Social Media Articles

Article / Updated 05-30-2023

Knowing a little about the TikTok algorithm can help you better understand how to go viral on TikTok. An algorithm is a calculation that search engines and social media platforms use to rank content — in the case of TikTok, to rank videos and customize "For You" page results. The algorithm is basically the “secret sauce” of how TikTok decides what videos to show each user. If you understand the basics of TikTok’s algorithm, you can understand how to create content that shows up more often on the For You pages of people who don’t follow you. Knowing this secret sauce gives you the ability to gain more followers and views, and hopefully, go viral on TikTok. A disclaimer: The actual TikTok algorithm — the inner workings of how TikTok surfaces content on the For You page — is a secret. It also changes frequently, and what might work today may not work tomorrow, so test your content often. That said, I and other creators have discovered basic principles that seem to result in more followers and views. The tips I share here are based on what I’ve found to be effective. By the way, are you wondering: what is considered viral on TikTok? Opinions definitely vary. If you search the question "how many views is viral on TikTok," you'll see a range of answers, but it appears that most people believe a video must garner between 250,000 and 1 million views to be considered viral. Here are a few principles to remember as you create videos. These could help make your videos more likely to show up on the For You page (the first screen people see when they go to TikTok): Focus on engagement first. Remember, on TikTok, content is king, but engagement is queen and wears the pants. Focus on engagement first. A video that moves its audience to take action — like, comment, duet, or stitch — will see far greater views and new followers than a well-produced video that took hours to create. I have almost 15 years’ experience creating content for social media — trust me, this is true! You want your audience to feel something quickly — within the first five seconds of your video, if you can manage it. They hear a voice saying, “I just have to say something!” and then leave a comment, create a stitch, or duet your video. Success! These are the keys for how to blow up on TikTok. This platform, and most social media platforms, favor lots of engagement on videos, especially when users are willing to take the time to have a conversation. This is why even controversial content tends to see more views. Make your content king. In the competition to get viral on TikTok, a well-produced, well-lit video with good sound and good editing has the clear advantage over poorly produced videos — a well-done video definitely gains some level of favor in the TikTok algorithm. Find out what's trending. You probably discovered TikTok because someone close to you — a child, niece, nephew, or friend — shared a funny video. These days, a lot of Internet trends begin on TikTok. Much of TikTok culture centers around one large, connected community, all talking about the same things. The TikTok algorithm highly favors content that remains a part of this “town gossip.” Want to double your video views? Find a popular TikTok influencer who’s participating in a popular trend, and duet or stitch that person's content with your own twist on the conversation. Even if the creator doesn’t notice you, TikTok’s algorithm tends to favor videos that duet or stitch the videos of popular creators. When I do this in my videos, such as the one in the figure below, I always see significantly more views, especially when I’m creative with my response. Attention spans are short! Focus your content. As you're thinking about how to make your TikTok go viral, remember that although engagement trumps content and length, TikTok’s For You page algorithm tends to favor content that is short. People on TikTok have short attention spans.In addition, TikTok favors videos where most of the viewers watch the entire video. Unless I'm doing something to engage my audience, such as a duet or stitch, I keep my content shorter than 15 seconds. This makes it more likely that my viewers will watch the entire video, giving an added bump to the video's chances of being seen on the For You page of potential followers, and maybe even going viral on TikTok. Because TikTok gives a boost to videos that get more viewers to watch to the end, consider splitting a long video into segments. Make sure each segment starts with a new hook to keep the viewer interested. Watch your numbers! TikTok is constantly changing, and what works for me and other accounts on TikTok today might work differently for you later. Time your messages carefully. When you post a video, TikTok looks at the video's content, description, hashtags, sounds, and other details, and determines its ideal audience. First TikTok shares the video with a small, targeted audience. If they respond well, it increases the audience — and continues to do so as long as viewers react favorably. However, TikTok’s algorithm needs time to get your video to that full audience. If you post a new video targeting the same audience as the last-published video too quickly, it confuses the algorithm. Your original video will not be able to make it to as many people as it could have. I’ve found no established guidelines on how soon is too soon to post, but pay attention to this issue as you publish videos and see what works best. Consistency is your key to the kingdom. If you haven’t done so already, think about what you want your TikTok account to be about. What goals do you want to accomplish with it? What topics do you want to focus on? Who’s your target audience? Take some time to answer those questions. Next, make sure every video you create matches the answers to those questions. If you keep all your content consistent, TikTok knows immediately what audiences to send your content to, and you’re more likely to see higher growth more quickly. Maintaining consistency is keeping a promise to your audience: They come to you looking for specific content, and you deliver it. Identifying trending content A great way to gain followers and increase video views on TikTok is by understanding what content is trending. In this section, I discuss finding trends by browsing the discover page and using the search function. Check the discover page To access the discover page, shown in the figure below, tap Discover in the main