Technologies

More Journalists Banned by Twitter: How to Find Them on Mastodon

Reporters locked out of their Twitter accounts have turned to alternative social network Mastodon. Learn how to use it.

For most of the two months that Elon Musk has owned Twitter, the social media site has been embroiled in controversy. Musk laid off thousands of employees, rolled out a botched blue-check verification system and then suspended the jet tracking account he claimed he’d never suspend.

On Dec. 15, Twitter reached a boiling point when the site suspended several journalists who report on or have been critical of Elon Musk. Twitter reinstated some accounts, but other reporters who did not delete certain tweets are still locked out of the site two weeks later, and more have joined them.

Today, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Gil Duran reported that he’s been banned from Twitter for more than 10 days for tweeting a question about the other suspended reporters: «Is tweeting about a banned account now prohibited? How about tweeting about an account that was banned for tweeting about a banned account?»

For several of those journalists formerly on Twitter, you can now only read their full stories on Mastodon.

Learn more about Mastodon and how to find the accounts of the reporters who’ve been locked out of Twitter. You can also find a step-by-step process for creating a Mastodon account and participating on the growing social network. For more about social media, here’s how to delete your Twitter account and how to download your Twitter archive before you do.

Which reporters and accounts were suspended by Twitter?

On Dec. 14, Twitter suspended @elonjet, a bot account that tracked the private flights of Elon Musk. It’s run by University of Central Florida student Jack Sweeney, whose personal account and other bot accounts were also suspended. Musk had criticized Sweeney’s account but also pledged not to ban it in a now infamous tweet from Nov. 6.

To justify its suspension of Sweeney’s accounts, Twitter updated its private information and media policy on Wednesday to prohibit «live location information, including information shared on Twitter directly or links to 3rd-party URL(s) of travel routes.»

The following day, the official Twitter account for Mastodon was suspended, apparently for sharing a link to the Elonjet account on mastodon.social.

Later in the day on Dec. 15, around 4:30 p.m. PT, several technology reporters found their Twitter accounts had been suspended. Some, but not all, of the accounts had posted links to the Elonjet account on Mastodon.

In response to news of the suspensions, Musk tweeted, «Same doxxing rules apply to ‘journalists’ as to everyone else.» Suspensions of other reporters who tweeted about Musk continued through the evening. Musk posted two Twitter polls asking when the journalists should be allowed back on Twitter, and the «Now» response won both polls. Several, but not all, journalists had their Twitter accounts reinstated after deleting certain tweets. Others have refused to delete tweets, and others yet have been suspended for uncertain reasons.

Most of the major Twitter accounts that were suspended on Twitter have created accounts on the decentralized social media network Mastodon, with differing levels of participation. Here are the links to their official accounts on Mastodon:

Other famous Twitter accounts that are now on Mastodon include:

How can I follow someone on Mastodon without joining?

Almost all Mastodon servers allow public posts on the network to be viewed by anyone, regardless of whether you have a Mastodon account. You can simply point your web browser to any user’s profile and scroll through their posts.

If you want a centralized way to track multiple Mastodon users, the easiest way is to join a Mastodon server and follow people as you would on Twitter or any other social network (see more below). However, if you really don’t want to join Mastodon, you can also follow accounts using an RSS reader.

Every account on Mastodon automatically publishes an RSS feed that can be followed, For example, you can see an RSS feed of my original Mastodon posts at mas.to/@peterbutler.rss.

How do I join Mastodon?

Unlike Twitter, Mastodon is not a single website: It’s a decentralized network made up of thousands of websites talking to each other. To start posting on Mastodon (which until quite recently was called «tooting«) and following other people, you’ll need to create an account on a specific Mastodon server or «instance.»

To start following people and posting messages on the Mastodon social service, you begin by joining one specific instance. Each server (if open for registration) has its own sign-up process, but the majority only require a username, email address and password.

Once you’ve joined a Mastodon instance, however, you’re not limited to just following people and posts on that server. You can follow, favorite, reblog or reply to any Mastodon account that’s connected to the larger Fediverse.

How do I choose a Mastodon server?

The Mastodon organization provides a partial list of servers — about 100 — on its joinmastodon.org site. You can filter the servers by geographic region, language, topic registration process and whether or not they’re hosted by individuals or organizations. All servers on the official Mastodon site have agreed to follow the best practices of the Mastodon Server Covenant.

