Social Media: New and Different with #Genearosity
Changes in the social media landscape have created an opportunity for Projectkin to narrow its focus on the most generous genealogy communities. Here’s what’s changing.
Bluesky, Mastodon & Substack
(Edited for clarity)
Starting this week, I will focus my social media conversations for Projectkin on Bluesky and Mastodon. Our community will remain on Substack, with allowances for other platforms.
⮕ I invite individuals and organizations I previously followed, subscribed to, and liked on X, Facebook, Threads, and Instagram to join us on BlueSky, Mastodon, and Substack instead.
Though I don’t plan to close my accounts on those platforms, I no longer plan to share posts and new content there. Here’s why:
Since Elon Musk’s splashy entrance into the Twitter building in October 2022, I have watched social media priorities shift away from open, respectful dialogue. Mark Zuckerberg's announcement of changes to Meta platforms and company policies last week has led me to rethink my approach to social media in general and specifically for Projectkin.
As the late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan put it in 1983, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." Devaluing content moderation in favor of active, if unmoored, debate suggests that every statement of fact is open to negotiation. I understand why that is good for advertising-based platforms, but I don’t believe it is true. Unfortunately, we’ve already seen how running a platform without content moderation undermines civil discourse and community collaboration.
Since our launch, Projectkin has significantly benefited from diverse, multinational social media communities. Hashtags and groups helped us find and recognize each other as birds of a feather, each flocking to family history and genealogy topics from different points of view. Posts and events created introductions and allowed us to get to know each other and our interests and perspectives. Over time, we’ve become friends, contributors, and advocates in a growing community.
I’ve realized that though we’re hooked on social media we’re not tethered to platforms.1
The changes at X and Meta have made it impossible for me to continue promoting and supporting them with our posts, so I’m making some changes:
Online Conversations:
Bluesky: Projectkin.bsky.social
I’m already most active on BlueSky, often posting several times per day. You’ll find us in lists and following hashtags like #Genealogy, #FamilyHistory, #OnePlaceStudy, #OneNameStudy, #OnePlaceWednesday, #GenHour, and similar hashtags.
Mastodon: toot.community/@projectkinorg
I’ve been on Mastodon since 2023 and have loved the joy and warmth of the community. I further respect the inherent independence of the Fediverse architecture. Unfortunately, the architecture has created complexity that has slowed the adoption of the platform. I’ll continue to post here as @Projectkinorg. You will find us following hashtags like #Geneadon, #Genealogy and #FamilyHistory.
Substack Notes: Projectkin.Substack.com/notes
Substack introduced Notes in April 2023. Despite early prognostications, it’s become less of a competitor to Twitter and more of a valuable compliment to Substack newsletters and blogs. As a community-building tool, it creates a way to contextualize and share any writing, media, or posts with your subscribers and followers while referencing, boosting, or echoing others.
For example, , my collaborator in , has used Notes to circulate a can’t-miss weekly newsletter about the Genealogy community on Substack called GenStack.
On Substack, Platform Independent
I anticipate keeping our community free and on Substack. Unlike social platforms, Substack began as a newsletter platform. Instead of advertising, the business is funded by a fee on what writers earn from paid subscriptions. To compete in the newsletter segment, they ensure that writers retain ownership of their email lists and content. That model ensures that writers can take their newsletters elsewhere if something changes that makes the platform untenable. As it stands now, I benefit every day from the recommendations, referrals, and the growing Family History and Genealogy community on Substack.2
Sharing & Staying Connected
I’ve always subscribed to a “pay-it-forward” ethos, which has driven me to select a platform that allows anyone to view recordings and materials without subscribing. With quality writing and programs, prospective members return for more, ultimately joining the community and contributing. I believe two additional social platforms are essential to support this model: YouTube and LinkedIn.
YouTube: YouTube.com/@projectkin
Substack recently added a new feature that has made it easy to share our videos on YouTube and expose them to a larger audience. I’ve used it to replicate our recordings on my existing Projectkin YouTube channel. The combination of Substack and YouTube means you can now easily share and cross-post our material on almost any other platform or websites. Platform tools make attribution easy.
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/company/projectkinorg
With its focus on business-to-business connections, LinkedIn provides Projectkin with a way to connect to collaborators who may not have a presence on the web or in social media. Some posts will be exclusively on the company page, others may be cross-posted to my personal page at Linkedin.com/in/barbaratien.
Next Steps
Over the coming days, I’ll post summaries of this statement to channels hosted on X.com and Meta. Though this change saddens me, I hope that, in time, the market will return to a renewed commitment to the hard work of communication.
Channels hosted by Meta — posting no longer
Channel hosted by X.com (formerly Twitter.) — posting no longer
Channels where we’re now engaging actively:
Bluesky: Projectkin.bsky.social
Mastodon: toot.community/@projectkinorg
Others
Auto-posting recordings: YouTube: Youtube.com/@projectkin
Collaborations with professionals (as appropriate): LinkedIn
Company: Linkedin.com/company/projectkin
Personal: Linkedin.com/in/barbaratien
Final thoughts
This has left me with two other platforms I’d previously been posting to but remain undecided on: Pinterest and TikTok. I'm leaning toward withdrawing from both, but welcome your thoughts.
You are welcome to contact me personally. I want to keep fights about social media out of the remarkable genealogy, family history, and storytelling community developing on Substack.
This notion of platform independence was at the root of our conversation last week in our program, the “Push and Pull of Platforms” featuring Projectkin members
and .Nearly a year ago, I started to focus on ways to help other Substack newcomers. By August, I partnered with to collaborate on , the welcome wagon for genealogists new to Substack. Together, we host roundtables and office hours sessions twice a month. Learn more at MissionGenealogy.org.
I will follow you wherever you go - considering this myself
Man, I admire your ability to look ahead at technology and share what you see with the rest of us. Thanks! I’d like to say I’ll act on your wisdom, but I find social media so exhausting. Maybe I’m doing it wrong? I recognize the value, but can’t seem to push myself to add it to my daily routine.