navigation. Scroll through the main discover page to see what’s currently trending, and then tap the Sounds and Hashtags tabs to explore those pages further and get new inspiration. Swipe the top banner to see trending accounts, sounds, themes, and hashtags. These are things TikTok wants you to see, so TikTok will favor your videos on the For You page if you use them in your content. Tap a topic on the banner to see a screen with that topic, such as the #CarTikTok page shown in Figure 8-3, left, which includes videos, sounds, hashtags, and a list of the top-viewed videos using the topic. Sometimes topic pages are just a landing page TikTok has designed with a partner or an advertiser. Each topic page will be different, designed to show off the things TikTok wants its users to consider in their videos. Explore these videos, sounds, or hashtags on each topic page and look for common themes or elements, such as a dance, a song, or an activity. If the topic you’re exploring contains a trending hashtag, consider adding it to your description. Or you could create a video matching what each video is discussing but in your own way. Tap the back icon (<) to return to the discover page. Scroll down the discover page to see what’s hot. Tap a video or two to see any common themes, and consider integrating those elements into your own videos. Tap a sound or hashtag to see a list of videos using that sound or hashtag. When you tap a trending sound, you can tap the Use This Sound button (see the left-side image in the figure below) to immediately start recording a video using that sound. If you tap a trending hashtag, tap the record button (see the right-side image in the figure below) and any effects, sounds, and other elements associated with that hashtag automatically load into a new recording screen for you. I typically sift through all the elements on the discover page briefly before publishing a video to be sure I’m using the latest and greatest hashtags, sounds, and themes. That way, I'm more likely to see additional views. The discover page changes constantly. The layout I discuss in this chapter may change by the time you read this. However, the principles of exploring the trending sounds, hashtags, and topics remain the same. Finding content through search The discover page sports a search box at the top, which you can use to find content using topics you’re interested in, as well as hashtags, other users, and sounds. To search for something, go to the discover page and follow these steps: Tap the search field. A list appears showing your recent searches. If this is your first time searching, the list will be empty. Type what you want to search for and then tap the Search button that appears on your device's keyboard. You can enter a hashtag, name, username, song name, name of an effect, or keyword. A search results page appears, displaying the default Top tab, with results organized by the top videos, hashtags, and users that TikTok determines are the most relevant to your search. Tap a video to watch it. Check out the Top tab if you’re trying to get inspiration for videos on a particular topic. If you tap the Sounds or Hashtags tab, you see a screen similar to the one in the figure above. Tap another tab (Users, Videos, Sounds, or Hashtags) to see a new search view, organized for that category. The categories are self-explanatory — no surprises here! To return to the discover page, tap the back icon (<) in the upper-left corner. You can find trending videos, memes, sounds, and hashtags on your For You and Following pages. What catches your attention? When I see videos on either page that spark a fun idea, I mark them as favorites, so I can sift through them later. To mark a video as a favorite, long-press the video and tap Add to Favorites. Grabbing your viewers’ attention With an understanding of the TikTok algorithm and a knowledge of the type of content that's trending, you’re ready to start creating videos that engage your audience! If your goal is to make a viral TikTok video, here are a few ideas (some from a few of my favorite popular TikTokers) that are sure to get your audience talking: Stay positive TikTok user Aaron Hanania, shown in the figure below, built an audience of tens of thousands by maintaining a message of positivity for his audience. In a message to me, he wrote: Positivity has allowed me to grow on TikTok because it’s unique to me. There are very few other influencers who not only spread positivity, but truly engage and get to know their audience. When someone joins my TikTok Live, I recognize their names; I remember things they share. And I think that’s important. Keep your content clean Certain types of content will get your content deleted or your account banned. Depictions of nudity, sexual content (even implied), firearms, and other forbidden topics outlined in TikTok’s community guidelines are not allowed. Know your audience. Although TikTok is full of risqué content, I’ve found that content that skirts the community guidelines (containing swear words and drug references) or is generally PG-13 (or above) tends to get fewer viewers. Exceptions to this rule exist, and you’ll have a better response if your audience expects this type of content. However, I recommend playing it safe when you can. Although you can invoke emotion, as I discuss next, or incite controversy, you may reach a larger audience by avoiding offense in the first place. As always, test to see what works best. No judgement here — I’m all about the data and what shows results! Some creators edit out curse words in descriptions, captions, and the text on their videos but still curse in the videos. If this is your desired type of content and your audience will respond well, consider this approach. TikTok's algorithm tends to give greater weight to onscreen text than audio. Invoke emotion Emotion — whether it's positive or negative, and whether you are showing humor, anger, sadness, or something else — makes people want to respond. When people feel something during a video, they want to do something with that feeling. Your goal in each video should be to invoke emotion in your audience. That’s why positivity is so important: It creates an emotion, in this case something positive or happy in the mind of the viewer. And that emotion makes them to want to do something with that feeling, such as share your video. However, controversy can also invoke emotion. TikTok users are highly opinionated, and everyone wants to share theirs!