If you’re just testing Mastodon out, you might consider one of the official server instances run by the Mastodon organization. The first and biggest — mastodon.social — has been inundated with new users and has spawned a second mastodon.online server to pick up the slack.

If you want a bigger list of Mastodon servers to review, your best bet right now is instances.social, which offers a sortable list of more than 17,000 Mastodon servers, as well as a wizard-style app that helps you choose a server that fits your requirements.

The site provides useful data about each Mastodon instance, including number of users, number of «statuses» (posts), server uptime percentage and which versions of the Mastodon software it is running. It also lets you filter servers by language; minimum/maximum number of users; and prohibited/allowed content such as nudity, pornography, advertisements or entertainment spoilers. You can also click any instance name — fosstodon.org, for example, a server devoted to open-source software — to read a brief description of the community.

Once you’re actually on a Mastodon site, you can learn about the instance from its «about» page, browse community users on its «explore» page or view recent posts on its «public» page.

You should read the server rules for each Mastodon instance to make sure it’s a good fit, but don’t worry too much about which server you join. You can follow users on other servers and join and leave as many Mastodon servers as you’d like. If you do move around, Mastodon allows you to migrate all of your followers and lists with you.

How do I join a Mastodon server?

Each Mastodon instance will have its own sign-up process, but the vast majority are the same. You provide a username, email address and password, check the box agreeing to the terms of service and server rules, and click «Sign Up.»

You’ll then see a notification asking you to check your email for a verification message. Click the «Verify email address» in that email message, and you’re done. You can now start posting on your Mastodon server and follow anyone in the Fediverse.

Because of the increased traffic to Mastodon servers since Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, some of those registration emails are taking a long time to show up or never arriving at all.

When I registered for the mas.to server, I got a confirmation email in about 15 minutes. Be patient, and try a new server if you can’t complete the registration for another.

After you verify your email address, your Mastodon account should be up and running. You can start posting or following people, though it will take a while to build up your feed. Web tools like Debirdify and FediFinder can jump-start the process by helping you find your Twitter contacts on Mastodon.

While most Mastodon servers offer the quick registration process described above, other, more private instances will ask that you apply for an invitation to the instance, which requires a manual review and longer registration time.

If you do decide to register on a Mastodon server and make it through the process, come visit me @peterbutler@mas.to to say hi.

For more, learn how social media could be hurting your mental health.

Technologies

Anyone Can Now Access the Largest Space Map Ever Created. Here’s How

The data includes a map of nearly 800,000 galaxies and covers 0.54 square degrees of the sky.

If you’ve ever wanted a better look at deep space, you now have your chance. A treasure trove of data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope is now available for public consumption. Included with the data is an interactive map that contains nearly 800,000 galaxies and various filters so you can view them in different ways.

The data was made available starting on June 5 by the Cosmic Evolution Survey out of Caltech. It consists of survey data that mapped out 0.54 square degrees of the sky. For reference, if you take a look at this month’s strawberry moon, the amount of sky that the telescope mapped is equivalent to about three full moons side by side. The total size of all the map data is about 1.5 TB.

Read more: Coolest Space Photos of 2025 Will Fill You With Cosmic Wonder

Included in the map are galaxies and stars that are 13.5 billion years old, which means it provides the best look into the early universe that science has offered so far. NASA estimates that the universe is 13.8 billion years old, so those galaxies and stars are positively ancient. In all, there are galaxies and stars in the data that cover about 98% of the known universe’s history.

That makes this newly released map bigger than the largest Milky Way galaxy map ever created, which still only covers a small slice of the galaxy’s overall layout. However, the Milky Way galaxy map is still larger in terms of data, as that map is over 500 TB in size.

Researchers mapped the sky with the JWST’s near infrared camera, and 0.2 square degrees of the sky were mapped with the mid infrared instrument. In total, there’s about 1.5 TB worth of data to sift through. Arguably the coolest part of the info dump is the interactive map, which loads in a web browser and allows users to move around and see everything that was included.

Using the interactive map viewer

Curious individuals can check out the project’s map viewer. To use the map, you simply have to follow the link and click the «check it out!» button. Once the map loads, you’ll see a square-ish image that contains over 700,000 galaxies and other objects.

