Robert W. Gehl

Hey! Here's my first post on Blacksky infrastructure! I'm Rob, a professor of media studies in Canada. I have been studying alternatives to corporate social media for over a decade. #introduction

Hey, AoIRfriends on Bluesky! Did you know that your #AOIR2025 posts can travel to the fediverse? It's true! You can bridge your accounts to the fediverse and interact with AoIR members there *in addition* to on Bluesky!

I wrote a guide about this:
fossacademic.tech/2025/09/01/a...

Hey, AoIRfriends on Bluesky! Did you know that your #AOIR2025 posts can travel to the fediverse? It's true! You can bridge your accounts to the fediverse and interact with AoIR members there *in addition* to on Bluesky!

I wrote a guide about this:
fossacademic.tech/2025/09/01/a...

Along with @__nate__, I have a new article out, called "After Twitter":

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051251366907

The article is #openAccess and is our analysis of the fragmentation, polarization, and protective connections we're seeing across a major portion of social media […]

I would recommend @robertwgehl.org's book, Move Slowly and Build Bridges, about the history of developing the fediverse! moveslowlybuildbridges.com

FediForum special event next week!

Join us for an hour with Robert W. Gehl, who wrote a great new book about the Fediverse: "Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the struggle for democratic social media."

Come and hear excerpts from the book, and ask questions! We read […]

This is a discount flyer for my new book, Move Slowly and Build Bridges. Use the promotion code AUFLY30 at global.oup.com/academic and save 30% off the paperback version of the book.

Hey, fedi! If you want to buy my book, you can now get the paperback version direct from Oxford and save 30%!

https://moveslowlybuildbridges.com/images/discountBill.png

#moveSlowlyAndBuildBridges

Really enjoying @rwg's new book on the Fediverse and the open social web.

A little academic, but still very readable.

“Drawing on the sociologist Robert #Putnam, @ethanz argues that alternative #socialmedia can bolster the practices of #democracy. “We should make this shift because participating in social networks we ourselves govern could turn online spaces into Putnam’s ‘schools for democracy.’” 10 Instead of […]

Good day all! Fireside Fedi Episode 35 starts NOW! With me today is @rwg . Robert's next book, "Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media" will be published by Oxford University Press this year.

Watch the show live:
#Owncast #Livestream […]

Hey, Christine, happy Saturday. Wishing well to you and yours and, of course, ill to JK Rowling

Pleased to announce that my book, Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media, is now available online, and will be out in print in a couple weeks!
https://moveslowlybuildbridges.com
That site has more stuff, too -- links to related […]

📘#BookAlert: Move Slowly and Build Bridges by @robertwgehl.org explores the #Fediverse — #Mastodon and beyond — as a #democratic alternative to #BigTech. Activists, devs & communities working for an ethical #socialmedia. A vital read for digital #democracy.

🌍 https://moveslowlybuildbridges.com/

My book about Mastodon and the fediverse is now available for pre-order!

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/move-slowly-and-build-bridges-9780197776681?q=gehl&lang=en&cc=ca#

#Mastodon #fediverse #bookstodon #academicchatter

[Daily random quote out of context from my academic book about Mastodon]

The following is a random quote from my next book, Move Slowly and Build Bridges:

Yes, There is An Alternative...

#MoveSlowlyAndBuildBridges #bot

This thread is a handy timeline of the threats against Canada made by Trump. Every bit is true. I've been watching intently (I'm a USian living in Toronto).

https://defcon.social/@tprophet/114150958658307132

#canpol #uspol

Latest FOSS Academic Post: My workflow, 2025 edition:

https://fossacademic.tech/2025/03/15/workflow2025.html

In which I discuss chasing the FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream, a world in which an academic can get all their work done using free and open source tools. And not just coding! I'm […]

The latest FOSS Academic post is "Standards War?":

https://fossacademic.tech/2025/03/05/standardsWar.html

In which I contrast the fact that @iftas is shutting down some of its services against the advent of "Free Our Feeds," and I speculate that maybe we're seeing an ATProto/ActivityPub […]

