The BBC recently announced the launch of a new ‘experimental’ Mastodon server, allowing their users to access the Mastodon network and explore the decentralized social media platform.
Mastodon is an open source, decentralized social network, meaning that users can create their own instance as a server and receive tweets, as well as publish, like, and comment on posts from other users. This means that users are free to create and join any Mastodon network, allowing people to form their own mini-communities within the Mastodon network.
The BBC’s Mastodon instance is open to the public, and encourages users to “join the conversation in our experimental social space”. The server will give users access to news, events, and other content of interest from BBC journalists and other content creators around the world. The server will also offer a platform for discussion on a variety of topics, from the usual current affairs to the lighter content that BBC create.
The BBC is the first major news outlet to launch their own Mastodon server, with the aim of creating a more accessible and informal platform for BBC content and their audiences’ discussion and debate. The server will hopefully become a “safe and open space to have healthy conversations in a civilised way”, according to those managing the server.
Mastodon has been growing in popularity in recent months, and the BBC’s launch of their own instance marks an important milestone for the open source social network. It not only encourages more content creators to explore the Mastodon network, but also brings a major news provider to the platform. This could expand Mastodon’s reach from its current core tech and media audience, to include a wider and more diverse audience.
The BBC’s Mastodon server marks a major step in their mission to explore and experiment with different social networks, and provide their content to as many people as possible. It will be interesting to see how the server develops over the coming months, and how it can be used to gather conversations and content from a wider range of perspectives.
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