Once you load the map, the best way to view it is using the layers and filters in the top right corner. The first box contains views, including NIRCam RGB and several other views. The second box breaks up the image into tiles. These tiles are how the image was mapped, so you can see which instrument was used to capture each segment of the map.

For educational purposes, the third box is the one to use. These options outline the objects of interest. Clicking on them provides you with a catalog ID (which lets you search for those objects again later), the raw images taken of each object and additional data points like light wavelength.

The tools in the top left are used for search and configuration, like increasing the brightness and changing the hue to make some objects easier to view. With the controls, your best bet is to just look around and find all the cool stuff. At any point, you can reset all of the settings by refreshing the browser window.

How to access the data

The data is accessible in a couple of different ways. The COSMOS2025 project published three research papers on the data they collected. The first is a catalog of everything that was observed. The other two focused on the near infrared imaging and mid infrared imaging used to obtain the data.

You can obtain the data by filling out this form. Once done, you’ll be able to download the data. It’s available as a single, large download or you can download individual tiles if you prefer. There are more advanced instructions available from the COSMOS2025 project website if you need them, and more data available here if you want to download it.

You may notice that the majority of the map data is in the FITS file format. That’s an unusual file format that your standard Photoshop or image viewing application won’t be able to handle very well. Fortunately, NASA has a trustworthy list of FITS image viewers that you can choose from.

The data will also be used to help answer questions about the early universe, and all this data being freely available to researchers the world over will help with that.

Technologies

Starlink Doubled Its Speed In 2 Years. It Still Doesn’t Meet the FCC’s Minimum

Technologies

Why Can’t I Get a Job Right Now? 9 Expert Tips to Stand Out to Recruiters

From ghosting to burnout, here’s how you can stay sane and get hired in a brutal job market.

Since getting laid off from a tech marketing role last November, Stephanie Wandell has applied to hundreds of jobs. She’s heard back from only a handful of recruiters, without any offers.

«I was a little bit naive going into it, thinking I could do what I always do and depend on applying to as many places as I can,» said Wandell. «It became pretty clear that this time is different.»

Ask anyone who’s unemployed and they’ll tell you today’s job market is more challenging than it used to be. In the past several months, my LinkedIn social feed has been a testament to that. Laid-off professionals share posts about their agonizing battles to find employment, with job searches stretching more than a year.

Amid signs of an economic slowdown, companies are pulling back on hiring, leaving job seekers in the lurch. Facing fierce competition for a shrinking pool of open positions, candidates are trying to master new strategies to get past AI screeners into the hands of a human recruiter. Some wait months for a response, only to be ghosted by HR departments.

Even if official unemployment figures appear relatively low, millions of Americans are wading through this emotional and financial roller coaster. The health of the job market is measured by people’s ability to get a job, said Daniel Zhao, lead economist at the career and job search site Glassdoor.

Hearing these experiences, I had a lot of questions. Is the job hunt miserable for everyone? Why are so many qualified and talented workers getting the silent treatment? How are folks using AI in their search? What is HR actually looking for?

I spoke with several career specialists to gather the most straightforward advice for helping job seekers on their journey. I also compiled a list of free employment resources and upskilling platforms below.

1. Focus on quality over quantity

Sending out hundreds of applications with the same resume might feel like the right approach but it’s not the best use of your time.

«We find many job seekers in the market haphazardly applying to any and/or all jobs instead of targeting relevant ones,» said Chad Sowash of the Chad and Cheese Podcast, which covers recruitment technology, talent management and workforce economics.

Instead of spending several hours applying to multiple jobs, use that time to tailor each resume toward the role you really want. Companies are becoming increasingly selective in their hiring practices so job seekers also need to be choosier about where they apply.

«Not all positions and hiring companies will be a fit so don’t try to be all things to all people,» Sowash said.

To narrow down your search, think about what you’re looking for in terms of work environment and responsibilities, said Sam DeMase, career expert at ZipRecruiter. «Don’t just throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.»

Identify the value that makes you an exceptional candidate. «If your resume is very generic and doesn’t speak to your specific superpowers, you’re not going to get as many hits as you would with a hyper-tailored resume,» DeMase said.

2. Optimize your resume for automated software

When you apply to a job online, your resume likely won’t go straight to a recruiter or hiring manager. Nearly all Fortune 500 companies use an applicant tracking system, or ATS, to process applications and dismiss candidates automatically.

