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It's not enough to squat a Mastodon handle that you never use.

It's not enough to automatically repost your Twitter timeline.

You have a chance to be part of something new. Something important. To shape it in the right way.

With all of us.

Breathe life into *this* community and *this* network by posting here, creating here, connecting here.

Be here now.

reshared this

agree, the auto re-posting from twitter is no way to shape a conversation - if I wanted to see it on twitter, I'd be there.
THIS great sentiment
+
maybe we ALL take a serious & sober look at how ABSENCE of LAW over past 18 years (not bad law, shitty or law unfair law... no law)
in:
• #internet
• #mobile #social
• #privacy
• #surveillance
• #AI #ML
• #data #governance

This is a massive #mastodon #fediverse opportunity we can collectively capitalize on before #SiliconValley #BigTech #VC carpet baggers arrive.

#my2cents

@klonick@davew@craignewmark@jeffjarvis@daphnehk@qjurecic@blaine @@profcarroll
It's been a breath of fresh air here! Not missing the bird. Left it 100% two weeks ago.
@craignewmark my favorite part of any new social network (Friendster, tribe, MySpace, orkut, Facebook, twitter, etc) is finding people I know. Or people I would like to know.
I would love a feature in Mastodon where I can hide posts that are simply Twitter reposts, especially those where in order to really read the post you have to click on a Twitter link and give Apartheid Elmo more traffic...
The #1 piece of advice I give everybody getting started on Mastodon is to engage in conversation. You get out of the platform what you put into it.
I don’t get leaving bird land just to opine about it here.
what I love the most about being here is that it’s free — subscription free, ad free. There is nothing else like what we have here right now.
Hmm. Be here now. Where have I heard that before? Oh well, it’ll come to me sooner or later.
Agree about the squatting. I’ve re-followed everyone since I moved over here but over the weekend I’m planning un-following those with zero posts.
Agreed. it's still early days, so I'm letting people transition as they need to, but eventually I'll mute or block that kind of thing.
that's my intent. All the people who show up and then start trying to design politics and policies of exclusion while calling it the opposite do make it harder for me to care.
I’m starting to mute / unfollow people who are doing this
as a twit refugee, I'm watching and still learning.
The twitter cross posts without any CW I already find annoying. I want to see them myself, but I can see why many users don't, especially political posts.
I often want to boost them but don't because they lack a CW.
As for my own posts, I'm still getting a feel for it.
I just said a couple of things to someone. Agree. Be here.
I've been saying we should enjoy Mastodon / Fediverse for what it is, rather than for what it isn't.
There's a ton of reposts. I ignore most of those as trash. Some people are out there begging to become big names here that were followed by thousands of fake followers on birdsite. I ignore them too.
Yes please! I was just invited to join and betatest Post, and found that the content is mostly posted from Twitter or links to Twitter. Seriously, who needs that?
it takes time to re-invent. Pondering the possibilities, to not make the same mistakes.
I made an account here years ago that was a clone of my Twitter account. After remaking a new one this year I see why that no longer makes sense. Community and automation do not mix well.
And oh, the relief of filtering out RTs.
the network effect only works if the following is true: “you want to see what I post/write? You gotta be on fedi/masto.”
can't agree anymore
I fear that this new surge in Mastodon will dwindle as quickly and terribly as the last one did.
We are here... we are here.
Feeling like a speck sometimes, but then the feeling passes.
We need a tool which does the reverse. Reposting from Mastodon to Twitter preserves the outreach of our built up network while driving engagement back to Mastodon.
I enjoy reading witty posts but I am not that witty myself. I can get people to laugh in person, but online I come across as a preacher sermonizing (I am told: I myself intend layers and subtlety and humor). But I have switched to checking Mastodon first then Twitter when my feed is caught up.
So far my biggest frustration with Mastodon is the excessive diet of the few I follow cobbled back together from the evil empire.
Agreed! I'm new here & still learning how everything works but excited about the possibilities. Onward!
will do my best to contribute
So true. Love what's happening here. Feels really nice to see loads of people on different sites but ultimately, we're all connected. Like you have a family and then you have neighbours.
I'm new, I'm learning, I'd like to be here.
YES, thank you. I got so tired of seeing "RT" in my timeline here that I filtered it. If I wanted to read tweets or see the same attitude, content, and tone people use on Twitter, I would've stayed over there.
Yeah, the "Reposted from @account@twitter.com" makes me feel like they are not really trying or really invested.
I'd be fine with people posting here first and then mirroring that to twitter.
I'm not fond of twitter folks spewing their tweets here without mastodon engagement ...
@godpod I like this post in isolation as a severely meta joke both about the film Evan Almighty and as a constant & defiant statement of your existence.
@mrcopilot @godpod that's what I first thought 😂. Oh, hi (I always get things the wrong way around)
i'm just so thankful for the kindness (and the intelligence) it gives me hope.
This could serve as sound advice for life. Be there! 👍👇
Standing up an instance for myself was a commitment that I would participate in the social sphere once more. Being on Twitter, Facebook, and all the others was allowing me to slide into passive consumption, because there was no individual accountability. Now that I have to be active to consume content, I'm much more motivated to be a member of the community, instead of an "innocent bystander."
How RIGHT it is what you've said! Let's do it. Let's build OUR great place here. Let's do it together.
I'm currently posting on both for now. A lot of communities I follow are not here. I'll be with twitter for some time. But it's great to see our timelines in order by default & no ads between posts.
Squatting a Mastodon handle accomplishes essentially nothing and reposting your Twitter timeline shows a fundamental misunderstanding that Mastodon ≠ Twitter - Musk.
Thank you Evan ❤️
Any level of involvement is enough because involvement is voluntary and not subject to anyone else's appraisal of what is "enough."
Couldn't have said it better myself. Glad to be here and hope the trend continues.
I don't mind it if the content of the post is of interest to me, to be honest. But for myself, I am definitely posting mostly on here now. I don't cross-post the same things here as I do there. I do still scroll through the bird app because my feed there is still active; a lot of people I follow haven't made it over here yet.
1,000%!! Here is how I restructured my Twitter page for my #TwitterMigration. Also pinned a tweet about Mastodon. I'm here now and for good!🙏💕
just trying to get used to it all!
Working on it as I phase out of Twitter by the end of the year.
this is very exciting to be on mastodon and I can’t wait to see what it evolves too.
Like your sentiments, but I keep asking about the financial model to make it happen, and so far I'm mostly hearing crickets.

