Facebook, Twitter, Google+, & Mastodon

[DinoToyForum]

FYI, I moved some posts to this topic from http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=2404.0

[DinoToyForum]

Obviously, the blog's Google+ account is no more, as Google+ is no more!

[suspsy]

Qualms with the company aside (reasonable though they are), Facebook is a pretty active hub for the paleo-community. Having an active page on there again, with posts that can also be shared to other paleo and collecting groups, would probably be of great benefit to the main site for viewership, and possibly entice even more discussion on FB and the forums alike.

The Facebook page is a means to an end, not an end itself, so when I see conversations there, instead of here, it feels like I shot myself in the foot!   I suppose this is another reason why I'm not keen on populating the Facebook page with content. I want the Facebook page to promote the blog and forum, that's all, and it isn't very good for that. So, why bother.

But isn't the reason that the Facebook page isn't doing a very good job of promoting the blog and the forum is because there isn't any new content being posted there? I honestly don't see how posting links to new reviews on Facebook is necessarily going to divert activity away from either the blog or the forum.

[DinoToyForum]

Qualms with the company aside (reasonable though they are), Facebook is a pretty active hub for the paleo-community. Having an active page on there again, with posts that can also be shared to other paleo and collecting groups, would probably be of great benefit to the main site for viewership, and possibly entice even more discussion on FB and the forums alike.

The Facebook page is a means to an end, not an end itself, so when I see conversations there, instead of here, it feels like I shot myself in the foot!   I suppose this is another reason why I'm not keen on populating the Facebook page with content. I want the Facebook page to promote the blog and forum, that's all, and it isn't very good for that. So, why bother.

But isn't the reason that the Facebook page isn't doing a very good job of promoting the blog and the forum is because there isn't any new content being posted there? I honestly don't see how posting links to new reviews on Facebook is necessarily going to divert activity away from either the blog or the forum.

I inspected the stats and traffic when the Facebook page was being populated regularly. The reach was negligible, the number of actual clicks barely registered. In my experience it makes no difference to the blog and forum whether we share on Facebook or not. It just creates content for Facebook, as the few people that do see the posts look at the picture but generally don't click through to read the review.

That was then, and I doubt it has changed, but if you really want to share new blog reviews on the Facebook page so we can see if it makes a difference then I could make you an admin. But I don't want you to waste your time with it as you already put so much effort posting reviews and the guest reviews in the first place, and that's what's most important.

[suspsy]

I'm still perfectly willing to do it. Copying and pasting a review from the blog to Facebook takes less than 30 seconds; it is hardly a burden on my life. Especially considering that I wouldn't be required to do so the very instant the review gets uploaded.

Bottom line: I just want to try and increase visits and votes on the blog, using as many means as possible. If jump-starting the Facebook page doesn't produce any significant increases, well, it's no skin off either of our backs.

[DinoToyForum]

I'm still perfectly willing to do it. Copying and pasting a review from the blog to Facebook takes less than 30 seconds; it is hardly a burden on my life. Especially considering that I wouldn't be required to do so the very instant the review gets uploaded.

Bottom line: I just want to try and increase visits and votes on the blog, using as many means as possible. If jump-starting the Facebook page doesn't produce any significant increases, well, it's no skin off either of our backs.

Okay @suspsy, I'll make it so. I'm already friends with you on Facebook so I know which account to use. You should already have access to the Social Media board? There's a Facebook discussion thread there.

[Fembrogon]

Question: I just saw a couple of the posts from the page on my feed, but the selected image shown on each link is just a badly cropped shot of the site banner. Is there a way on our end for the link to display an actual review photo, on the off-chance that would be more enticing to click on?

[Halichoeres]

[deleted in light of dinotoyforum's post below]

[DinoToyForum]

Question: I just saw a couple of the posts from the page on my feed, but the selected image shown on each link is just a badly cropped shot of the site banner. Is there a way on our end for the link to display an actual review photo, on the off-chance that would be more enticing to click on?

It used to be possible to select the preview image from all the images on the page being linked to. At some point that option was no longer available, or it wasn't obvious how to do it any more. Maybe it is still possible. But please, @suspsy, don't upload any images from the blog to the Facebook page. It becomes Facebook's content and property, and I don't want that.