As my CNET colleague pointed out in a 2023 story on resume robots, the ATS software scans applications for a specific percentage of matching keywords, typically 70% to 80%. If there’s not a high match with the posting, your application probably won’t make it to the next stage, regardless of your qualifications.

To create an ATS-friendly resume, read the job description thoroughly and note particular keywords, phrases or skills. If the requirements accurately align with your qualifications, add them to your resume using the same language. That said, don’t go overboard. While keywords are important, stuffing your resume with too many can read as unnatural.

Jobscan, Skillsyncer and multiple other online platforms provide free resume scanning tools geared toward optimizing your application for ATS.

Zhao said resume keyword optimization isn’t about «beating» the computer. It’s about making sure recruiters and hiring managers see your skills and experience.

Once you have the right balance of keywords, simplify your formatting to make it clean and concise, which helps the ATS and recruiters review your resume. Avoid using fancy headers and footers, graphics or tables, which often get garbled by the computer software.

3. Be ready to act fast

Set up multiple job alerts and be ready to act immediately on the openings you like the most. DeMase recommends being one of the first people to apply to the job posting so that your resume doesn’t get pushed to a later round.

«Unfortunately, these jobs are getting posted and have more than 100 applicants within 48 hours or sooner,» said Demase. If you have multiple versions of your resume ready, you can adapt quickly.

Just because a posting is still up after several weeks doesn’t mean the company is still reviewing applications or looking for new candidates.

4. Leverage AI, but don’t rely on it

In 2024, more than 50% of job seekers used AI to draft resumes and cover letters. While generative AI tools like ChatGPT can speed up the writing process, they tend to produce generic, impersonal content.

«One of the issues I see with job seekers who overly rely on AI is that their application ends up looking like everybody else’s who is using AI as well,» said Zhao.

To avoid the same formulaic responses, provide detailed prompts that emphasize the parts of your application that align with the job description and make your background and experience unique. For example, you can ask the chatbot to review your cover letter and suggest ways to make it more compelling based on your abilities and interests.

«It’s important for people to think about how their resume distinguishes them, how their skill set, even if it’s nontraditional, might give them a different perspective than other people in the candidate pool,» Zhao said.

5. Network strategically

Even in today’s digital age, networking remains incredibly powerful for landing a job, especially considering that many roles aren’t advertised online but filled through referrals.

If you’re new to networking, start reaching out to the people around you: family and friends, alumni and former co-workers. Ask them if they know anyone in a career field that interests you or works at a company you’re curious about.

«Folks can go quiet after a layoff, because there’s a deep sense of shame, particularly in our society, where so much of our identity is associated with our work and our productivity,» said Lisa Countryman-Quiroz, CEO of JVS Bay Area, a workforce development nonprofit. «It’s important to fight through that, tap into your network and let people know you’re looking.»

Instead of just requesting a job or connection, actively engage in conversations, ask thoughtful questions, share your own insights and look for ways to offer value, said DeMase. Sending out a handful of personalized emails will get you farther than dozens of generic copy-and-paste notes.

6. Build additional skills

Showcasing competitive skills like data analysis, digital collaboration and AI tool expertise is crucial in today’s job market. Instead of prioritizing traditional credentials like education, 76% of employers put greater value on actual work experience and demonstrated abilities, even if you’re self-taught.

«You can make yourself stand out by indicating the different things you’ve learned on your own and how that could apply to that employer,» said Countryman-Quiroz.

Free online courses, such as LinkedIn Learning or IBM SkillsBuild, can help you learn valuable skills or even obtain official certification. Local colleges and community centers frequently provide low-cost courses on anything from digital marketing to insurance licensing.

If you’ve been unemployed for a long time, you can use courses and training to fill in the gaps on your resume, which shows that you’re proactive and self-directed.

7. Mentally prepare for ghosting

For many, the toughest part of job hunting is never hearing back. Though being ghosted by an employer or recruiter can feel incredibly personal, it’s not a reflection of your skills or qualifications. Research from LinkedIn found that almost 40% of candidates say they’re applying to more jobs than ever and hearing back less.

There are countless reasons why HR doesn’t follow up: budget cuts, hiring freezes, internal shifts or too many applicants. You might never know the real reason.