Hard to discuss such deep topics with small character limits, but my basic position is that costs must be covered for the system to be sustainable, but as long as they are covered, then why not offer any feature enough people are willing to pay for? Kind of a charity thing.

A #CSB (Charity Share Brokerage) for adding features and covering ongoing-costs?
#csb
how about reposting from mastodon on Twitter? Let the initiative take place here indeed.
I couldn’t put it any more eloquently :toot:
agree.
I just closed my Bird account and started again.
I like my new handle.
Well, I cut Twitter loose when Musk sale went through.
Well when it takes over 10 minutes to reply, as it has for me, it isn’t a lesson in patience, it’s an exercise in futility. I’m impressed with the level of intelligence, but put off by the loss of time.
Whoever is here are the right people. Whatever they talk about is the right topic. Whatever they do is enough.
I have been posting and commenting -- whether this thing is more than ephemeral remains to be seen. But I will be testing the waters for some time, no rush...
totally. 100%. Who saw the interview with JJ Roble on #c4news ? Fantastic bright fair minded young woman. A British Muslim, JJ is definitely a beacon of hope for young girls. The first Muslim woman to referee a match in the UK #football
so well said.🙏☺️
pleading guilty for squatting after signing up when @aral mentioned it. Back then (2019?) little was happening here. Then @KAPistor announced she too was moving here and I have slowly begun posting. It will take time to get used to #Mastodon and its conventions.
... but what if I'm over here instead? 😅
good point. It’s the engagement which matters.
I'm with you, but I'm having trouble getting traction or finding my community. Confused as to how people are flourishing here, though I have no plans on being a regular in birdland again.
Yeah I used them. For me it's less about rebuilding my base from Twitter and being a part of something new here, but it absolutely feels a bit lonely on this island, and I'm totally confused as to how people have found community on it.
@kennyherzog I'm not sure how to help. Have you joined a new social network before? I'm not sure if it's very different.
This is way more diffuse than any predecessor. Just feeling my way around.
We are given an opportunity to make quality content the heart of something that could actually help us...

This is why i do what i do here, i did not want to do it on other tools.

I talk mostly about how to make compost at home to garden ourselves.

Nice to meet you.
I actually am liking Mastodon a lot more than I thought, and by heck a lot more than Twitter. It's because of the users, the content, and the concept of a federation rather than a spoiled attention seeker with money running things. To me, this is so much more forward thinking.
Yes, but.

