Trying to learn Mastodon? Start here.
Lots of us are trying to get our heads around this potential alternative platform to Twitter. I’ve assembled some excellent readings, tools, and a video introduction. These have helped me, and I hope they help you.
I will keep adding to it as I come across additional resources, but if you get through all these resources you should be more than good to go.
Connect with me on Mastodon if you like. I’m still learning.
READINGS TO UNDERSTAND MASTODON
- Start with this Twitter thread by John Bull and this Twitter thread from Sarah Griffith — these will help you make decisions about which server to choose, etc. Sarah’s thread ends with additional resources & readings.
- Mastodon DMs are very different to Twitter — and that could get embarrassing — Brittany Roston, Slashgear, 7 November 2022. I recommend this before reading the how-tos below, especially if you’re a journalist, because Mastodon direct messages a) are not encrypted and b) are visible to others.
- I also recommend this as a starter reading if you’re a journalist: Can Mastodon be a reasonable Twitter substitute for journalists? Julia Angwin, The Markup / NiemanLab, 21 November 2022.
- On Joining Mastodon — Jeff Jarvis, 22 November 2022
READINGS TO HELP YOU USE MASTODON
- How to get started on Mastodon — Wired, 16 November 2022
- An increasingly less-brief guide to Mastodon — by nice open source people, ongoing updates 2022
- How to Join Mastodon, the Ad-Free Social Network Billionaires Can’t Buy — Gizmodo, 3 November 2022
- A Twitter Off Ramp — A tutorial for getting on Mastodon — Patricia Aas, 18 November 2022
- A beginner’s guide to Mastodon, the open source Twitter alternative— TechCrunch, 9 November 2022
- Twitter Quitter? Here’s How to Get Started on Mastodon — PC Mag, 17 November 2022
- A brief introduction to Mastodon and what you need to know about photo, video and audio sharing — Smartphone Filming Blog, 23 Dec 2022.
- Come and join me on Mastodon — Clive Thompson, Medium, 6 November 2022
- A How To Guide for Mastodon — BonitaLissa, Tumblr, 15 November 2022.
- Twitter alternative: how Mastodon is designed to be “antiviral”, Clive Thompson, Medium, 10 November 2022.
- ‘Could this be Twitter without the toxic slurry?’ My week on Mastodon, Zoe Williams, The Guardian, 16 November 2022.
- A futuristic Mastodon introduction for 2021 — Wordpress blog by Elilla, 17 April 2021
- Very useful guide to the Fediverse — FediTips, ongoing updates, 2022
TOOLS AND RESOURCES
PressCheck: If you’re a journalist, Dave Lee at the Financial Times has set up an interface where you can request verified status as a journalist on Mastodon. Verification checks are being done manually, and Dave is doing this out of the goodness of his heart, so BE PATIENT and don’t apply if you’re not a journalist. This is to protect press freedom and help people find reliable sources of news if Twitter implodes.
MoveToDon: This is a GREAT tool. It will analyse ALL your Twitter followers, look for their Mastodon account (hopefully they put it in their bio) and allow you to follow them all with one click. This is the fastest way of doing this; other tools require you to follow people individually.
Fedifinder: use Twitter handles to find your contacts on Mastodon
DeBirdify: Scans accounts you follow on Twitter to see if they have a Mastodon account.
LinkTree: A simple, free way of listing other social media sites you belong to. Here’s mine. Setting it up took 10 minutes.
Life After Tweets — an alternative to LinkTree site to a) list other social media sites you use so that others can find you easily, and b) save a list of everyone you follow. NOTE: if you don’t want a third-party app to have access to (b) you can do what I did, which is open your followers page, scroll to the very bottom of the first account you followed, and copy the whole list into a document to keep somewhere safe. If you save it as a PDF or Word Doc, any weblinks in account bios will remain live URLs.
All my Tweets: Creates a single page of your Tweets, followers, people you follow, etc — huge time-saver!
VIDEO TUTORIAL ON HOW TO USE MASTODON
Thinking of joining one of the other platforms — Tribel, Cohost, etc? Here’s a Medium I wrote a couple weeks ago with links to guides and video tutorials, and a Twitter thread by Jeremy Littau who has actually joined most of them and tried them out.