Article / Updated 04-25-2023

The Most Viewed page on YouTube offers its most popular videos, and it's one of YouTube's most interesting pages. YouTube's Most Viewed Page has videos that are likely to be worth watching. After all, out of all the millions of videos on the site, these are the ones that are attracting the most eyeballs. Go to YouTube and click the Videos tab. You're zapped to the Videos home page. Didn't hurt, did it? On the left side of the window, head to the Browse section and click the Most Viewed link. This takes you to the Most Viewed section of the Videos section. Note that a number of videos from the Most Recent page are listed here — this goes to show how many viewers your video can attract in the brief time that it appears on the Most Recent page. Sexy sells, and many of the most-viewed clips get to be most-viewed because of racy content. Keep this in mind if you have kids who surf the site. Remember, nothing extreme is allowed on YouTube, but you’ll definitely find some R-rated content.

Article / Updated 04-14-2023

On the left side of the Twitter Account page, you’ll notice lots of links. Each one of those links has settings that can improve the time you spend on the Twitter platform. Here’s a short overview of some of what you can set in Twitter. Privacy and Safety is the best area for being sure you have a pleasant time on Twitter. Here you can make decisions as to how much contact you want from Twitter and from those with whom you connect on the site. Just be sure to read anything you are agreeing to before you give permission. Here’s a few things to consider: Don’t protect your Tweets; this makes them visible only to those whom you follow. If you set this, someone (perhaps an old friend) will find you through search, but can’t see what you’re sharing. People get to know you and about you by reading your Tweets. Twitter is a public forum, so be careful what you say (or are willing to defend or argue). Never post anything on Twitter that you wouldn’t want to see printed in your local newspaper. More than one celebrity has done this at one time or another and regretted it. You can delete Tweets, but they stay in the public timeline from the time you post until the time you delete them, and someone might take a screen shot. Why add a location to your Tweets? Unless you want the public to know every place you are, leave this option blank. Address book. Address books are tricky if you want to keep your contacts private. If you uploaded every contact you have, you might find some on Twitter and compromise your friends’ privacy. Direct Messages are private messages that you access in a different area from the public timeline. There’s a lot of strangers out there. You can opt to receive Direct Messages from anyone or not. Send/Receive read receipts. If you read a private, Direct Message and choose not to respond, it could be considered a breach of etiquette. So you turn this option off and answer messages in your own time. The Safety area. This covers sensitive content and Tweet media settings, which allow you to label your media for the appropriate viewers, and select whose media appears on your Twitter home page. If you prefer not to see possibly offensive images, leave Display Media That May Contain Sensitive Content unselected. If you plan on posting some racy pictures, select the Mark my Media as Containing Sensitive Content check box — to protect the innocent. A most important Twitter setting Buried subtly below the very prominent Manage Your Contacts bar is an innocent-looking category called Personalization and Data. There’s no free lunch on the Internet. If you followed any of the very public brou-ha-ha over the Facebook Cambridge Analytics scandal, this is where those permissions can leave you open. Next to the bold phrase Allow Some, click the word Edit. The page that opens here transparently shows you where and how your data might be shared. (This advice is relevant on other platforms as well.) Personalized Ads. This means that the ads you see on Twitter would be based on your interests. Twitter knows your interests because of the words you share on the platform. For example, if you talk about dogs, you might see pet food ads; talk about a garden and you could see ads from florists or gardening suppliers; talk about politicians and you may see political ads. Get it? You can opt in or not right here. Personalize based on your devices. This option gets a bit trickier. When you’re on Twitter, they obviously can see what you comment on and how you feel about things. Know this about your devices, this is one thing you can’t control: Every browser or app you use on any device accesses the web via its own IP address set by the Internet provider. The IP address doesn’t expose you personally, but it would indicate that, say, someone from Atlanta, Georgia is visiting a website at a certain time, on an iPhone using the iOS operating system (and what version). What you can control with this setting is whether you give Twitter permission to follow you around the web for further information on your interests. Personalize on the places you’ve been. This permission allows Twitter to serve you ads that may be relevant when you are away from home. This can be a good thing when you’re traveling, like getting an ad from a local restaurant. Remember that because when you are on a mobile device, websites can tell where you are anyway. Track where you see Twitter content across the web. Data (not personalized — meaning they don’t know your name, Twitter ID, email address, or phone number) will be used when you browse the Internet to serve up ads on websites that match your interests. Share your data with Twitter’s business partners. This generally means they sell. (A business needs to make money, right?) Twitter might “share” device-level data (like that IP address), demographics about you, your interests, and what ads you’ve viewed (and/or taken action on). Again, as in the paragraph prior, your actual personal information will not be “shared.” Revisit these permissions occasionally on all platforms to see what changes have been made and keep up on any changes in Twitter Privacy.

Article / Updated 03-27-2023

The Internet, especially social media, has some mysterious words of its own that are not always understood by those over 30. Understanding (and using) these acronyms may help you chip away at a possible bias. Plus, it’s an eye-opener when you understand the secret (ever-changing) language of internet slang kids use today. These internet slang terms are for intermittent usage; don’t use them too often or you’ll be deemed uncool. It would be easy to list a hundred, but for brevity’s sake, here are some favorite Internet slang phrases. AMA: Ask Me Anything. This started on a website called Reddit, where an authority on a subject takes open questions. BAE: Before Anything Else. This acronym is generally used when referring to one’s sweetie or dear one. DM: Direct Message (also PM = Private Message). The default way to give permission for someone to message you in private. ELI5: Explain Like I’m 5. When you want a simple, short explanation of something. Epic: An adjective to describe anything huge or amazing. Facepalm: Reaction when someone says or does something incredibly stupid. ICYMI: In Case You Missed It. When you mention something that you think most people already know or you have said it before. Manners count. IMHO: In my humble opinion. Use when you’re trying to put across a point, but you don’t want to be pushy about it. IRL: In Real Life. Real life versus Internet life. JSYK: Just So You Know. This is the new way of writing FYI. Lulz: For the laughs. A derivative of the longstanding LOL (Laughing Out Loud), meaning you did something just for fun. Lurker: Someone who follows a chat or a forum but never comments. (This is a perfectly acceptable practice.) Meme: Superimposing a snarky comment (or captioning an image) on a photo. I would show you a screen shot, but they are generally NSFW. You can make your own memes with this meme generator. NSFW: Not Safe For Work. Anything marked NSFW should not be viewed on a big screen in a public environment. Photobomb: When someone (human or animal) unexpectedly appears in a photo. Like when your cousin Larry jumped in between you and your Bae while taking a selfie. PWNED: When you’ve been PWNED, you’ve been defeated or humiliated and your opponent has victory over you. Also used as a noun: PWNAGE. SMH: Shaking my Head. Conveys disappointment in something someone does or says. TBT: Throwback Thursday. When you want to share something from the past, do it on a Thursday and tag it #TBT. TL;DR: Too Long; Didn’t Read. If you share an article that seems really valuable, but it went into minute detail, you might not have time to read the entire thing. Mark your comment TL;DR. TROLL: Trolls are people who post to annoy or anger you. They can be terribly annoying. The best advice I have is, “Don’t feed the trolls.” Just block them and move forward. Well played: A response when someone does something particularly well. YOLO: You Only Live Once. Your excuse to do something incredibly wacky. There are many Internet slang dictionaries on the web, but view at your own risk (just for lulz).

