š Hello (1)(https://mastodon.social/tags/fediverse)! I'm going into a meeting at 4ET to talk about our newsroom's social media options.
If you think our station and other (2)(https://mastodon.social/tags/NPR) stations should have a Mastodon server or a broader presence in the (3)(https://mastodon.social/tags/fediverse), pls boost this post. If you have thoughts, please reply, I want to hear them!
NOTE: as I mentioned to @FediFollows and @hermitary earlier today, it's important to understand the barriers that face stations or networks that want to set up a server. I summarize those here: https://mastodon.social/@gbhnews/110186548799130656
No one should expect anything to happen instantly.
Not totally sure why my link is not working but here's the commentary I shared before:
I think it's worth understanding what the barriers are to stations or networks establishing their own servers.
As the social editor, if I see a new platform and think, "oh, that's interesting," I have the power to open an account there.
Setting up a server for a station or a network would involve the cooperation of IT, marketing, and legal folks. Big stations and big networks have to do a fair amount of prep and due diligence before they make a move like that. 1/x
So it's not just the cost of setting up/running a server (which people tell me here could be quite minimal). It's the man-hours of prep, setup, and ongoing maintenance for things like moderation, tech support, etc. that come into the equation.
And the other half of that equation is the assessment the people involved make of the opportunity. Math is a big part of that. How many users are on that network, and how many of those people are likely to see or engage? 2/2
@gbhnews Be the trend setters! Leave the billionaires' abusive sites.
Model good behavior.
@mem_somerville @gbhnews
But please leave the trolls behind you too!
@gbhnews YES. NPR should run its own instance and have its stations and journalists on there. It would be amazing to have one place to follow everybody NPR-affiliated.
The first news network to commit 1/1000th of its ad spend to Mastodon will achieve a primacy that other networks spend more to get worse results.
But I'm sure second place will be OK.
@gbhnews Good luck! Maybe hashtag (4)(https://social.coop/tags/NPR) here so more people might see it, since itās on a lot of peopleās minds today?
@jsit ooh good point thank you
@gbhnews @jsit also setting up your own instance of Mastodon or other software on the fediverse is pretty easy. For one client @agaric is doing this two ways: One where "News Org dot Social" engages like you are now (and also, not so needed, invites the public) and another where the news org at its main domain publishes full articles directly. This could be done on the same domain with some technical differences, or easily on a main domain and a subdomain (social.wgbh.org or social.npr.org).
@gbhnews I love listening to NPR and I and many many others would be so glad if we can at the very least read your news feed
@gbhnews Here's a vote from a (5)(https://mastodon.world/tags/Boston) ex-pat who still follows Boston news.
@theotherotherone @gbhnews Yup. Even here in the forgotten Western part of the Shays Rebellion Mass, we love us some good @gbhnews
@pattykimura @gbhnews I love Western MA, though I'm a bit more west now, about 2,500 miles west š
@pattykimura @theotherotherone @gbhnews We do need NEPM on Mastodon too, though :)
@gbhnews Yes! This is the momentum we need to see. I know there are many people on here with ideas about why this could change everything.
@gbhnews Yes, I think it would be great for NPR to host its own instance and for NPR stations to be in the Fediverse.
@gbhnews
Yes!!!!
@gbhnews I think itās a great idea. Get out in front of this and set the tone for other media companies.
@gbhnews I think it would be a powerful statement for NPR to have its own instance. Mastodon is small, to be sure, but it's almost certain to grow; its non-profit mission is aligned to NPR's; and you'd be taking a leadership role in showing other media outlets that they do not need to remain in a hostile environment.
@bodhipaksa @gbhnews
Mastodon may not have as many users as some of the bigger ones, but do any of those have this kind of growth trajectory? https://mastodon.social/@mastodonusercount/110187382272256975
@bodhipaksa @gbhnews
I agree with this Totally šÆš
@gbhnews really enjoying gbh fediverse presence, enjoy daily polling (which trigger follow-on notification when poll close), & gbh fediverse presence increase tech ghoul goodwill --> gbh.
less sure regarding hosting instance - would necessitate content moderation policy & require thought regarding remaining federated, but could further increase listener allegiance
@gbhnews this link 404s btw
@gbhnews That link doesn't resolve for me.
@gbhnews Yeah, we understand this. But still: you have full control--not at the whims of a psycho with more money than sense, or a government, or whatever.
Also: you get the added cred of verifying your own team. It's hard to know here who is legit, imposters are easy to create in this system--an institution server is a good solution to this.
@mem_somerville Yes. It's just that some people seem to think that the only cost is the cost to set up a server. for a station or a network a lot more goes into it.
But what is the cost of not setting up a server?
Twitter engagement has improved since the Trump indictment. Several accounts that I follow on Mastodon went silent after the indictment and they have reappeared on Twitter.
But has the reason for them jumping ship in November changed? Is Musk done with his nonsense? Is it wise to not have a back-up plan?
Twitter is free, sure. But how much did that cost in meetings and reputation once the toddler had a tantrum?
We have worked for companies, we understand outreach and engagement has a cost. As does not doing it.
That is beautifully stated! There absolutely is a cost for not doing it.
Even before the Muskification of Twitter, most accounts were passive and not engaging with followers.
@Hey_Beth @gbhnews @mem_somerville
The issue that caused me to join mastodon still exists on the bird/dog site. Somebody is flexing his cash at the expense of my sanity.