Aimonetti Justin Aimonetti, Justin W. Justin.W.Aimonetti@doge.eop.gov Altik Jacob Altik, Jacob R. Jacob.R.Altik@doge.eop.gov Armstrong Anthony Armstrong, Anthony J. Anthony.J.Armstrong@doge.eop.gov Balajadia Jennifer Balajadia, Jennifer Jennifer.Balajadia@doge.eop.gov Beynon Alexandra Beynon, Alexandra T. Alexandra.T.Beynon@doge.eop.govBiasini Riccardo Biasini, Riccardo N. Riccardo.N.Biasini@doge.eop.gov Bobba Akash Bobba, Akash N. Akash.N.Bobba@doge.eop.gov Boizelle Ashley Boizelle, Ashley S. Ashley.S.Boizelle@doge.eop.gov Bryant Emily Bryant, Emily L. Emily.L.Bryant@doge.eop.gov Burnham James Burnham, James James.Burnham@doge.eop.gov Coristine Edward Coristine, Edward H. Edward.H.Coristine@doge.eop.gov Davis Steven Davis, Steven M. Steven.M.Davis@doge.eop.gov Elez Marko Elez, Marko Marko.Elez@doge.eop.gov Farritor Luke Farritor, Luke E. Luke.E.Farritor@doge.eop.gov Fox Joshua Fox, Joshua Joshua.Fox@doge.eop.gov Hanley Joshua Hanley, Joshua A. Joshua.A.Hanley@doge.eop.gov Holmes Stephanie Holmes, Stephanie M. Stephanie.M.Holmes@doge.eop.gov Killian Gautier Killian, Gautier C. Gautier.C.Killian@doge.eop.gov Kmiec Keenan Kmiec, Keenan D. Keenan.D.Kmiec@doge.eop.gov Lahera Nicholas Lahera, Nicholas Nicholas.Lahera@doge.eop.gov Lindemann Kendall Lindemann, Kendall M. Kendall.M.Lindemann@doge.eop.gov Musk Elon Musk, Elon R. erm71@who.eop.gov Peters Noah Peters, Noah Noah.Peters@doge.eop.gov Rajpal Nikhil Rajpal, Nikhil Nikhil.Rajpal@doge.eop.gov Ramada Adam Ramada, Adam Adam.Ramada@doge.eop.gov Raynor Austin Raynor, Austin L. Austin.L.Raynor@doge.eop.gov Schutt Kyle Schutt, Kyle L. Kyle.L.Schutt@doge.eop.gov Shaotran Ethan Shaotran, Ethan Ethan.Shaotran@doge.eop.gov Smith Brad Smith, Brad M. Brad.M.Smith@doge.eop.gov Stanley Christopher Stanley, Christopher A. Christopher.Stanley@doge.eop.gov Wick Jordan Wick, Jordan K. Jordan.K.Wick@doge.eop.gov Wiles Susan Wiles, Susan S. Susan.S.Wiles@doge.eop.gov

It's the entire email list for all DOGE employees. Have fun!

The table of contents for the book Move Slowly and Build Bridges. Introduction: On Alternative Social Media 1. Critical Reverse Engineering: How Mastodon Became a Twitter Alternative 2. Techlash: How to Vaporize Elon Musk 3. The Nonstandard Standard: When ActivityPub Met Mastodon 4. Codes of Conduct 5. Rage and Joy: Playvicious, #Fediblock, the BadSpace, and the Politics of Defederation 6. Paying for It: The Fediverse’s Alternative Economies 7. To Finity and Before: Environmentalist Experiments on the Fediverse 8. Threads Conclusion: Caring for It: Putting the Ethics in Ethical Social Media Epilogue: On Godmonsters, or Looking Backward and Forward at Social Media

Here's the chapter overview.
I should note that I wrote the title to chapter 2 ("Techlash: How to Vaporize Elon Musk") a long, long time ago. Nice to see things holding up.

The title page of a book. The book is titled "Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media." Published by Oxford University Press.

I have reached the copyediting phase of the book, with a proof version of the title page as a nice tease of what it will all look like!

#bookstodon

Latest FOSS Academic post:

https://fossacademic.tech/2025/02/15/organizing-fascism.html

In which I respond to the @404media article, "You Can't Post Your Way Out of Fascism."

I argue that the "you can't post" piece ignores alternative social media, which itself is a form of activism that can […]

I spoke to @waresgemma.bsky.social and the @ConversationCA Podcast about decentralized social media:

https://theconversation.com/decentralised-social-media-offers-an-alternative-to-big-tech-platforms-like-x-and-meta-how-does-it-work-podcast-249758

The episode discusses Twitter/X, Bluesky, and […]

A screenshot of Google maps, focusing on the Gulf of Mexico, but in parentheses it says "Gulf of America." Stop using Google stuff now.

Google maps as I see it in Canada.

Stop using Google.

I wrote a short draft overview of alternative social media research, based on a project @rra and I are working on:

https://www.socialmediaalternatives.org/2025/02/07/asm-scholarship-history.html

We trace ASM scholarship back to its early days in the late 2000s, through the Unlike Us […]

Hey, y'all, I've been on the fedi a minute. I've been on Mastodon since 2017, and an admin since '22.

The people at IFTAS are doing great work. Needed work. They provide space for admins to share knowledge, and they build evidence-based blocklists new instances can use to stay safe.

They need […]

[uspol]

I'd say Canada ought to do a retaliatory tariff on things Trump's companies produce, but then again Trump companies either make nothing of value or they have gone bankrupt. Gotta do something else instead.

(I'm down for banning X in Canada!)

For Global Switch Day, I'll recommend my blog post about switching to Linux. I wrote it for academics, but other professionals might benefit from it:

https://fossacademic.tech/2024/05/24/fald.html

#GlobalSwitchDay

Latest FOSS Academic: Introducing the Network of Alternative Social Media Researchers!

https://fossacademic.tech/2025/02/01/asmNet.html

This is a new hub for academic researchers who study alternative social media.

Pretty apropos for Global Switch Day!

#FOSSAcademic #AlternativeSocialMedia […]