Article / Updated 02-17-2023

Creating TikTok videos is easy. Maybe you already created a video when TikTok prompted you to try after you set up your account. There are many things you can do with TikTok, like adding sounds and music, photos and other videos, but for this article, here are the basics: Tap the plus (+) icon. The plus icon appears at the bottom of the screen after you log in. If this is your first time using the app or opening the recording screen, give the app permission to access your camera, audio, and photo library. Look over the recording page, which is shown below. The recording page is what I call a “movie studio in your pocket. For now, become familiar with the following elements: The big red record button near the bottom The Effects icon, to the left of the red record button The 60s (60-second) and 15s (15-second) video length options at the bottom of the screen Select your video length. Tap 60s for anything greater than 15 seconds (to a maximum of 60 seconds), or leave this option at the default 15s for videos up to 15 seconds. (Optional) Choose an effect. Effects are optional, but I wanted to include a description to show you how fun TikTok can be: (a) Tap Effects to the left of the red record button and browse through the effects, as shown below. TikTok, similar to apps such as Snapchat, usually provides instructions on how to use the effect. (b) Tap an effect you like and try it out by following the instructions on the screen. Select another effect if you don’t like that one. Feel free to scroll through and try them all. (c) Tap anywhere outside the Effects dialog to return to the recording screen. Or tap the circle with a line in the upper left of the Effects dialog if you decide you don’t want to use any effects. The effect begins when you start recording, as discussed in Step 6. Place what you want to record inside the frame. Choose what you want to record, and place that person or thing inside the camera frame. Note that you can tap the Flip icon or double-tap anywhere on the screen to flip the camera view. Tap the red record button. If you tap the button once, TikTok will record automatically until you either tap the button briefly again or your 15-second or 60-second time is up. You can also long-press (press and hold down) the record button, and the TikTok app will record for as long as you hold down that button or your time is up. Long-pressing the record button can be useful for — wait for it (you’re about to be smarter than 80 percent of TikTok users) — zooming! To try it, long-press the record button and, with your finger still down, slide the button up to zoom in and down to zoom out. Boom! Instant zoom as you’re recording. When you release the button, TikTok stops recording. If you finish filming before reaching the time limit (15 or 60 seconds) click the red check mark in the bottom-right corner. When you finish recording your video, the page shown below appears — either automatically or after you tap the check mark. (Optional) Add sounds or additional effects. Then tap Next. You can choose sounds and other effects to add to your video. Add a description and configure sharing options. On the next page, shown in the image below, add a description about your video (150 characters or less). I usually tap the #Hashtags button and select a popular hashtag or two to add to the video. (If you used an effect in your video, TikTok may automatically add a hashtag for that effect in the description; you can keep it or delete it.)I also suggest turning on the "Allow Duet" and "Allow Stitch" options to allow others to share your video. Just tap each slider and it will move to the on position and turn green. To post your video, tap the "Post" button. If this is your first time posting a video, you're asked to verify that it’s okay to publish the video publicly. If you want your creation to be seen by the world, tap "Post Now." If you would rather it remain private, select "Me Only" under "Who Can Watch This Video." The For You page will appear, with the video you just created uploading in the upper-left corner, along with videos from other recommended video creators, which TikTok selects for you, if you’re not following anyone yet. When the video has finished uploading, it will play automatically on the For You or Following page as long as you keep the app open, repeating itself over and over unless you tap the screen to pause. Congratulations! You just created your first TikTok video.