If someone gets value out of just lurking, that's fine too.
Exactly my intention. To be new here.
#new2mastodon It's just like life: you get out what you put in.
or at least be here more than on Twitter. A lot of folk have other more pressing concerns
posting all possible combinations of "jorts" and "horse,",, for the Revolution
*Starts singling "Stayin' Alive" while remembering if it's four breaths or two...*
Like a lot of twitter incomers I'm in-between at the moment and setting out signposts for friends from the other place. But there's plenty to like here. I'm enjoying the difference in pace and conversational culture.
just like said fat boy slim, right here right now
Hard agree… but I really wish some of the institutions, big and small, that we trust - would make the journey too.
(HT the eu for actually doing so…)
There are facts about me - not the shallow facts like "what I had for lunch facts" but much deeper facts. Never will post them on Twitter. Ever. I'm not along

Dig for them....
I'm here! What do I do now?
Well, that’s me told then
it will happen people are slow to embrace change. And many don’t really have the courage of their convictions perhaps.
trying but Ngl I’m kinda confused about all of it. Don’t get the lingo not tech savvy. I’m not THAT ancient (43) and I feel lost 😂 what is an instance? Also kinda don’t understand how this is different from Reddit. Seems like the same concept? But eff twitter and Elon so here I am.
Mastodon is definitely a different environment. I’m enjoying the chance to express longer thoughts, meet new people, be in a community at a different pace.
but we don’t understand the new ecosystem yet
'Be here now.' Always good advice.
https://rumble.com/v1ycf0u-d-e-p-o-p-u-l-a-t-i-o-n-i-s-m.html?mref=10z7ag&mc=2c35a
guilt trip!!! 🤠🥧
can't emphasize this enough. Be here. Post here. Lurk here. <img class=v60:" title=":coffeev60:"/>
Helen: "Bob! It's time to engage! Do something! Don't just stand there, I need you to... intervene!"

😜
Agree. However it will take time to get used to it. I'm still on both, but really shd make the effort to actually post rather than reblog!
ahahah! 😄😄
Couldn't agree more here. I'm brand new to this platform and I'm already falling in love with it. This is our chance to do it again, and do it right this time.
@evan. it's not up to you to mandate how anyone engages here
I have been here since 2017!
Thank you! When I first joined I was so used to the other place that it took a few to realize I needed to be here in a different way. I am disappointed in how many media/journalist folks that I enjoyed reading quickly reversed or abandoned their move when twitter didn't immediately collapse.
social media mindfulness lol
I appreciate this post. It resonates. I was thinking along these lines this morning on my commute.
Gotta get involved.
Yes agree.

And, pleeease, ppl reposting twitter links, pleeeease stop.

Post screenshots if you must, but not links.
It feeds the psychopathic parasites, &, if we click on your post, so do we.

#AusPol #UKPol #USPol #CaPol etc
anyone who posts their Twitter link on mastodon or on my tl get a scroll on by from me. Pull the damn plug already...
Can you perhaps provide me with a resource that can assist me in getting up to speed on how this (Mastodon/Hachyderm) works? I'm migrating from the cess-pool formerly known as "Twitter", and I could use a primer.
People need a few days to transition. I get that and that's what I took. But it's been awhile.
deactivate and delete the bird, it’ll be the best decision you make today!
I could not agree more. Active participation in this space is what we need. “Be here now” is right.
The problem I find though is connecting with other people here. Suggestions?
@mekkaokereke Preach! I feel like I’m at the best cocktail party ever.
yes! Create content for Mastodon.
trying to breathe but someone keeps tooting
Mastodon actually feels very relaxing and peaceful place really.
The fact that its fully community driven and based on some very unique concepts of web3, are very interesting
💯💯💯💯💯
To boldly write sentence fragments that have never been written before!
Fully agree; I'm all in here, forget that other place. I've never been happier than I have been here, so glad to be free of the bird.
@AlgoCompSynth nobody needs you to deactivate.

We just need you to put your time and attention here, not there.
A famous actor once said "Half of life is showing up" - Here I am.
Trust me, I have been. I remember you from the identi.ca / Indie Web Conference days. I'm still in Portland.
No one... has to do anything. Really don't think it's cool to act like anyone here is obligated to do anything specific - not a good vibe
Met and engaged with many wonderful global people here
This is why, at least once a day, I will dip my face into the Federated feed. This place is absolutely magical. I talk TO people, I don't talk AT people and this is the difference between Mastodon and the deadbirdsite.

I was always of the opinion at the birdsite that if I talked, you had to listen. You were my captive audience.

Here, I accept it as a privilege if people exchange with me and I regard it as a privilege to be an acceptable interaction with others.
Agree with the sentiment, its not a community by posting from another site and engaging with the comments here. Though it is nice to see some things cross-posted here that otherwise wouldn't be here.
Mastodon is more like an old fashioned cricket game (not T20) where you can hear people talking to you and you feel respect. The bad bird is like a football stadium where you can just get yelled into oblivion. I know which I prefer.
Agreed. I wish people would stop posting about TFG. Specifically photos. 🤢 Twitter is ded. Let it go. Plus, mastodon is SO much better. I love not having gd algorithms!!!
@Euan_MacDonald
@SturdyAlex
@jonsopel
@maitlis
@rorystewartuk
I'm kinda with @evan here... Please take the plunge and fully engage here on Mastodon: Your great content and incisive opinions are becoming sullied by Musk’s toxic site.
I agree but I miss some functions. I would like to have a better overview what is going on. This is for me at this moment a great obstacle.
I totally agree. I’m disappointed that the content I’m seeing from people I follow on Twitter is primarily posted there and then copied by some means to here. As such it has a lot of twitter specific handles and things in it that at times don’t resolve to anything on Mastodon. Post here first, then copy to twitter!
thank you that's what we are going to do
my thumbs up 👍👍
I guess this went viral? I only have seagulls and pots and pan sounds on my Soundcloud, but here's the Canadian Mastodon co-operative I'm part of!

