{"id":51176,"date":"2023-01-24T11:52:53","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T01:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/billmitchell.org\/blog\/?p=51176"},"modified":"2023-01-24T11:52:53","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T01:52:53","slug":"migrating-to-mastodon-and-some-additional-announcements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billmitchell.org\/blog\/?p=51176","title":{"rendered":"Migrating to Mastodon and some additional announcements"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tToday, I have a few news and information items. First, I detail how to migrate to Mastodon so that you can continue to follow me as I escape Twitter. Second, I provide enrolment details for the next offering of our MMT edX MOOC. Third, I provide access details to my annual Helsinki public lecture which will take place tomorrow starting at 19:00 EAST.
\n<\/p>\n

Migrating to Mastodon<\/h2>\n

A week or so ago, Twitter unilaterally shut off access to third-party apps such as Twitterific without warning and without any explanation.<\/p>\n

There were some rumours some days later about breaches of API conduct, but they were ruses to cover the fact that Twitter had deliberately destroyed the viability of these apps.<\/p>\n

I used (and had purchased) Twitterific because it was a much better client for Twitter than Twitter’s own app, which has become over laden with advertisements and clutter.<\/p>\n

So, effectively Twitter made my purchase unusable presumably in the hope that we would then rely on its own app as a way of building up more ad revenue. I cannot think of any other motive.<\/p>\n

I have been thinking of dumping Twitter before this though given that it is now the toy of a billionaire and is increasingly full of crazy stuff, such as the multitude of Covid deniers out there who daily crow about their perspicacity as they misquote scientific studies etc.<\/p>\n

But shutting off access to Twitterific was the so-called straw for me.<\/p>\n

I have now migrated to Mastodon and I am hoping all those 20.5 thousand people who follow me will come over to Mastodon too.<\/p>\n

I plan to keep Tweeting for a short time more but soon I am going to close my account and operate exclusively on Mastodon.<\/p>\n

Initially, it was a bit daunting making the move and I cannot say I am completely on top of it yet.<\/p>\n

But it was surprisingly simple to get up and running once I made the decision.<\/p>\n

Here is what I did:<\/p>\n

1. I read about what Mastodon is – a decentralised system of servers (‘instances’) run mostly by volunteers that are growing by the day and offer access to registered users.<\/p>\n

So you have to find an instance and set up a free account.<\/p>\n

To find an instance go to – Join Mastodon<\/a> – and follow instructions to set up an account. You can also download the iOS or Android app and go from there.<\/p>\n

I did the former and later downloaded the iOS app for iPhone\/iPad.<\/p>\n

Join Mastodon has a search facility to show you all the current instances that are taking new recruits. There are many – defined by region and\/or interest group.<\/p>\n

They each have their own rules and protocols – so if you don’t want porn or stupid right-wing stuff then you can avoid it.<\/p>\n

2. I decided to join a general server based in Finland – Mastodon.world<\/strong> – which was a straightforward process.<\/p>\n

I was up and running within minutes and my new Mastodon name is @billmitchell@mastodon.world<\/strong> – which you use to find me just as you use @billy_blog on Twitter.<\/p>\n

3. You can personalise the Firefox\/Safari browser view and also download an app.<\/p>\n

I use an Apple desktop and laptop running macOS and I chose – Mastonaut<\/a> – as my client and so far it is working fine.<\/p>\n

I use Mastodon’s own iOS for iPhone app on my mobile phone and that is working fine so far.<\/p>\n

4. The federation idea takes a while to get used to but I am getting there.<\/p>\n

Essentially, you post ‘toots’ (Tweets) and ‘boost’ toots (retweet).<\/p>\n

You can like a toot.<\/p>\n

You can also follow people as in Twitter and their toots will show in your timeline (chronological order).<\/p>\n

5. I am working on creating my own instance to host Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) stuff but given my current work commitments that will take me a while to establish.<\/p>\n

I am still working to port my blog to our new system – that has to take priority at this stage.<\/p>\n

6. So all 20.5 thousand followers – I will soon be off Twitter.<\/p>\n

If you think it is worthwhile continuing to follow me and get my ‘toots’ (instead of Tweets) then I hope you will go out there and create a Mastodon account and use my address above – @billmitchell@mastodon.world<\/strong> – to find me and choose to follow.<\/p>\n

As in all networked communities, the more that join the richer the experience usually.<\/p>\n

Further, I have found the ambience on Mastodon to be quite a change from the hectoring and aggression I encounter on Twitter.<\/p>\n

And unlike Twitter, no billionaire owns Mastodon and there is thus a general sense of collective as a result.<\/p>\n

So become an escapee like me and keep in touch.<\/p>\n

Helsinki Public Lecture – The global challenges in the face of an on-going pandemic, climate change and rising inflation – January 25, 2023<\/h2>\n

Tomorrow evening (Australian East Coast Summer Time), I will present my annual public lecture at the University of Helsinki.<\/p>\n

The topic this year is – The global challenges in the face of an on-going pandemic, climate change and rising inflation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You can tune in at 19:00 EAST using this URL – https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_otAZAphhgY<\/p>\n

As part of the event, the audience can ask questions after the lecture is concluded.<\/p>\n

The session will run for around 90 minutes maximum.<\/p>\n

Times:<\/p>\n

1. 19:00 East Coast Australian Time.<\/p>\n

2. 10:00 Helsinki time.<\/p>\n

3. 17:00 Kyoto time.<\/p>\n

4. 08:00 London time.<\/p>\n

5. 03:00 New York time<\/p>\n

MMTed and edX MOOC – Modern Monetary Theory: Economics for the 21st Century – enrolments now open<\/h2>\n

MMTed invites you to enrol for the edX MOOC – Modern Monetary Theory: Economics for the 21st Century – is now open for enrolments.<\/p>\n

It’s a free 4-week course and the course starts on February 15, 2023.<\/p>\n

You will be able to learn about MMT properly with lots of videos, discussion, and more. Various MMT academics make appearances.<\/p>\n

For those who have already completed the course when it was previously offered, there will be some new material available this time.<\/p>\n

New video and text materials will be presented to discuss the current inflationary episode from an MMT perspective.<\/p>\n

There will also be a few live interactive events where students can discuss the material and ask questions with me.<\/p>\n

Further Details:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/edx.org\/course\/modern-monetary-theory-economics-for-the-21st-century<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

That is enough for today!<\/p>\n

(c) Copyright 2023 William Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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