Article / Updated 02-17-2023

Like others in my generation — the brief generation known as xennials, for those born on the cusp between Gen X (born in the 1960s and 1970s) and the millennials (born in the 1980s or 1990s) — I've become adept at adapting to ever-changing tech cultures and jargon. After all, we invented the familiar LOLs and BRBs of AOL Instant Messenger, along with social media emojis and other forms of shortened communication styles. Now my kids, who are in Gen Z (born in the late 1990s and early 2000s), are claiming new forms of communication, much of it gaining popularity on TikTok. TikTok culture is shaping the way we, their parents and grandparents, have to learn to communicate with them. No cap! (I explain that last term below, under "Speaking TikTok jargon.") Becoming familiar with TikTok culture TikTok has developed a different culture than other social networks you may be used to, such as Facebook or Twitter. You'll be most successful understanding this culture when you begin creating content on the platform. The key to understanding TikTok’s culture is to know these principles: You’re not alone! TikTok has an estimated 1.1 billion users. (A second version of TikTok, called Douyin, is available only in China.) You’ll find thriving communities in just about any genre and interest you can think of, including religion, mental health, sports, music, arts, crafts, and cooking. For example, popular TikTok user @catieosaurus uses her TikTok account to talk about ADHD, as shown below. TikTok is about being yourself Many popular accounts convey the person's normal, everyday life. Big-name celebrities, such as Andy Grammer, use TikTok to share the behind-the-scenes of their everyday lives. Chef Gordon Ramsey’s daughter pranks her dad (he goes along with it!) for the world to see. On TikTok, everyone is human. You get to be as well. TikTok is one very large conversation The comment, like, duet, and stitch features get people interacting in fun and creative ways. For example, popular influencers might start a dance, or begin a conversation, or sing a song and ask their audiences to join in. (An influencer is a person on social media with many followers or the ability to make content go viral and even affect product purchases.) As you surf the For You page, you might discover one of their followers joining in, and get inspired to do your own creative twist for your own audience. Your audience comments and participates themselves, and the conversation continues. You can also use hashtags so that the conversation you’re participating in is categorized with similar videos. TikTok is about creativity and having fun! TikTok’s mission statement is, “TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.” As you create content on the TikTok platform, don’t assume that you have to know how to dance, sing, or draw. Think about what you have to offer that is unique and creative and might spark joy in whoever watches and interacts with your content. For example, Aaron Hanania, shown in Figure 5-2, spreads positivity to his audience. Most importantly, have fun! A welcoming community is there to cheer you on. There you go! I now dub thee, Sir or Madame (or whatever your preferred royal pronoun) reader, a part of the TikTok culture. Speaking TikTok jargon Knowing a little TikTok jargon can help you sound like one of the cool kids. Trust me on this. Here are some of the top TikTok slang words and jargon you might come across as you’re using the app. Many of these are used by Gen Z, so when I'm in doubt, I just ask my kids (sheesh, I feel old): X TikTok: When creators say they’ve stumbled upon Dog TikTok, or Cat TikTok, or TikTok For Dummies TikTok or any other number of TikToks, they’re talking about a specific group or community of people with similar interests. Usage: “Congratulations, you’ve stumbled upon Fruit Snack TikTok, where all your Fruit Snack cravings can come true!” Using the X TikTok verbiage can be a great way to encourage your audience to join your club of followers obsessed with something as silly as fruit snacks. They might even make their own videos and duets about the exclusive club you’ve created. Cap or No Cap: These were popularized by the song “No Cap” by rappers Young Thug & Future in 2017. Cap (designated by a baseball cap emoji) means lie. No Cap (designated by the prohibited emoji followed by the baseball cap) means no lie or for real. You often see the emojis used in comments if someone agrees (the no cap emoji sequence) or doesn’t believe you (the cap emoji). Usage: “No cap! TikTok For Dummies will teach anyone how to get acclimated to TikTok!” (See what I did there?) Extra: When someone’s a little extra, they’re being overly dramatic or over-the-top. Usage: “David seems to get into everyone’s business and always wants to be the center of attention. He’s so extra!” Simp: The original Gen Z users started using TikTok to meet and date other users. They’re all about flirting, and simp is a term that means someone is doing too much for another person he or she likes. Usage: “She’s such a simp towards Allen. He doesn’t even give her much, but she can’t stop trying to please him!” Karen: A Karen is a woman who gets in everyone’s business, feeling she’s entitled to do so. The male equivalent is a Chad. Usage: “He’s such a Chad — he thinks he runs this town, reporting every violation he can find!” Bet: Short for you bet or sure. It means you acknowledge what’s being said. Usage: Person 1: “Y’all better finish reading this book soon so I can read it next!” Person 2: “Bet.” Thirst trap: You’ll see this term a lot on TikTok. When people create a post solely to get attention from those who might be attracted to them, it’s called a thirst trap. Usage: “Ha! This video is such a thirst trap. Look at all the guys simping on her!” Sus: If you’re familiar with the popular computer game Among Us, you’ll recognize this term, which suggests someone is suspicious. On TikTok, it's used anytime something seems suspicious. Usage: “I don’t know — this video seems a bit sus. I think that hair looks like a wig.” Boomer: Originally used to define people in the baby boomer generation, boomer now means someone deemed too old for a younger person to grasp. Usage (I'm quoting my kids here): “You’re such a boomer, Dad. You don’t even understand what sus means.” Yeet: This term is used to convey excitement, approval, surprise, or just energy. Usage: “Can’t wait for my mom to get on TikTok! Yeet yeet!” Clown emoji 🤡: Appearing in comments, this term usually means something is foolish, scary, or suspicious. It’s usually not a positive term. Usage: Person 1: “I’m going to climb up this rock wall.” Person 2: 🤡

