensitivityi May 12

UniversityofGroningenLibrary

To stay connected and be visible in #student life we are (still) on #instagram.

But the longer we stay, the harder it becomes to defend that choice.
It clashes with what we stand for as a #library: trustworthy information, #OpenScience, #DigitalAutonomy & student wellbeing.

We want to explore alternatives and open up the conversation about what responsible (online) #communication with students could and should look like.

Read our story and share your thoughts:
https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/blog/a-university-library-on-instagram-we-want-to-leave-but-then-what

A university library on Instagram: We want to leave, but then what?

At the University of Groningen Library, we make deliberate choices about our digital presence. We moved to Mastodon and PeerTube, platforms that are part...

University of Groningen

Sandra de Jong ⁂May 12

@Bibliothecaris Dat jullie de vraag hardop stellen, is in elk geval al heel goed.

Keuzes zijn helaas niet altijd simpel en eenduidig en dat jullie zo bewust kiezen en dat keuzeproces actief delen, vind ik super.

I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥May 12

@sandradejong
Yeah, the follow button is there for mastodon, waaaay down at the bottom, but a share button would be a good touch.
@Bibliothecaris

UniversityofGroningenLibrary May 12

@xinit @sandradejong We'd love a Mastodon share button and will definitely look into that again with the uni's central CMS. Thanks!

GunChleoc May 12

@Bibliothecaris Maybe this one? https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2026/03/a-new-share-button/

Or this: https://www.bentasker.co.uk/posts/documentation/general/adding-a-share-on-mastodon-button-to-a-website.html

@xinit @sandradejong

A new Share button

We'd like to help you to Share to Mastodon, with a new tool.

Mastodon Blog

GunChleoc May 12

@Bibliothecaris If you want to motivate people to sign up, it's a good idea to suggest a specific server so that they won't have to deal with picking one, which can be a bit daunting.

@xinit @sandradejong

Stefan Bohacek May 12

@gunchleoc @Bibliothecaris

It might be worth looking at https://shareopenly.org.

Mastodon's share button only supports Mastodon servers, there are plenty of other fediverse platforms.

@xinit @sandradejong

ShareOpenly

Easily share content to social networks across the web.

ShareOpenly

Mark Wyner Won’t Comply

@Bibliothecaris

There’s a share button that’s already availble for use:

https://share.joinmastodon.org

@xinit @sandradejong

Share to Mastodon

🫧 Social coding commons May 12

@Bibliothecaris

It is wonderful you are active on the #fediverse and are pondering these questions. Going #POSSE is already a huge step in the right direction.

https://indieweb.org/POSSE

PS. The share buttons under the article to either Facebook or LinkedIn stood out to me, given the subject matter :)

POSSE

POSSE is an abbreviation for Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere, the practice of posting content on your own site first, then publishing copies or sharing links to third parties (like social media silos) with original post links to provide viewers a path to directly interacting with your content.

IndieWeb

UniversityofGroningenLibrary May 12

@smallcircles Excellent point, we totally agree and will look into that again, but are still bound to the central uni's CMS. Thanks!

Gemeente Amsterdam May 12

@Bibliothecaris Wij lopen tegen veel van dezelfde vraagstukken aan. Ik denk graag mee en hoor ook graag als jullie goede alternatieven vinden! ^SV

Joanie with the Good Hair 😷May 12

@Bibliothecaris Is it possible to transition to spaces like Pixelfed and Loops? Perhaps a trial-run could establish whether it's feasible.

#Pixelfed #Loops

Henrik Pauli May 12

@clickhere @Bibliothecaris Yeah, that seems like a reasonable step coming from Instagram in particular.

ProScience 🇪🇺May 12

@Bibliothecaris

Why not use Pixelfed?

@Bibliothecaris

This writing is so thoughtful! I think it's great you're starting these conversations.

A lot has been written about 'switching costs' and 'network effects' for why users stay on exploitive playforms like Instagram. With that in mind the key question is *how can we influence status quo change to healthier digital spaces?*

For me, and any org like UGL, I believe irl advocacy is an effective method for advocating online status quo habit change e.g. - bulletin board type displays, workshops, presence at campus fairs, zine distribution, a fediverse student club...the slow, patient process of growing change from a tiny sprout to eventually bearing fruit.

I agree that the fediverse is still in a 'raising awareness it even exists' stage for most potential users.

I also believe framing the switch as potentially gradual, I.e. students creating low stakes 'escape hatch' exploratory fediverse accounts, is an approach worth promoting.

gusseting May 12

@jessamyn saw this + thought of you...

Corinna Balkow May 12

@Bibliothecaris this is a very good read and a lot of valuable questions.

will the students follow where you go? will you have to follow them when they leave instagram?

have you looked into Bookwyrm? https://joinbookwyrm.com which is a fediverse service for sharing reading lists and books.

maybe by providing more connection through the topic of reading, you could provide another value that instagram doesnt have?

Join Bookwyrm

BookWyrm is a decentralized social network for tracking your reading, talking about books, writing reviews, and discovering what to read next.

Jo - pièce de résistance May 12

@Bibliothecaris why not build the pixelfed account alongside and direct people to the fediverse that holds more content. Give the bare minimum on instagram. With pixelfed you don’t need an account, or an app to view posts, which makes it more accessible. I think using instagram to educate people on this & why it’s necessary is going to be part of it.
I think all governments and institutions should be running their own instances.
Esp. Educational—It’s an opportunity for student collaboration.

Wim van Dongen May 12

@Bibliothecaris
How about staying on Instagram but deleting all your content there and leaving just one post saying you can be found on Pixelfed instead (and why), so leading by example?

Maggie Pie 🇦🇺🇺🇸 🚫AI May 12

@Bibliothecaris from talking to my students a lot of them want to leave meta but feel the need to stay for the same reason you do. I think it’s important to have the leaving conversation ON instagram. Start posting about it and having the conversation there and you’ll likely encourage more people to make the leap as well. Leaving is easier when you’re leaving as a community.

@[email protected]May 12

@Bibliothecaris compliments on the well written, honest article opening a much needed conversation that more organisations should have with their "stakeholders".

Thank you for doing this!

Neil Moffatt May 12

@Bibliothecaris You might imagine that the sheer physical presence of the library in their vicinity would be enough. But many have greatly reduced environmental awareness because of the bloody phone epidemic.

cauZation May 12

@Bibliothecaris There are more #sustainable ecosystems than what the #TechBros have far more control of. Look toward #recruiting #talent in climates that are gauged to survive #ClimateCrisis, like the #GlobalSouth.

SamuelJohnson May 12

@Bibliothecaris 👏 A fine example to librarians everywhere. I hope to read a follow-up post later but already it seems you've had some useful engagement.

soapdisch May 12

@Bibliothecaris Feel free to give out copies of this zine if you think it might catch someone’s eye :) https://soapdisch.com/fediverse-zine/

the fediverse as an alternative to instagram

So many Instagram users have qualms about how their data might be used without their consent, yet they continue to use the platform for lack of a better option. This zine introduces the Fediverse a…

soapdisch

Mark Wyner Won’t Comply

@Bibliothecaris so happy to see you here, to be sure. Hopefully you’ll fully detach from all of Meta.