Monday, November 07, 2022

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Posting Tweets to Mastodon

automatically have your Twitter post to your Mastodon

image of a rainbow colored mystical mastodon lumbering along
Mastodon by David August

So maybe like me you're thinking of diversifying your social media presence beyond Twitter and onto Mastodon. I don't want to have to manually post on both right now, and it is too early to focus just on Mastodon since most of the people I connect with not there yet, they're still on Twitter. I want to build for the future now by posting my tweets on Mastodon.

One way to build a presence on any new site is to have what you post on an old site get posted to the new one automatically. That's where a tool that posts your tweets on Mastodon for you comes in. I was going to try 3 tools to automatically post my Twitter on my Mastodon, and review them all. But the first I tried seems to do the job; I haven't needed to see how the others work. I'll stay with it unless the first one goes offline or stops working. I'll mention the other two here in case when you read this one of them is a better solution.

Without getting too technical, these tools will check your twitter for new tweets, and then post them on Mastodon for you, automatically. That is what's supposed to happen; unless something breaks or goes offline, it should work as designed once it is set up.

Mastodon is not a central company, so everything that runs on Mastodon may not always run as smoothly as a commercial product. Mastodon also does not have a single place to seek answers if you need help or support. Your mileage may vary. So far things often load more slowly with Mastodon than they do with a site/app like Twitter that is run by one company.

Not every Mastodon tool will work with every other Mastodon tool and instance. Instances are what Mastodon calls the servers that run it. They are run by different people, unlike Twitter which is run by a single company. These different servers, instances, can talk with each other. That lets a post (Mastodon calls posts "toots") on one server be read and interacted with by people on other servers. This can delay things. Sometimes if a server is down or out of communication, then the delay can be more than a few minutes.

Every Mastodon server being run by different people can also mean their policies can be different. Different Mastodon servers allow different types of content sometimes, and each have their own privacy policies. The good news here is that there isn't a business model of Mastodon gathering and selling personal information. In fact, there is no single business model behind Mastodon. It is more a protocol than a company or product. Mastodon is like a way you to do what you have always done on social networks, except without single central company running it. It is more like software than a single service.

Here's how to post your Twitter posts on Mastodon.

Mastodon-Twitter Crossposter

The first tool I tried using to send my Twitter feed to Mastodon is the Mastodon-Twitter Crossposter and I set it up at https://crossposter.masto.donte.com.br/. It was recommended to me and seems to work well.

Upsides:

Downsides:

Moa Party

I have not yet used this tool (at https://moa.party/), but Martin Fowler, whom I do not know personally, does and says his Mastodon-aware colleagues have used it without problems.

Linky

Linky is an iOS app (at https://pragmaticcode.com/linky/), that is intended to "Post to Twitter and Mastodon with simplicity." It may or may not automatically post from one to the other. It might be more about posting directly to your Twitter and Mastodon easily from your iPhone of iPad.

IFTTT

IFTTT is a service/site/app that allows many different websites, apps and devices to interact and do things automatically. They do not currently have a publicly available applet (what they call the small piece you can configure to do stuff for you) that will post from your Twitter to Mastodon. If you are open to some coding/technical configuration, you can make yourself a IFTTT applet to post to Mastodon from Twitter (or anywhere else). If you don't already feel comfortable using webhooks, or know what a webhook is, this may be a bit of a learning curve.

Please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions. My current links can probably be found on my linktree or at davidaugust.com. And I’m now on Mastodon at @davidaugust@mastodon.online too.

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this posted by David August at 3:14 PM - 0 comments -  

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Samuel French Dabbles with Online Sales

Founded in 1830, Samuel French represents over 8,000 plays and musicals for amateur and professional performances. In addition to their website, the company also operates two art bookstores in Los Angeles and London, which carry a broad range of scripts and technical books.
This exciting new venture with Scene Partner is the next step in our growing ePlay initiative which includes almost 1,000 Samuel French titles now available in Apple’s iBookstore and soon on Amazon's Kindle, Nook, and multiple eReader platforms, said Kenneth Dingledine, director of operations for Samuel French, in a statement.
The first round of Samuel French titles will be tentatively released by the end of 2012. Prices for e-Scripts will range from $10.99 to $11.99, and can be purchased through Scene Partner's online store

(from Backstage). Only a few years ago Samuel French sold plays they publish though multiple bookstores of their own as well as many other stores. Now with only 2 stores of their own, and planning to sell only 1/8 of their titles online through not 1 but 2 "middlemen" (Amazon/Apple/B&N and Scene Partner) forcing the prices almost higher than the paper versions is surprising, and slow.

Very 1830s style, and in 2012 is an almost concerning trend for play publishing in the English speaking world. Or lack of a trend. The Association of American Publishers reported that in the first quarter of 2012, adult eBook sales were up to $282.3 million while adult hardcover sales came to only $229.6 million (from ZDNet). $52.7 million dollars is more than a supplemental difference to most publishers.

As I mentioned in November, their large competition is not announcing any digital publication plans beyond a minor presence on Google's e-bookstore. There is an opening in the world marketplace for e-book versions of plays and so far no company seems committed in any timely way to filling it.

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this posted by David August at 11:07 PM - 6 comments -  

Thursday, October 29, 2009

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Survey Results: Does Academy Players Directory Help You Book?