Article / Updated 02-17-2023

Listen to the article:Download audio Mastodon is a decentralized social media platform that's made up of thousands of separate computers (also known as servers or instances) that have all agreed to speak the same language and share certain data. When you create your Mastodon account, you get a username, which will be tied to one of these servers. Each server in the network has its own personality — and some servers pride themselves in having no particular personality. Every server is free to join, although some may be closed to new accounts or may require that you get on a waiting list. The most difficult part of getting a Mastodon account is choosing which server to join. Fortunately, there's a Mastodon web page (shown in the image below) to help you sort through your options. You can sign up for Mastodon using the app or the website. However, signing up on the website — on your desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone — is easier than signing up with the app. Your very first step in getting Mastodon is to go to the Join Mastodon page. Then, click the "Get the App" link to use the app or click "Create Account" to use your web browser. Both the website and the app are free, and creating your account on one allows you to use all the features of both. If you click "Get the App," you'll be taken to a screen where you can choose to go to the Apple App Store (to download the iPhone app) or to Google Play (to download the Android app). Once you get to the app store, download and install the Mastodon app as you would with any app. Because Mastodon is based on a free and open standard, there are many apps to choose from to use Mastodon. Start with the official one, which is called Mastodon. Browsing your options When you visit the Join Mastodon page and click the "Create Account" button, you'll be taken to the Servers page, which is shown below. Many more Mastodon servers than the ones you see when you scroll down this page are available. However, the servers on joinmastodon.org follow certain rules known as the Mastodon Server Covenant, which is an agreement by the server's owner to work to keep the server free of hate speech, to back up their data daily, to have a person on call to deal with technical issues with the server, and to give users of the server at least three months’ notice before shutting down the server. Because these servers have agreed to the Server Covenant, they are seen as trustworthy, stable, and safe places to serve as your home in the Mastodon universe. Although you can't go wrong with any of the instances listed on the servers page, some will be a better fit for you than others — and that's what makes Mastodon so cool! Spend some time browsing through the different servers listed here. Note that you have several options for filtering the results — including by geographical region and topic (listed on the left side of the screen) and by legal structure, sign-up speed, and language (selected from drop-down lists at the top), as shown below. Once you've found a server or two that sound like places where you'd like to hang out and call your home base, the first potentially make-or-break characteristic of the server is the sign-up speed, which is how fast it will take for you to get an account. Understanding sign-up speed When you browse the list of servers, you'll see two types of buttons: "Apply for an Account" button and "Create Account." The "Create Account" button means that the server has instant signup: You can have a new account on that server in the amount of time it takes for you to choose a username and a password. Servers with an "Apply for an Account" button require that new accounts be approved by an administrator. This approval may take only a few minutes or a day. If you're super-excited to start using Mastodon, go with one of the servers that have the blue "Create Account" button. Don't worry too much about picking the perfect server. Choosing a server doesn't have to be permanent. You can move your account (and all of your followers!) to another server easily after you sign up. Reading the rules Regardless of whether you choose to apply for an account or go with a server that has instant account creation, check out the rules of your chosen server before you commit. To see a server's rules, first click the "Create Account" or "Apply for an Account" button to go to the server. Once on the server, you'll see a description of the server on the left, with the name of the server administrator and the number of users. Below the server information, click "Learn More" to read more about the server, including its code of conduct, which describes the guidelines for how users are expected to behave while using the server. Rather than having a complicated set of rules that try to make the greatest number of people happy and end up pleasing no one (such as what centralized platforms like Twitter and Facebook must do), each Mastodon server sets specific rules and the conduct expected from users. If you don't like the code of conduct on one server, check out other servers until you find one with a code of conduct more in keeping with your beliefs. Previewing a server When you sign up using a web browser, many of the servers listed at joinmastodon.org allow you to browse the content on the server before joining. If you click to the server and see posts, rather than immediately seeing a sign-up or login page, you've come to one of these. To see the content posted by the local users of the server, click the "Local" link on the right side of the page. The posts listed under "Local" are by people who would be your neighbors if you were to join this server. Are they talking about things you're interested in? If so, this may be the perfect server for you! Meeting the admin Another way to choose a server is to find out more about the person running it. Every server prominently displays the person in charge of keeping the server running and enforcing the server's rules. Click their profile from the server's home page or from the server's "About" page to read more about them and to see the things they're interested in and what they post. On Mastodon, the admin sets the tone for the server. If the admin seems like someone you'd like to hang out with, that's a good indication that you've found a home. Seeing why smaller is better A server might have just a handful of members to many thousands. Servers with a smaller number of users are vital to keeping the entire universe interesting and avoiding a monoculture. Smaller servers also tend to have stronger personalities than larger servers. And smaller servers are often less prone to slowing down because they're less likely to get a lot of traffic. Because every server allows access to the other servers, you have nothing to lose by going with a smaller one. In the same way that you're more likely to make friends in a small community group versus an international club with millions of members, joining a smaller Mastodon server makes you a bigger fish because the pond is smaller.

Article / Updated 02-17-2023

