I figured I’d encourage NPR’s management to try Mastodon if they insist on doing social media post-Twitter.
Hello. I hear that NPR is rethinking their social media strategy after leaving Twitter because Elon Musk can’t distinguish between NPR and an actual state propaganda outlet like Xinhua or Russia Today. I’ve also heard that NPR is considering a migration to Instagram.
I’d like to advise against this move for the following reasons:
- Instagram is proprietary, just like Twitter. Instead of being at Elon Musk’s mercy you’d be at Mark Zuckerberg’s. He might not be as erratic, but he’s no more trustworthy.
- Instagram is image-oriented. If you need to include links in a post, Instagram won’t let you do that.
I would instead suggest putting more effort into NPR’s own website and doing more to promote the site’s RSS feeds so that you can control your own syndication.
I would also suggest that NPR consider running its own Mastodon server and taking control of its own destiny in social media. For a reasonable salary, I would be willing to sign on as part of the systems’ administration team.
I doubt they’ll hire me, but what the hell. It’s worth a shot.