With each new surge of Mastodon users, I feel the need to point out:

1. Welcome!

2. There is a learning curve here, but most people find it short and not very steep. Play around, explore. You'll get it.

3. Lots of people are willing to help.

4. Yes, it's different than Twitter. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes not. But you'll figure it out.

5. With surges especially, things sometimes get slow/glitchy, but they usually get fixed pretty quick.

Be patient.

Many of the journalists Elon suspended today on Twitter are here on #Mastodon. Please follow and boost:

Drew Harwell, Washington Post
@drewharwell

Donie O’Sullivan, CNN
@donieosullivan

Steve Herman, VOA
@w7voa

Micah Lee, Intercept
@micahflee

Tony Webster
@tony

Matt Binder, Mashable
@MattBinder

#freepress #journalism #journalists #news

A few folks have asked for tips on #Mastodon so here goes:

- Use hashtags. It helps to connect with interesting people who have similar interests. (ex. I found fellow #science themed bakers!)

- Mastodon isn’t #Twitter & there’s more to social media than outrage & doomscrolling. Cross posts from the birdsite & RTs look odd.

- Don’t worry about follower counts. Tailor the experience to what you want to see.

- Share what you’re passionate about! That’s why so many of us are enjoying it here.