OpenStreetMap
“The Birdcage is lonely” - @OpenStreetMap engagement on Mastodon/Fediverse is streets ahead of Twitter.
Posted by amapanda ᚛ᚐᚋᚐᚅᚇᚐ᚜ 🏳️🌈 on 5 July 2023 in English.There’s been an OpenStreetMap presence on Twitter and the Fediverse/Mastodon for years. And in the last few months, the @OpenStreetMap account on Mastodon/Fediverse has gotten much more engagement on Mastodon compared to Twitter.
The OSMF has had a formal policy committment to use open communication channels for 3+ years, but it’s important to also use closed platforms if it helps reach people. So where are the people?
As part of my work for the OSM Communications WG, I maintain some OSM social media channels. For several months, Mastodon engagenment has been much higher than Twitter. Here’s some raw data and examples.
(Here I show the number of retweets/boosts (🔁) and stars/likes (⭐) posts get on Mastodon (🐘) and Twitter (🐦))
The important OSMF post about recent Maxar imagery unavailability got about the same, ( 🐘 4🔁 3⭐ vs 🐦 5🔁 7⭐, but Mastodonians like OSMF internal posts about the 2023 Screen to Screen. 🐘 9🔁 5⭐ vs 🐦 1🔁 1⭐, or the post about the OSMF SSRE’s first year, got 4 times as many boosts/retweets 🐘 23🔁 17⭐) vs 🐦 4🔁 8⭐.
State of the Map is also a popular topic, with Mastodon toots out-performing Twitter tweets. From general “Have you been to SotM?” posts (🐘 12🔁 11⭐ vs 🐦 3🔁 6⭐) to requests for new host bids reach more people on Mastodon (🐘 16🔁 12⭐ vs 🐦 7🔁 23⭐
This analysis is just the tip of the iceburg. Compare the OpenStreetMap mastodon account to the OSM Twitter account to see more examples. Don’t forget: The “number of followers” on Twitter is 10 times higher than the on Mastodon (84K vs 6K), and yet Mastodon is reaching more people, and driving more communications.
Others in OSM have seen this. Pieter Vander Vennet showed how WeeklyOSM was increasingly linking to Mastodon, rather than Twitter. Geomob podcast episode № 171 described the “amazing” difference in engagement they got on Mastodon versus Twitter.
The logo of Twitter is a little happy bird, chriping away. But now Twitter is an empty birdcage, filled with bird droppings and old newspapers. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. An old world is dying, and a new world struggles to be born. Now is the time of monsters. (yay!)
Where to next? 🧭
Join the OSM Mapstodon Server at OSM.town!.
Follow me in Mastodon @amapanda@en.osm.town.
Read more about Mastodon on the OSM Wiki Check out the Local Posts on en.osm.town, or all #OpenStreetMap posts.
Discussion
Comment from arnalielsewhere on 5 July 2023 at 22:02
thanks for this! I am finally convinced to join! :D
Comment from pedrito1414 on 6 July 2023 at 13:21
“But now Twitter is an empty birdcage, filled with bird droppings and old newspapers” I literally LOLed at this :D
Comment from CactiStaccingCrane on 6 July 2023 at 14:43
Of course, this is after Twitter has been locked down to logged in user only, so this is not a fair comparison. People are free to use whatever the platform that they are comfortable with. I personally don’t like Mastodon and Twitter because it’s more like a microblogging place.
Comment from Harry Wood on 9 July 2023 at 17:57
It definitely seems important that the number of followers on Twitter is 10 times higher than the on Mastodon. Surely our tweets are managing to reach more people than our toots?! Could there be some other reason we get more boosts and like than retweets and stars?
Well maybe a lot of our followers followed some time ago and no longer really active on twitter, or followed so many people that they no longer really engage with us. Conversely mastodon is newer and fresher, so people who are following will be more actively following (and boosting and liking). But that all goes to back-up what you’re saying essentially.
