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  • Christian Meestersrupdecat@fediscience.org
    Oct 24, 2026, 5:29 AM

    Well, I do not have much Twitter experience. Jumped on that ship, just before it was sunk.

    But I get it: "Science-Twitter was so much better!"

    Yes, yes. Now, there are Threads, Bluesky, LinkedIn, ...., and the chaotic Fediverse. People are realizing the inevitable: Less activity here, in the Fediverse. This happens, when people follow the herd. Whether the grass is really greener elsewhere remains to be seen, though.

    Yesterday, I learned that an organization I am affiliated with is posting on #LinkedIn . Presumably for better reach. 🙄

    It is true: People will not sign up for a mastodon server, just because it's there. In scicomm we have to choose: Where is my audience? How can I reach it?

    So much, so trivial. We also have the option to shape that outcome. By not only posting on enshittified media, by using fediwalls or mastowall (which allow accountless views), by choosing which QR-codes to share, by forgoing ai slop images, etc. etc. etc.

    1/n

    #scicomm #fediverse #academicchatter

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  • Christian Meestersrupdecat@fediscience.org
    Oct 24, 2026, 5:46 AM

    Also, looking at my new "followers" over time, I see what is to be expected: A big jump, when joining my instance. Then less. A peak at time with more activity, then less again. 🤷‍♂️

    And I know, I lost some over time. Some were bored by the choice of topics or the language mix. I really do not know. Some tried Mastodon and now their accounts are dormant. And this is quite alright. No one has to choose the Fediverse, no one has to like social media in general!

    3/n

    new followers for my account over time, absolute and cumulative. For the comment, see the post.
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  • Christian Meestersrupdecat@fediscience.org
    Oct 24, 2026, 7:27 AM

    Oops, this turned unexpectedly and unplanned into a thread.

    Today, I will copy a Pratchett e-book onto my e-book reader. My son is eager to read. He is discovering this author now.

    He is an only-child, so in my household, from my perspective the gender ratio is quite balanced. Not so at my former workplace. Not so in my scientific domain. I work in #HPC and the fact that there is an action group "Women in HPC" tells you there is need for it.

    Here, on Mastodon, I actively seek to follow women to get not just the male perspective. I gave up on other balances (there just aren't so many non-Europeans in my vicinity and that's ok, if I want to focus on my region. Which is not to say, I do not follow non-European accounts, it is just impossible to balance the European vs. non-European ratio.). Yet, following interesting women is a bit harder than following interesting men, simply because there are fewer (in the research domains I am interested in and at the same time active on Mastodon).

    So, self-diagnosis: I like it when women seem to like what I write (boosts or likes or replies). Thank you.

    This seems to be another issue of the Fediverse. However, inclusive and open it wants to be, misogeny and racism are omnipresent in our societies and hence on social media. It's better here. Not perfect. We need to improve on it.

    That, too, is an asset we can capitalize on.

    4/n

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  • Thomastg9541@mas.to
    Oct 24, 2026, 5:37 AM

    @rupdecat When it's about convenience, not science, the psychology of self-optimizing attention loops can't be beaten (I say that in absolute terms).

    Scientists, finally, have to decide what they work for: science, or a LinkedIn-like simulacrum of being informed, connected, important, whatever.

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