[suspsy]

I have not uploaded any images to the Facebook page and have no intention of doing so. The thought never once crossed my mind.

And yes, it is perplexing how links revert to that unsightly default image.

[DinoToyForum]

I've just posted the last tweet from our DinoToyForum Twitter account:

"We are leaving Twitter and no longer posting updates here.

The DinoToyBlog is still active so this would be a great time to join our community directly! https://dinotoyblog.com/forum

To continue receiving blog updates you can follow Dr Admin on Mastodon: https://sauropods.win/@adamstuartsmith"

Special thanks to @Halichoeres for doing such a wonderful job keeping the Twitter feed up to date over the past few years. It's a shame it had to come to an end but it's the right thing to do given recent events there.

I'll continue posting Twitter-style updates about the DinoToyBlog on my Mastodon instead. Maybe, in time, I will create a dedicated DinoToyBlog Mastodon account but let's see how it goes. I've added Mastodon to the title of this topic.

[suspsy]

Good on the DTB for abandoning that increasingly toxic cesspool.

[Halichoeres]

Happy to have been of service.

The way I feel about Twitter now is kinda how I felt about Facebook about 15 years ago when everyone's racist grandparents started signing up and made it intolerable. It's a shame because Twitter was so useful for academic types.

[Thialfi]

Thank you for doing the right thing. Twitter has become even more an utter cesspool with its current usurper at helm. Scary place. I hope a better, safe place can be found for people with a proper moral compass.

[DinoToyForum]

Thank you for doing the right thing. Twitter has become even more an utter cesspool with its current usurper at helm. Scary place. I hope a better, safe place can be found for people with a proper moral compass.

Mastodon is working out well for me so far. It has 'early days of Twitter' vibes, but because it is federated, it can never be taken over and destroyed at the whim of a billionaire. I find it good for interacting with people who are not Dinosaur Toy Forum members, generally non-collectors.

This forum, of course, is the best place to be!

[DinoToyForum]

Elon Musk obviously sees Mastodon as a threat because, as of yesterday, he is blocking profile links to Mastodon in Twitter profiles, and flagging Mastodon links in posts with an "unsafe" warning to scare people into staying on Twitter. He has also started banning journalists and other members whose opinions he doesn't like. Twitter is no longer a place anyone should feel comfortable being associated with. I suspect Twitter is done. It's the MySpace of tomorrow.

[Halichoeres]

I gotta make a Mastodon account. I'm finding Reddit inadequate for keeping up with science news.

[DinoToyForum]

I gotta make a Mastodon account. I'm finding Reddit inadequate for keeping up with science news.

It certainly feels like there's some momentum on Mastodon. I think you'll like it. The obvious server to join is https://sauropods.win, which is where I am. But you can follow and interact with anyone on any server, so it doesn't really matter which server you join.

[Thialfi]

Love to hear Mastodon is gaining some serious traction. I signed up a while ago but to be honest I am kind of struggling with finding people whom I'd like to follow. Do you happen to have any paleo recommendations, or otherwise fascinating people, @dinotoyforum? Thanks!

[DinoToyForum]

Love to hear Mastodon is gaining some serious traction. I signed up a while ago but to be honest I am kind of struggling with finding people whom I'd like to follow. Do you happen to have any paleo recommendations, or otherwise fascinating people, @dinotoyforum? Thanks!

Were you on Twitter before? If so there are simple ways to find the people you followed there again on Mastodon. e.g. https://fedifinder.glitch.me

If not, then just go through the list of people I follow (or the list of sauropods.win members) and pick out the ones that take your fancy. My advice, in the beginning, is to follow people even if you're not sure you want to follow them indefinitely. That will set you up nicely, as once you follow enough people, about 150 I'd say, your home feed will become active with posts and 'boosts' that will allow you to discover other interesting accounts, while the Federated feed (i.e. posts from all the people you follow AND all the people they follow) will be nice and active overview of the broader Mastodon world. You can always unfollow people later.

I follow several DinoToyForum members on Mastodon including @SBell @Patrx @Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews) & @Newt

Oh, also, follow hashtags (e.g. #FossilFriday), that's something you could never do on Twitter. I mean don't just search them, follow them.