I thought maybe the curious dynamic on mastodon where we have a “osm.town” grouping of users then a wider fediverse might mean we’re more likely to get lots of engagement from the users in our instance. That might mean it’s a better channel for talking to our community, but not so good for outreach.
“locked down to logged in user only” hmm? oh yeah Wow ok. That’s another recent step backwards by twitter that I hadn’t noticed.
The recent tweetdeck changes are messing with our ability to do @OpenStreetMap tweeting, and that’s before it goes paid-for in a few weeks time. What a mess. We may end up largely abandoning the @OpenStreetMap twitter account for those kinds of reasons anyway.
Comment from amapanda ᚛ᚐᚋᚐᚅᚇᚐ᚜ 🏳️🌈 on 10 July 2023 at 12:59
No, some of these examples predate that. I’ve been tracking it since November 2022, when Musk took over Twitter. Mastodon/Fediverse has often out performed Twitter.
Comment from Minh Nguyen on 16 July 2023 at 15:49
At the moment, in raw numbers, Mastodon probably isn’t as powerful for outreach as Twitter used to be, but then again neither is Twitter these days.
Mastodon has the advantage of being the social network where many OSM-adjacent people have congregated, people who are likely to understand the OSM account’s posts without needing background context and a glossary, and thus more likely to get involved OSM because of these posts. I agree that en.osm.town is a bit too cozy to serve as an outreach venue on its own, though this probably means it’s up to others to boost the posts to their still-likeminded followers beyond that server.
Comment from Matija Nalis on 17 July 2023 at 20:51
Good riddance, I’d say.
I’d love it even more love if https://twitter.com/OSM_Tech announcements would switch over to Mastodon, too (or anything else open which i can RSS or follow via API); not being able to follow them is annoying.
Comment from Pieter Vander Vennet on 18 July 2023 at 00:08
Part of the puzzle is that Twitter ‘steals’ some of the attention away. A Tweet has to reach an audience between the “for you” feed (with very bland, easy-to-consume messages), advertisements and anything that twitter pushes for profit (advertisements or Tweets by Elmo).
However, Mastodon has an even playing field. If person A follows 100 followers which all toot with the same frequency, the chance that person A sees a toot by B is 1%.
But, it’s also true that OSM is a techy topic and that mostly technical people are on Mastodon.
Comment from amapanda ᚛ᚐᚋᚐᚅᚇᚐ᚜ 🏳️🌈 on 18 August 2023 at 09:29
Update continues to show Mastodon outperforming Twitter.
Comment from SimonPoole on 18 August 2023 at 10:43
My post/toot on the fund raising drive got 2 retweets on TSNFKAT, but 981 (and increasing) boosts on Mastodon, even though I have roughly 30% more followers on TSNFKAT.
Comment from Pieter Vander Vennet on 18 August 2023 at 10:51
(for other readers: TSNFKAT means: The Social Network Formerly Know As Twitter)
Comment from Pieter Vander Vennet on 18 August 2023 at 10:52
To add insult to injury: the mapcomplete-account recently reached over 1000 followers on Mastodon! In Twitter/X, it is only about 300 (but I’m not actively posting there anymore)
Comment from freyfogle on 18 August 2023 at 14:58
Geomob has had tweets/toots retweeted/boosted by the official OpenStreetMap account on Twitter and Mastodon in recent weeks (Thanks!)
It is not even close, Mastodon has much more engagement. And this is despite the fact that Twitter allows quote tweeting.
Tweets by non-customers (ie non-blue) and without video just no longer get much algorythmic promotion
https://twitter.com/openstreetmap/status/1688924725580595200 https://mapstodon.space/@geomob/110850119886132857
Comment from Cyberjuan on 19 August 2023 at 00:23
That is great, but it may be happening only in the big English speaking bubble. The conversation about mapping in Spanish for example is still Twitter (X) centered, and having similar engagement in Instagram. But communities are not leading their members to the Fediverse, a pending task. Thanks for calling attention on this.