Listen to the article:Download audio As Mastodon has become more popular, millions of people have flocked to it from Twitter. Perhaps you, too, first heard about Mastodon on Twitter. As a migrant from Twitter to Mastodon, you're in good company. Finding members of your Twitter flock on Mastodon isn't difficult, and it's a great way to get a head start with building a following. If someone considered you follow-worthy on Twitter, they will on Mastodon, too. Several tools have been created for finding Mastodon accounts of your Twitter followers. If you haven't deleted your Twitter account, you can use any (or all) of these tools. Using Twitodon to find friends on Mastodon One service to help you find your Twitter followers on Mastodon is Twitodon. This site works by linking to your Twitter account and your Mastodon account and comparing the list of accounts you follow on Twitter with accounts on Mastodon that have also used Twitodon. If matches are found, Twitodon will give you a file you can import into your Mastodon account. Follow these steps to use Twitodon: Make sure you're logged into both your Twitter account and your Mastodon account. Go to Twitodon and click the link under the "Get Started" header to log into your Twitter account. A window opens, asking you to authorize Twitodon to access your Twitter account. Click the button to authorize Twitodon. You return to Twitodon and its Step 1 has been crossed off. Enter your Mastodon server's address (including the https://) in the field under Twitodon's Step 2, as shown in Figure 1, and then click Sign In. For example, if your Mastodon account is on mastodon.social, you'd enter https://mastodon.social. A screen appears asking you to authorize Twitodon to access your Mastodon account. Click Authorize. You return to Twitodon and Step 2 has been crossed off. Watch the number of scanned users go up as Twitodon processes the list, as shown in Figure 2. We hope the number of matches found go up as well! Because Twitodon can find only users who have also used Twitodon, don't be surprised if it doesn't come back with many or any results. The good news is that as more people migrate from Twitter and use Twitodon, it will be able to make more matches! So, it may be a good idea to try Twitodon again every so often as long as you keep your Twitter account. When Twitodon finishes scanning, click the link in Twitodon's Step 3 to download a list of the matches that were found. Twitodon's Step 4 (revoking Twitodon's authorization to access your Twitter followers) is optional, and we're going to skip it. Doing so will make it easier to come back and check Twitodon periodically in the future. Click the link under Twitodon's Step 5 to go to the Import page on your Mastodon instance, or click Preferences, Import and Export, and then Import. You see a screen similar to the one in Figure 3. Under Import Type, choose Following List (it should be selected by default). Choose the Merge radio button (which should also be selected by default). Merging means that you'll still follow everyone you follow on Mastodon before you import the matches found by Twitodon. Click the Choose File button and locate the file you downloaded from Twitodon. The file is named new_mastodon_follows.csv and should be in your Downloads folder. Click the Upload button on Mastodon's Import page. After a moment, you'll see a message that your file was uploaded and will be processed. Depending on the size of the file you imported, it may take a few minutes or longer for the file to be processed and for the new users to be imported. After a few minutes, go to your profile page and check whether your following number has gone up. As you follow the people you followed on Twitter, they'll get notifications and some of them may decide to follow you back. Using Fedifinder Fedifinder can scan your entire Twitter account, including accounts you follow, accounts that follow you, and your Twitter lists to find Twitter users who list their fediverse address in their Twitter profiles. Because it scans your lists and followers and doesn't depend on matched users already having used it, Fedifinder is more likely to find results than other automated programs for finding other Mastodon users. Follow these steps to use Fedifinder: Make sure you're logged in to both Twitter and Mastodon. Go to Twitter and edit your Twitter profile to add your fediverse address in one of the following places: The description The location The website address You can add your Mastodon address also to a pinned Tweet. Your fediverse address is your Mastodon server name followed by a slash, followed by your Mastodon username. It's the same as the link to your profile page on your instance. For example: hachyderm.io/@chrisminnick. Go to Fedifinder again and click the Authorize Twitter button at the top of the screen. Follow the instructions to authorize Fedifinder to access your Twitter data. Fedifinder scans your Twitter account to find fediverse addresses and starts showing you the results, as shown in Figure 4. Scroll down the page and click the link next to any Twitter lists you follow, and then click the Scan Followers link. After all the scans have finished, click the Export CSV with Found Handles link. CSV, short for comma-separated values, is a way of storing lists of data in text files so they can be imported into other systems. Go to the Import page on your Mastodon instance (click Preferences, Import and Export, Import) and import the resulting file (fedifinder_account.csv) in the same way you imported the file from Twitodon. Inviting friends and family If you have a fairly large Twitter following and follow a large number of Twitter accounts, you may have acquired some new followers and follows from using Twitodon and Fedifinder. But not everyone you want to follow is on both Mastodon and Twitter. To get more people to join you on Mastodon, you need to invite them. Mastodon makes inviting people to join your Mastodon server easy. Plus, when you use Mastodon's invite feature to invite people, signing up will be easier for them than it was for you because the link you give them will take them directly to the same local server you use. If your server allows users to create invitations, you can get an invitation link by clicking Preferences and then Invite People. You'll see the Invite People page, which is shown in Figure 5. The Invite People page allows you to create individual links, limited-use links, and links that expire. Unless you want to have a limited number of followers or you want to be able to track who uses which links, the best way to use Invite People is with the following settings: Set Max Number of Uses to No Limit Set Expire After to Never Select the Invite to Follow Your Account check box Once you've configured these settings, click the Generate Invite Link button. A text box with an invitation address appears, as shown in Figure 6. Tap or click the Copy button to copy this link. Here are a few ideas for how you can use your Invite link: Paste it into a post on Facebook. Put it in your profile on Twitter. Paste it into your Instagram profile. Email it to your friends and family and tell them to join you on Mastodon. Send it in a text message. Add it to a website you own. When someone follows the link on their phone, tablet, or computer, they'll see the same sign up page you saw when you first signed up for Mastodon. Plus, when someone signs up using your link, you'll find out about it, the number of uses next to your invite link will go up, and you'll gain a follower!

