Y’all, if you’re getting frustrated you’re not seeing the content you want to like news or intel you need on Mastodon, you really need to shift your thinking from algorithmic social media. Follower counts don’t matter much here. Likes do not matter to post reach. Without your interaction, you will just see a live FIFO firehose. Some quick fixes:

Hashtag your posts liberally and consistently, and follow key hashtags of interest to you. Hashtags matter a ton here to being seen.

Follow and also alert on accounts you always want to see content from.

Consider using the built in RSS feature for your feeds and for specific hashtags.

Consider switching to the more advanced UI in your preferences, so you can watch multiple filtered and unfiltered feeds. Or a different mobile app.

Use Fedifinder to follow all the accounts you followed on Twitter, and sync up your follow and block lists.

Avail yourself of the multiple public lists of hundreds of journalist accounts on Mastodon.

#mastodontips

I think for me to abandon Twitter entirely, I'd need more official media orgs (e..g Sky, BBC, CNN) on here, more journalists because I get a lot of my news from Twitter (esp breaking news).

Also more official bodies (e.g. UKHSA, ONS) so I can see when new official research & stats are released on e.g. Covid, the economy, etc.

And finally academic journals (e.g. BMJ, Lancet, NEJM) who I rely on for latest health research!

Will they come?

This week, MastodonART defederating c.im pushed them to expand their mod team, clarify hate speech policies, & unsuspend the account of a Black user who had taken issue with CWs for lived experience.

Now toot.community has suspended a transphobic journalist after pressure from several instances.

I wish those instances had made better proactive choices but I’m impressed to see how powerful this type of direct action from instances (& individuals) can be here.