BOOST CHALLENGE! Ok #Fediverse and #Mastodon. If I tell my Canadian Member of Parliament, Gord Johns, that he will get 2000 followers within one week of creating a Mastodon account, will you make that happen?I want him to be able to say when he st...

julian

@[email protected] I've been trying to get Nora Young from CBC Spark interested in the fediverse. While I don't actually have a direct contact, I've sent a couple inquiries via their contact form, and now sent another regarding e4769.

Low-key hoping I'll be able to get @[email protected] onto the radio.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@julian that would be amazing. I am a little surprised she hasn't done something on the Fediverse already

julian

@[email protected] No idea, but the idea is ripe for discussion, especially in 2024. Maybe this is the year fedi becomes mainstream!

I just found one article about it on CBC.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@julian I hope it is! With Threads joining, it may be... and of course, after Gord paves the way. ;=)

julian

@[email protected] There has been a lot of discussion over Threads and Meta's long-term plans for fediverse integration — whether it's part of a larger plan to extinguish ActivityPub, etc.

I think there are many things we can do to make that less attractive, the first and foremost bring building up fediverse user counts so that cutting us off would be non-trivial.

The second is getting politicians and journalists onto fediverse first, and not Threads. That might even be the linchpin.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@julian Agreed, I also think it will be revealed as a bit of a false worry because ActivityPub and most of the AP-centric software out there is Open Source. It's not possible to be extinguished if people keep using it. The underlying worry is simply that by having Threads integrate then people will continue using Threads/Corporate Media and in that way extinguish the “hope" of AP becoming a true global standard used by the majority. I think that's the wrong way to look at it.

Dan Neuman

@julian That was a comprehensive article, though. Good on the authors.

Senator Paula Simons

@TheDefiant604 @chris It took me quite a while to build up to 2000 followers. I've been here pretty intensively for a year and half now, and I'm still not quite at 4000. (Though I'm getting pretty close.) However, I very much enjoy the engagement that I do have here. (Would like like to hit 5000 followers by next fall? I would. But it is pretty slow progress - even though I "toot" regularly, and try to "toot" premium content.)

Senator Paula Simons

@TheDefiant604 @chris There are three other Senators on Mastodon, btw - @MSPLB, @SenKarenAb and @colindeacon - so in this case, we're the early adopters!

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@Paulatics @TheDefiant604 @MSPLB @SenKarenAb @colindeacon

Who would have thought the Chamber of Sober Second Thought would have been the trailblazers!

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@tml He isn't misunderstanding anything. He isn't here. He will learn. This is about meeting him where he is at first, by proving there are people here. The rest will come.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@chbmeyer I did indeed say Fediverse before Mastodon for this reason and it's party why the #e4769 says Federated and doesn't mention Mastodon at all.

Nemo_bis 🌈

@chris Judging from the section titles on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gord_Johns#Cycling alone, his people are here.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@nemobis indeed

Canayjun

@chris Heck yeah! Boosted it eh

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@canayjun woo! Thanks eh!

Verb

@chris @Paulatics @TheDefiant604 @MSPLB @SenKarenAb @colindeacon
oh its really too bad its all on mstdn.ca . I sincerely hope someone up there can spool up a gov.ca instance for you all. There are reasons I left that instance, I would not want my friends to be on it.

Senator Paula Simons

@SarraceniaWilds @chris @TheDefiant604 @MSPLB @SenKarenAb @colindeacon I have tried to convince the Senate to have its own instance, to no avail. They are worried, I think, about liability - they just don't have the staff power to safeguard such a site.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@Paulatics @SarraceniaWilds @TheDefiant604 @MSPLB @SenKarenAb @colindeacon I can understand the liability concern initially... but if you consider that they provide email to all government, which has an infinitely higher risk factor in terms of social engineering, viruses, malware and ransomware, I am left unable to fathom what "liability" concern there really is.

julian

@[email protected] @[email protected] yeah I'd also love to learn more about the supposed liability.

There's no reason the instance need be open to the public, having it restricted to senators, MPs, etc. would even act as an automatic "verified" of sorts based on the domain.