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

Listen to the article:Download audio The chaos surrounding Twitter after Elon Musk acquired it in October 2022 led many Twitter users to begin checking out other social media platforms, including Mastodon. Here, we'll go over some of the major differences between the two platforms. The first thing to know about Mastodon is that it isn’t just one site, like Twitter.com and Facebook.com. Mastodon is made up of a galaxy of sites, and the first choice you’ll make when you decide to create an account is what star (or instance) in this galaxy of sites to call home. Each of these sites runs the Mastodon software (the common platform). Once you have a home on a site running the Mastodon software, you can connect with people on other sites running Mastodon. Many people arrive on Twitter looking to raise their public profile, gain millions of followers, and go viral. Certainly some people have become media pundits and celebrities by way of their Twitter posts. On Mastodon, however, being sociable, informative, and authentic is more important. A Mastodon instance is better thought of as a neighborhood rather than a stage. You don’t have to be smart-alecky to be respected. In addition, before getting an account on a Mastodon instance, you sign on to a code of conduct. Although the code of conduct can go into detail regarding what is and isn't allowed, the code is often simply a lengthy version of “while you’re on here, be nice.” Mastodon is a home, not a single site If you want to tweet, you go to Twitter.com, get an account, agree to the terms of service (whether you read all that legalese or not), and start tweeting. Twitter may not ask much of you as a user, but you pay a price. You have no stake in Twitter as a company, except as an unpaid content contributor. Twitter polls run by the CEO aren't binding, and wouldn't be, even if a majority of participants were stockholders. Every Mastodon server instance is an island to itself but interconnected. Instance administrators and moderators are not gods and can't make any decisions beyond that instance. That’s true even for founder Eugen Rochko. The vast majority of Mastodon sites seek to be safe and friendly spaces for all kinds of users. You should feel like you’re at home here. Mastodon is built to serve its community Mastodon is not driven by its financial bottom line nor the whims of venture capitalists, Wall Street traders, and hedge fund managers. It's driven to serve its users and the community. If the founder or his heirs were to sell the mastodon.social site, where Mastodon was born, each user could easily move to another Mastodon instance, taking their posts and followers with them. If you’ve found a home with a group of admins and moderators that serve you and the community at large, consider helping to keep the servers (and the community) running with a financial contribution that fits your budget. Algorithms aren't allowed on Mastodon Twitter started out as a place where you read the tweets of the people you followed in reverse-chronological order (as you do in blogs). But as the service grew, Twitter developed algorithms to figure out what you liked and shared on the service. The purpose of the algorithm was to keep you scrolling through your feed. You got what the algorithm thought you wanted, but you also saw more ads as the session continued. More eyeballs on ads, more money for Twitter. As politicians and politically oriented people found a way to get followers, raise money, and gain influence on the service, ordinary users found themselves in a filter bubble, where they saw only things with which they agreed. Debate, where it existed at all, became toxic. Misinformation flourished. Some people started calling Twitter a hellscape because of all the angry tweets that the algorithm promoted into people’s feeds. No Twitter user ever got to opt-out of the algorithm’s role in managing their feeds. There was never a vote among users to implement the algorithm when it was first developed. Programmers from outside the company couldn’t review the algorithm to determine its effect on people’s emotions. In contrast, Mastodon displays every post from every user and hashtag you follow. You may still spend hours scrolling through interesting posts by fascinating people, but at least you know that Mastodon won’t try to manipulate you to stay longer on the platform. Users aren't tracked on Mastodon The same forces (sometimes called surveillance capitalism) that created algorithms also created the cookie, that tiny slice of code that lives in your browser and tracks your movements across the platform and elsewhere. The cookie’s owner aims to understand the things you’re interested in or curious about — the better to sell your social graph to advertisers. The Mastodon focus on privacy actively discourages cookies. Nearly every instance offers strict rules on such behavior, and should an instance permit it, that instance would likely be blocked by most other Mastodon instances. Don’t bet on this changing anytime soon. Ads aren't acceptable (yet) on Mastodon The initial burst of enthusiasm for Mastodon came when Twitter appeared to be placing its financial stability on selling more advertising on the platform. The Great Mastodon Migration of 2022, which came next, was made up of users and advertisers who didn’t want to be associated with Twitter's new owner. On Mastodon, most codes of conduct discourage excessive advertising, and what’s excessive has mostly counted in single digits. The exceptions are the online equivalent of yard sales, art shows, community theater, and musical performances. The Mastodon focus on community-building frowns on personal branding at least as much as on corporate branding. However, businesses aren't banned, and if you’re in business, you can post about it all you want. What won’t fly are targeted ads based on trackers and algorithms, as noted previously. Mastodon isn’t perfect, but its ideals are high. Welcome to the fediverse! The fediverse is a collection of websites and social networks that, in some ways, looks back fondly on the early days of the World Wide Web. When Sir Tim Berners-Lee created the web, he envisioned it as a collaboration tool, with sites offering read-write access to any visitor. Aside from wiki sites (such as Wikipedia) and blogs that accept reader comments, today’s web is largely a space for one-way communication. Mastodon encourages its users to collaborate by putting the focus on conversation and discussion. It’s easy to participate in a conversation by selecting the post's reply icon. The Fediverse expands that idea beyond just Mastodon into other services. The fediverse, which is a combination of federated and universe, got its name for the federated connections between independent websites on the social web. The foundation of the fediverse, and Mastodon as well, is the ActivityPub protocol, recognized as a web standard by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Developers use the standard to power a variety of federated alternatives for organizing events, sharing music, and just hanging out. The boring, technical way to describe the ActivityPub standard is that it “provides a client-to-server application programming interface (API) for creating, updating and deleting content, as well as a federated server to server API for delivering notifications and subscribing to content.” Mastodon first used a protocol called OStatus, an open standard that enables microblogging, but switched to ActivityPub in 2017. For the last decade or so, the IndieWeb movement has been building some of the social web standards that power Mastodon, especially the ActivityPub protocol, but for individual websites. IndieWeb focuses on your ability to control your content and connect with the people you want to connect with, with no one using your stuff to get others to sell you things you may not want. Do not confuse fediverse with metaverse! The metaverse started as a creation in the mind of speculative fiction author Neal Stephenson in his fantastic novel Snow Crash. In the novel, the metaverse served as the escape hatch from the dystopia in which most people lived, where the only jobs were in high tech and high-speed pizza delivery. The dystopia was the society. Today, the metaverse is a virtual reality that Facebook (excuse us, Meta) billionaire Mark Zuckerberg wants to use to make even more money. The fediverse is a much more pleasant place, where the users rule. And if profits are even a consideration, they come after the people who participate. Understanding federation When you’re starting out with Mastodon, wrapping your head around the idea of a federation can be maddening. Not to overwhelm you with community metaphors, but think about the following facets of neighborhoods: Life might be pretty much the same from neighborhood to neighborhood, but some places have different social rules. Violating those rules can get you in trouble. In some neighborhoods, you must live there for many years before you can even call yourself a resident! Although your neighborhood might have regular elections for city council members and other leaders, you might also have a person active in the community who is so respected that they’re called the mayor of the neighborhood. If you have an active neighborhood association, they probably have events to raise money for various programs to improve life in the neighborhood. While the city government pays for a lot of things (and usually has taxing power), neighborhood associations often pay for things such as flowers in common areas. You can change your residence from one neighborhood to another without getting permission from the city or the neighborhoods involved (condominium association boards notwithstanding). All this is true also in the virtual world of Mastodon: Every Mastodon instance (neighborhood) has a code of conduct that you have to agree to before you join (move in). Violating the code of conduct can get you in trouble (a suspension or worse). Regardless of whether your instance has a governing board, the administrator is definitely the permanent mayor, in charge of keeping things going. While your instance administration can’t tax you (yet) to keep the servers running, you do have an obligation to help out if you can. As the mother instance, https://mastodon.social helps other instances financially, but each independent instance has to keep the lights on. Aside from a disciplinary situation, it’s easy to change your Mastodon neighborhood — and bring all your friends with you. If you ever need to move your account to another instance, there's a Mastodon page with instructions.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-16-2023

Listen to the article:Download audio Even though thousands of people join Mastodon every day, the number-one concern of new users is that they can't make the shift over from Twitter entirely because many of the people they follow on Twitter haven't set up a Mastodon account yet. Here, you discover some of the best ways to start meeting and engaging with new people on Mastodon. Another concern of new Mastodon users is that it's different from using other social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. At first, these differences may seem difficult to adapt to. But with the tips covered here, using Mastodon will soon become second nature.