The results of my Academy Players Directory survey are in, and the news is not good for the Academy Players Directory. Only 22% of those in the Academy Players Directory believed it had helped them book. I'm debating if a 22% chance of my earning money back makes the expense worthwhile. The return of investment is large if one books, zero if one does not.

The first question was "Are you in Academy Players Directory?" The answers were 60% yes, 40% no:
question 1 results as a pie chart

The second question was "Has it helped you book?" Only 14% say yes, 42% say no and 42% say they didn't know:
question 2 results as a pie chart

It seems the Academy Players Directory may not help an actor book work as much as it once did. I think the real question becomes: can you do without the money and hope it pays off.

This wasn't an extremely scientific study, and the number of people answering was small (over the two weeks of the survey the were 15 answers for question one, 14 for question two).

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this posted by David August at 5:56 PM - 0 comments -  

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Survey: Academy Players Directory Increase Bookings?

Are you in Academy Player Directory? Has it helped you book? Please take this 2 question survey, results will be shared on this blog (once you and others take the poll).

The results are here.

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this posted by David August at 1:50 PM - 0 comments -  

Friday, August 14, 2009

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Acting With an Accent

Years ago, one of my teachers had us learn an accent (or dialect) with 'David Alan Stern: Acting With An Accent' tapes. I think I used the Standard British one and found it one of the better tapes I've encountered.

If you have any experience with the others, or any other good tape/s or discs or mp3s, please leave a comment and tell me, and everyone else, about it.

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this posted by David August at 1:48 AM - 0 comments -  

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

2 Accent and Dialect Sites

Speech Accent Archive at George Mason University (GMU) has shorter clips to listen to and has a written copy of the script on the site so you can read it as you listen but there is also a version of the script written in a phonetic transcription so you can read the sounds as you listen.
International Dialects of English Archive at University of Kansas (UK) has much larger clips to listen to and a written copy to read but no phonetic transcription so you can't read the sounds as you listen

(from BriansTheatreNews).

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this posted by David August at 6:47 PM - 0 comments -  

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Conrad Cantzen Shoe Fund

Administered by The Actors Fund, this Memorial Fund reimburses eligible entertainment professionals up to $40.00 towards a pair of shoes costing no more than $80.00.
In 1945, actor Conrad Cantzen bequeathed his estate to The Actors Fund with the stipulation that it should be used to help actors purchase shoes so they did not appear "down at the heels" when auditioning. Mr. Cantzen believed that a good pair of shoes made a great first impression on casting directors.
How generous of Conrad Cantzen!

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this posted by David August at 4:09 PM - 0 comments -  

Monday, March 24, 2008

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Calling Services

For extra work, many actors hire a calling service to simplify tracking down work. There is some information about calling services in LA on backgroundbeat.com. I don't know how reliable the information is; caveat actor.

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this posted by David August at 8:03 PM - 0 comments -  

Monday, October 22, 2007

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Plotbot

Plotbot is a website for writing screenplays in your browser.
With Plobot, you can create private screenplays to work alone or with invited friends, or you can create public screenplays to find new friends. All changes are tracked to each writer, and you can revert to prior versions at any time.
I haven't tried it yet, but it might be a way to collaborate without being in the same room (maybe while on the phone perhaps).

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this posted by David August at 7:30 PM - 0 comments -  

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

NBC New Fall Preview Free at Blockbuster

The new shows that are going to be part of NBC's fall line-up are at Blockbuster on DVD and they're free to rent. Looks like there are three full pilots (Chuck, Journeyman, Life) and one preview (Bionic Woman). The other networks seem not to have made their new shows available on DVD for now.

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this posted by David August at 11:12 AM - 0 comments -  

Friday, August 10, 2007

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Recommended Place for DVDs, Airchecks

While I have never used them, I've heard EditPlus, in Sherman Oaks is a good place to go for DVD authoring, editing, airchecks (high quality version of Network shows) and the like. Their number is said to be 1 (877) EDITPLUS. If you have any experience with them/alternatives, please leave a comment.

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this posted by David August at 12:49 AM - 0 comments -  

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

As of 2025, please go to stuff.davidaugust.com, my newer blog. See you there!

Casting Calls: Where to Find Auditions/Casting Notices (or Post Them)

The first 2 are the most legitimate and useful.

Actors Access/Breakdown Express
Has the real advantage of being tied in with 'The Breakdowns' and therefore already a part of the work lives of Casting Directors, Agents and Managers. Actors Access is the Talents' site, and Breakdown Express is Casting Directors' and Representatives' site. Browsing the audition notices is free for talent, but self-submitting costs $2 a submission (they are free if you buy/bought a Showfax account [which allows you to access the sides/copy for auditions]). Adding new or additional pictures is less expensive than LA Casting.
LA casting
Has good listings, but I find the interface a little harder to use/more time consuming than Actors Access.
Now Casting
The most pricey of these big three online submission services; there is a monthly fee for self-submissions.
mandy.com
Also for international film and TV production (not just LA and the US, mandy.com includes listing for crew/staff positions as well as audition/casting notices). The ability to search listings is quite good, and it is, I think, completely free (ad supported).
BackStage
The staple in offline audition and acting job notices, the audition listings are now available online (for a fee).
craigslist
Free, and varied (e.g., includes 'adult' projects).

While I think this info is accurate, I could be wrong, and I'm also not vouching for nor endorsing any of these resources; caveat actor (or casting director).

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this posted by David August at 2:33 PM - 0 comments -