Thread by @kakape

I spent the last two days talking to a lot of researchers including @CT_Bergstrom, @devisridhar and @markmccaughrean about the #TwitterMigration of researchers and scientists.

The article is here and a short thread to come:
science.org/content/articl…

@CT_Bergstrom @devisridhar @markmccaughrean First of all:
As part of my reporting I created an account at @joinmastodon myself. So if you have already moved there or are moving there, you can find me: mas.to/@kakape

@CT_Bergstrom @devisridhar @markmccaughrean @joinmastodon Things are happening faster than expected:
@cfiesler, who has studied the migration of online communities told me that a week ago, she wasn't expecting things to move this fast. Generally, these migrations tend to be more like “watching a shopping mall go slowly out of business.”

@CT_Bergstrom @devisridhar @markmccaughrean @joinmastodon @cfiesler (I assume that is partly due to how disastrously Elon Musk has been behaving. As @CT_Bergstrom told me: “I do think it’s a very real possibility that the whole thing collapses in a matter of months to a few years.” It does feel that way.)

@CT_Bergstrom @devisridhar @markmccaughrean @joinmastodon @cfiesler Many researchers are hedging their bets:
Given the opportunity costs of leaving here on the one side and the uncertainty about Twitter's future on the other it makes sense that many scientists are opening a Mastodon account but staying on Twitter for now.

@CT_Bergstrom @devisridhar @markmccaughrean @joinmastodon @cfiesler This sets up an interesting situation, where any particular decision here on Twitter could quickly lead to a mass digital migration of researchers. It will be fascinating to watch how this develops and what might push people to leave here.

@CT_Bergstrom @devisridhar @markmccaughrean @joinmastodon @cfiesler Key question for a successful migration will be whether non-scientists end up at the new place as well. My first impression is that moving to Mastodon is not as difficult as I expected, but probably too cumbersome for many.

@CT_Bergstrom @devisridhar @markmccaughrean @joinmastodon @cfiesler Scientists talk to each other all the time, @cfiesler told me. “When I tweet, I’m talking to my neighbor and the person in the grocery store and the teenager who is thinking about studying science in college,” she told me. “That’s the beauty of scientists on social media.”