Many Canadian charities have been quite adept at using social media. It provides an opportunity for them to publicize their cause, fundraise and connect with people. It generally also has quite a low cost.
Twitter has increasingly become a problematic platform. Not just the toxicity and racism, but also the uncertainty about its operations and continued existence.
Canadian charities, especially those who espouse the importance of democracy, human rights, diversity, anti-racism, etc., should consider establishing themselves on Mastodon.
I read this recently on Mastodon
“PS: I do not think Twitter users are evil and I get that some people need it for their livelihood/connections (I did too!) – but I also think if you remain on the platform you give other people a reason to remain there and people on the platform is what helps keep it what it is, like it or not. You’re not going to talk me out of that. I sacrificed 57K followers there because I believe it that strongly. But I don’t, like, hate people for being there. I just don’t LIKE it. I don’t dislike YOU.”
The information available on Mastodon is today many times better than it was a few months ago. There are now almost 10,000,000 users on Mastodon. But one does not just join Mastodon for the community and the information. You join Mastodon because you envision the world that is not like Twitter. The world that is focused around communal effort rather than private profit. You envision a world where when a person espouses hate, the platform does not amplify their messaging.
Mastodon appears to be the successor to Twitter. Charities should establish minimally, at least a presence, or they may find that others will cyber squat their identity, and they don’t have control of that presence.
Some charities have invested a lot in Twitter and their account. Many that have been on Twitter for a long time don’t realize the extent to which the number of followers may be inflated by bots and people who are following you who have not even signed in for years.
If you were doing social media anyway, to add sending messages on Mastodon will not add much extra effort.
For charities to ignore Mastodon and focus on Twitter, or Instagram means that charities are encouraging people to engage with them on those platforms and completely ignoring those of Mastodon.
It is good to give your stakeholders a choice.
It is not possible to predict the future, but spending half an hour setting up a Mastodon account may be a very good investment.
So, I will reiterate that I’m not saying that you have to leave Twitter, but that, at a minimum, you should establish a presence on Mastodon.