Blog Posts About: twitter

Mastodon is known as an alternative to Twitter. But that's not the full picture. Mastodon is an example of an emerging class of social media tools that are powered by people instead of companies. This video uses a rich analogy to explain why that matters and what people can expect in using Mastodon.

Watch it in full (3m 51s)

We’re used to social networking platforms that are owned and operated by large companies like Twitter. Mastodon is different because it’s not a company that needs to earn a profit. It’s open-source software anyone can use to create an online community that’s self-supported and connected to thousands of other Mastodon communities. This video applies a music festival analogy and teaches:

• How Mastodon is different from Twitter
• Why Mastodon has become popular
• What to expect in using Mastodon
• How Mastodon users are connected
• How Mastodon fits into the big picture of decentralization

Sharing is Caring

This video is available in the Common Craft library without a watermark. If you are a Common Craft Full Access member, you can download or embed this video like any other.

We've also shared the video on YouTube:

You can also find and share posts with the video here:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 
• Facebook 

Want to Learn More?

I wrote an article called Dear Friend, Let's Talk About Mastodon that explains a lot of the details in the form of a letter to a friend.

I'm on Mastodon

I am using Twitter less and have made Mastodon my home for Twitter-like connections and discussions. In fact, I am a moderator for a small community that's based on our location. My Mastodon account is here:  sanjuans.life/@lee.

Today we’re announcing a new video: Twitter for Business - Explained by Common Craft.

This video was made from the raw, unedited footage from the making of Twitter Search in Plain English.

Watch another time-lapse Common Craft video shoot here.

Today we released a new video called "Twitter Search in Plain English"

The video uses an metaphor of the small town of "Twitterville." The town has an election and the people use Twitter to track real-time news, a hashtag to organize discussions and trends to find new information.

While it wasn't our intention, the video matches closely with the events currently taking place in Iran, where people are using Twitter to organize and share news about their disputed election.

If you know people who get Twitter, but don't understand things like hashtags and trending topics, this video will help.

Watch Twitter Search in Plain English.

Thanks to the folks at CNN Money for contacting us and asking permission to use our video (with attribution) in the segment below:

For the first time in Common Craft's evolution, one of our videos "Twitter in Plain English" is being used in the mainstream media. For the most part, we're excited to have our work in front of millions. However, it brings up some questions and we're curious what you think.  A few facts:

• The video "Twitter in Plain English" is 100% Common Craft's property and is licensed with a Creative Commons non-commercial, no-derivatives license.
• Our names and a link to our web site appear at the end of the video
• The video is currently displayed from a link on the front page of Twitter.com
• Of the 5-6 media companies to use the video so far (examples below), only ABC contacted us first.
• Of the 5-6 media companies to use the video so far, only ABC has attributed Common Craft as the source.
• Snippets of the video are being used and sometimes the camera points at the video displayed at Twitter.com

So, media companies are using parts of our video/audio without permission or a licensing agreement. There is a big reason why this may be OK:

• Fair Use - Essentially, a small bit of copyrighted work may be used to educate the public. However, some instances seem to go beyond Fair Use. 

Other reasons may include:

• Mistaken Ownership - Some may assume the video is owned by Twitter, Inc.
• Ignorance - Assuming that the video is in the public public domain.

Now, I'm not writing to make a big hairy deal about the use of the video.  The truth is, we're not sure what's appropriate or what to expect. In a perfect world, when a company would like to use our video, or a portion thereof, we would expect:

• Attribution/Credit - We think it's fair to let the public know the source of the video
• A Licensing Agreement that outlines the relationship.  We're not looking for money in most cases - just clarity in regards to intellectual property.

While we're assuming that most examples fall under Fair Use, we can't help but wonder if these companies are aware that there is a small company behind the video, a company that has rules and expectations?

I'm curious what you think. How should we view the broadcast use of our videos by mainstream media companies? What can we do to encourage proper attribution/licensing?

Examples:

ABC Nightline - Used with permission

ABC Good Morning America - Used with permission

NPR Unger Report - Exploring the Darker Side of Tweets and Twitter Liberal use of audio, no contact or attribution.

CNN International - No contact or attribution

CBS Sunday Morning - No contact or attribution

KOMO News (local Seattle station) No contact or attribution