You can send a polite follow-up email to the hiring manager to demonstrate your continued interest, which may prompt them to respond. But try not to blame yourself or spend too much time dissecting why you didn’t hear back.

After being ghosted following multiple interviews, Wandell started The Job Ghosting Project, a list of anonymous stories from job seekers who’ve been ignored by companies. Within a week of posting the survey, Wandell received more than 500 submissions, with responses ranging from recent grads to high-level executives.

«The goal is really just to document these patterns, validate the job seekers and push for accountability in the hiring process,» said Wandell.

8. Set up thoughtfully for interviews

Interview prep goes beyond knowing your resume and the role. You’ll need to show why you want this specific job with this specific employer.

Start with research. Look at the company’s recent news, press releases, social media and reviews. Understand their latest projects, challenges and competition.

Use the STAR method. Break down each requirement in the job description and connect it to a specific example from your experience. Practice structuring your answers using the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to demonstrate your impact in a clear and concise way.

Practice, practice, practice. Say your interview answers out loud, not just in your head. If possible, do a practice interview with someone you trust and get honest feedback. That can help identify awkward phrasing and make you more confident during the real thing.

Prepare questions for the interviewer. Asking thoughtful questions of the hiring team shows your engagement and understanding of the role/company.

9. Make the search sustainable

It’s common to feel discouraged, stressed and embarrassed when faced with rejection. «The job search is a slog and you have to make sure that you’re doing it in a sustainable manner,» said Zhao. «You can’t just apply to 100 jobs every day because you’ll burn yourself out.»

Set clear boundaries for your job-hunting hours, schedule regular breaks and set up informal meetings to network. Focus on having a support system in place, especially with other people looking for work. Being in a group with people in the same situation can really «diminish the shame that so many feel around not being employed,» said Countryman-Quiroz.

After joining a job-seeker support group during a previous layoff, Wandell started her own group this past year. It started with five people and it’s now grown to 50 to 100 participants. «It’s a space for people to vent but also to ask questions, network and brainstorm,» said Wandell.

Read more: Layoffs Are Happening. How to Prepare if You Think You Might Lose Your Job

Free job search platforms and upskilling resources

We compiled a list of resources to help sharpen your skills and streamline your search.

General job boards

Industry-specific/niche job boards

InHerSight: Organization providing career advice and job matching specifically for women.
Jobs in Logistics: Job search site for employment in logistics, supply chain, transportation, inventory management and more.
The Mom Project: Resource community geared toward working mothers seeking out family-friendly companies.
Recruit Military: A military-to-civilian recruiting company connecting military veterans, transitioning military service members and their spouses with employment opportunities.
Remote Jobs: Site curated by remote work specialist Rowena Hennigan, providing resources for remote work openings.
SchoolSpring: National job board for teachers and others in education.
Superpath: Job board for content strategists, writers and freelance bloggers.
Working Nomads: Job search site for global remote work tailored specifically toward digital working nomads.
VC Job Boards: Curated list of job boards featuring venture capital positions.

Workplace development nonprofits

STRIVE: Offers tuition-free skills training, job readiness support and personal coaching for those seeking to improve their career prospects.
NPower: Provides part-time tech skills training, including IT, cloud computing and cybersecurity, with opportunities for paid internships.
Goodwill: Offers job training and employment services, career development and financial literacy programs, as well as job placement assistance.
Year Up: Focuses on helping low-income young adults gain IT and business skills through paid internships and job placement.

Upskilling

Coursera: Offers courses, certificates, and degrees from top universities and companies, covering subjects like computer science, business and data science.
Udemy: A vast online marketplace for courses, with options ranging from health and fitness to IT and software, and more.
LinkedIn Learning: Provides courses on business, creative, and technology skills, taught by industry experts.
Skillshare: A community-based platform for creative and curious people, with classes in illustration, design, photography and more.
edX: Offers university-level courses from various institutions, including MIT and Harvard, covering a range of topics.
IBM SkillsBuild: Provides free access to learning materials and certifications in areas like cloud computing and AI.
HubSpot Academy: Offers free courses and resources on marketing, sales and customer service.
Google Skillshop: Provides free digital skills training through online learning platforms.
Microsoft Learn: Offers free online training and certifications on Microsoft products.
freeCodeCamp: A platform for learning web development through online courses.
MIT OpenCourseWare: Provides access to free MIT course materials.