@atomicpoet I think this fits for some academics as well.

@atomicpoet Considering the checkmark means absolutely nothing, what's the point?

A few journalistic entities like @TexasObserver and @damemagazine have discovered that there's an audience for their work on the Fediverse.

And individual journalists like @jeffjarvis have become esteemed members of the community here.

But to most journalists, when they see the Fediverse, they see that no Blue Check status is given out -- which means they have to start from the bottom like everyone else.

They don't like that.

@atomicpoet

It's that, yes, but I think the "soc. status" feature extends further & is a more complex problem (still no excuse to stay, IMHO). For example, having various social media accts (incl. Twitter), having high follower counts, & being active has become a demand from many orgs (even some publishers look at a writer's Twitter acct to check follower counts, etc.). So, it's a competition. If they leave while other journos don't, they look like they have no soc. status to their employers.

@atomicpoet verification is going to be a huge problem in the Fediverse. If I search for say “NPR”, how am I supposed to know which one is the official account?

I find myself liking Mastodon more and more, but I honestly worry about future phishing and abuse more here than I do on Twitter.

@atomicpoet the blue checkmark is a horrible feature it doesn't give you a job in the real world we don't automatically hire people because of a checkmark we do because of experience. Yet people with a bluecheck mark especially now act and think they are big shots when they aren't they are just another user who uses the platform most of the country doesn't use Twitter

@atomicpoet It’s 80% audience (don’t want to start over with 0 followers) and 20% normalcy bias

Also, it’s promotion from their own media organizations.

Even orgs like @ProPublica and @eff, which have a strong presence here, do not link to their Mastodon accounts from their websites.

In corporate speak, big ships take a lot of time to turn. Give them some time. It will happen

@atomicpoet a possible middle road here might be Professional Certifications like @jeff is doing at https://www.verifiedjournalist.org

Such verification platforms could be integrated with the #fediverse as an accreditation extension. Servers like newsie.social could beta test it.

You can imagine this being applied to other professions as well, e.g. medical practitioners, PhDs.., really any field of,practice that can feasibly manage a database of certificates.

@atomicpoet I'll offer a simpler explanation, inertia. Or if you prefer, the installed base problem. Never underestimate the power of the installed base. It can take awhile for old systems and the usage of them to fade away.

@atomicpoet I certainly can't argue with your main argument. But I think it is a little unfair not to mention, that stuff still happens on Twitter. For example, I know only two accounts on the whole of #Mastodon, that regularly post updates about the protests in #Iran. On #Twitter there are multiple accounts posting daily in German alone.
I am exclusive posting only here and would any colleague advise to do the same, but I can't recommend to stop consulting Twitter at this points. Sadly..

@atomicpoet

The 'trending wars' on Twitter mean much journalist engagement is meaningless unread non-engagement.

People who won't read their article and haven't read their thread or post, but liking and retweeting. A non-audience pushing 'their side' without even reading their side, to attempt to drown out opponents pushing the other side without reading it either.

It's like going in to a library just to have a fight where 2 sides throw unopened books at each other.

@atomicpoet at this point, we need to treat those journalists as we would treat anyone who can’t bring themselves to leave an abusive relationship. Use code words. Blink twice if you’re not okay. That sort of thing.

@atomicpoet they are still on Twitter because they are not very good journalists.

@atomicpoet Imho an instance is a bigger deal than a blue mark.

It’s the same as having your own domain, versus a page on someone else’s. You *own* that domain. You control it.

That is instant cred in my book.

YMMV

@atomicpoet, “…So there I was, sitting at this huge table…. And I looked to my left, and I saw a bunch of Nazis… then I looked to my right… a… bunch… of… Nazis…. Then it dawned on me that, if I’m gonna sit there with a bunch of Nazis, that I was one, too!”
-Anonymous “Nice Person”