@EugestShirley @Hey_Beth @gbhnews Despite its prior flaws, I liked (6)(https://mastodon.social/tags/birdsite). I had community there, felt connected and informed. I really hoped the initial drama would subside and he'd stop effing it all up.
But it only got worse. And I don't see it getting better at this point.
@mem_somerville @Hey_Beth @gbhnews
I liked it too. My community that I built there wasn't instantaneous either.
It was much better in 2021 than in 2009.
I do drift back, because of the people I knew. Don't trust the owner, at all.
@EugestShirley @mem_somerville @Hey_Beth @gbhnews
I go back especially for the weather. NWS SPC isn't botted here yet.
@Freedom2B @mem_somerville @Hey_Beth @gbhnews
Do you want weather for a specific area, or nationwide, worldwide?
@Hey_Beth @gbhnews @mem_somerville
The cost, at the moment, appears to be negligible. Qwitter has a lot more users, and for digital fish wrappers that translates to greater reach and ultimately more bucks.
A backup plan is needed only if you get banned by Musk. Mid-December many journos were banned. They got here almost immediately. And then, returned as soon as Musk unbanned them.
So, a backup plan is not that arduous. Maybe more so for an organization, primarily in process.
@gbhnews @mem_somerville Maybe NPR (or NPR & PRI) could set up a server that is open to all affiliated stations so that WGBH doesn't have to bear the burden for all of it.
@gbhnews @mem_somerville I'm working to convince my School if not my University to set up instances. It's going to be about setting up the infrastructure to onboard students and faculty and admin the instance but it centralizes aspects of communication that are currently paid for and paid for DEARLY.
@mycotropic @gbhnews @mem_somerville As someone who works for a major public university, I'm very interested to know how this ends up going.
@vwbusguy @gbhnews @mem_somerville our school is regional and includes three campuses in three universities so we constantly consider how to make them ONE School. By that I mean that the argument might be different for a school vs a University system. Happy to post about it though. If it works I'll try to use the hashtags (7)(https://geekdom.social/tags/CSPH) or (8)(https://geekdom.social/tags/CSPHstodon)
If you're trying to sell this product please share your methods and results!
(9)(https://geekdom.social/tags/Collaborate) (10)(https://geekdom.social/tags/Collaboratestodon)
Well said!
There's a bit of strategy involved.
"NPR" is short for "National Public Radio", where "National" means the USA. But the Fediverse is inherently international. How to deal with that?
I notice Fediverse accounts from the USA that rather ignore the 96% rest of the world's population. Which is a possible, maybe even reasonable choice.
If you choose differently, interacting with us needs thought. Do you want to require your target group to understand phrases like "meeting at 4 ET"?
@dj3ei I think you were the person who got me to put USA in our bio.
@gbhnews @mem_somerville I think it's worth discussing for all public broadcasters: Shouldn't public broadcasters embrace the Fediverse? Isn't there an intrinsic connection? Aren't there some important shared values? I certainly think so
@greenback @gbhnews I'm a convert to this concept, yeah. And agree it seems like a good fit for non-profits.
@gbhnews @mem_somerville If I was involved in a TV channel, I'd look into integrating ActivityPub in my streaming site, then people can follow my new material from Mastodon. Same goes for pictures, audio, texts... The Fediverse offers options unlike any other social media. You can directly integrate your content without links. Exciting possibilities!
@greenback @mem_somerville I love this idea.
My simple explanation is this is just email...for social media. It's federated just like email.
People didn't jump straight into email way back when (Iz is old) but it's become a simple requirement for business today. Social media with the silos has become the same.
Mastodon/ActivityPub is the first chance to fix that silo thing and get back to internet roots of how it's supposed to work
This must be emphasized.
@gbhnews That's fair. I think I would favor NPR itself sets up an instance and member stations move their accounts to it. No idea how feasible any of that is, but it seems like a good direction to go in.
@theotherotherone @gbhnews This makes sense to me. Economy of scale in a sense.
@theotherotherone @gbhnews Unfortunately, āmember stationsā is just what NPR calls their customers, which are independent public radio stations that purchase programming from NPR. Many independent stations are already struggling to pay the outrageous fees to NPR, so adding on one more is probably not going to fly.
@bhawthorne @gbhnews Right, which is why I think it would make sense for NPR to take on the cost of an instance and member stations just have accounts.
@theotherotherone @gbhnews NPR doesnāt give anything to stations for free. It would be great if they did, but instead, they keep increasing fees so that small independent stations canāt afford them and get swallowed up by large regionals. Itās the equivalent of the consolidation that is happening in the local newspaper space.
NPR makes good content, but people seem to think it is something more than that. Also, they are not the only public radio programming provider out there, in addition to local content created by small independent stations (e.g. Fresh Air from WHYY or 51% from WAMC) there is American Public Media (which also owns stations) that produces shows such as Marketplace and On Point.
On the NPR programming, the scripts are intentionally written to hide the fact that you are listening to an independent station that has licensed the program and make it seem like āyou are listening to NPR.ā Pisses me off every time I hear it. The tactic has worked and most people donāt even know about the heavy-handed relationship that NPR has with their customers (or as NPR calls them, āmember stationsā).
Sorry, I guess I had a button that was pushed!
Terrific. And yes, I'm aware of APM, or I better be, since I donate to them.
I also said, "No idea how feasible any of that is...".