https://cosocial.ca/ #CoSocialCa

Evan Prodromou reshared this.

Fortunately, one can easily add a filter here to hide any posts that contain “RT” which seems to get the most annoying reposts from the bird site. It also has the side effect of preemptively avoiding anything from the Russian propaganda service of the same name.
I deactivated my twitter account and deleted the app.
I've found myself unfollowing those who use crossposters to post exactly the same stuff to here and Twitter.
That's not what I'm interested in, it's not to bad if they adapt posts for each services quirks (that's what I used to do before binning Twitter), but exactly the same content when half of a post makes no sense here (or worse, sends us to the other place!)...
sounds good, we need some good content. Don't look at me, there are lots of great people here to follow.
I've been asking the same thing, only you're more eloquent.
I was at the frist couple of Indie Web conferences in Portland.
oh hell I don't even have to try, this is way less toxic than Twitter and the other alternatives just aren't my thing
I have put up some posts, and I have not gotten very many replies to those posts so it’s kind of hard for me to involve myself if no one replies to my posts or messages, except one person replied to my message, but that’s about it
@Brennen98 Hi, Brennen. I follow you now. I'll try to remember to reply when you post!
OK awesome I just excepted your follow request so you should be able to see all my stuff now question do you happen to be blind by any chance? I’m sorry if that’s a weird question but I am totally blind so I might make a lot of blindness, related questions and posts.
@Brennen98 I am not! I have bad eyesight but with glasses I am pretty much 20/20.

Have you noticed the cultural norms of #CapitalizedHashTags and alt text on images on Mastodon?
I am honestly for the most part just browsing the feeds and making posts and messaging people when I need help with things, so I don’t really notice a whole lot of image, descriptions, and things like that or images in general for that matter, it’s sort of just a time killer for me lol
I’m working on it. There are still valid reasons for me to be there, but you are right, we can make this better by being active here and now.
I miss the QRT feature so that I could add "THIS" to your toot. I started muting people who very clearly do nothing but repost their tweets, never interacting here, or seemingly even looking at the notifications.
@locuta trek je je dit aan? ☺️
(Jouw berichten linken <90% naar Twitter, dat is voor je mastodonvolgers vrij irritant, ivm berichten zonder context of retweets waarvoor je toch weer naar daar moet)
I write Be Here Now (or something similar) on my hand for meetings “at work” (I wah) and when my guy gets home from work. Helps when I am dealing with anxiety in either case. I actually live in a state of anxiety r/t my atypical bipolar. I also write “shut up” on a post it and put it on my tablet bc I often talk too much in meetings (mostly when crickets are chirping). Anyway - the “be here now” thing helps me refocus on what’s important in the moment. #JoinIn
Holy moly this post did numbers
Plus stop giving the oligarch who owns the fowlsite the only thing he needs from you: your engagement on his toxic platform. Don’t give it to him, and put pressure on companies that advertise there.
Also: post like your life depends on it.
also because squatting handles doesn’t grant the name to be yours: there are tons of instances around
An extraordinarily judgemental and offensive attitude on your part.

People are free to use Mastodon, or not, in any way that's within the rules. You are at liberty not to follow or indeed to block them.
@ZhiZhu

announcer (in English): Listen to Spanish simulcast on AM 680

narrator: …and the message remained unheard, never received by its target audience.

😫
I feel as though I've tried to engage but had little engagement in response. Now I find myself squatting. Not everything is what it appears to be.
@jackbarrow so, here's what I'd suggest:

1. Use a Twitter social graph synch tool to follow people here that you followed there. https://www.movetodon.org/ is a good one.

2. Make a quality post every day. Photos are best!

3. Use hash tags for reach.

Good luck!
I suspect your many high profile roles provide a rich source of quality posts.
Puzzled: you don't seem to be active on Mastodon. None of my business but ??? <smile>
I could not agree more just leave Twitter and what it represented at the door and forge a new better place.
thanks for this. I have to wonder about some followers who only repost. (Or the bots who haven’t posted anything)
“Be here now!” sums it up pretty well!