@gbhnews#boston's fediverse news visibility is massively improved by your consistently showing up. As a 'social space', we're still figuring out how things should work.
@gbhnews It's a weak spot. RSS bots mean we're well provided for with headline news feeds, but we need more journalists here. Really appreciate your work!
@gbhnews
I think it’s getting better all the time. I don’t mind links that send me elsewhere as long as there is enough in the snippet to give me a good idea of what the article is about. Being directed to paywalled articles w/o a gift link annoys me.
I hate click bait and being directed to sites that have so many pop-up ads you can’t read the article.
@PandaChronicle OMG I hate that too. I use a lot of reader software (in part because of a visual impairment I have). We are public media, so we don't have 85 popups etc.
@PandaChronicle that's not us 😁 that's that college radio station down the block (WBUR). But you're right, the Tappet Brothers were a national treasure.
@PandaChronicle It's okay! I do want to point out that we won the softball championship and had to physically go over there and reclaim the trophy 😂. (GBH and WBUR have an annual softball game).
@gbhnews Good and improving as more journalists and orgs join. Mastodon has no algorithm, so the viral engagement found on Twitter is unlikely. Separately, Threads is deprioritizing news to measurable effect. While it has an algorithmic timeline, it won’t deliver the same news engagement as Twitter. Ultimately, Mastodon may be the best place for news, since any number of networks can federate, Twitter is declining, and Threads doesn’t want news. Peak clicks are probably in the past though.
@gbhnews Based on what Meta has said and your own data, I think you’re right not to invest lots of effort on Threads. Meta’s financials have shown that the absence of news hasn’t harmed revenue. Its presence has created a lot of political and regulatory pressure, domestic and abroad. Also, countries have compelled Facebook to pay for content posted by publishers. Separating any moral arguments about Threads’ obligation to carry news, it’s in Meta’s business interests to lessen its visibility.
@bretcarmichael (we also consider social to be a "top of funnel" phenomenon and don't consider clicks to be the only/primary way to measure what we are doing. Most social platforms want to keep the users on that platform, not to leave to an external website).
@wifsten It is gradual, and in a way, I think that's behind the relatively slow uptick in news orgs. over here. It really is a perception/real numbers thing.
If I had to justify being here strictly on the numbers, I probably wouldn't be here. I don't, so...here I am 😁
@nlowell Almost all (centralized, algorithmic) social platforms have become "on platform" experiences because the companies that own them want users to stay on the platform and not depart for another website.
Expectations on non-algorithmic platforms like this one...users are here and want to stay here.
Combined, it makes it hard to justify investing. (Not impossible but hard).
I hear you about the paywall thing; Medium links irk me. We are public media and so no paywall/no registration.
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