I've written a new post for the @lseimpactblog.bsky.social
UK Universities are reluctant to break a toxic social media relationship.
A thread.
I've collated data that backs this up and expanded on my spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1asXGj04aSwXSNghpJAkIJdOEs51bEcULZ_SbGoEbJKA/edit?usp=sharing
Article
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2025/02/24/uk-universities-are-reluctant-to-break-a-toxic-social-media-relationship/
1/13
UK Universities are reluctant to break a toxic social media relationship.
A thread.
I've collated data that backs this up and expanded on my spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1asXGj04aSwXSNghpJAkIJdOEs51bEcULZ_SbGoEbJKA/edit?usp=sharing
Article
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2025/02/24/uk-universities-are-reluctant-to-break-a-toxic-social-media-relationship/
1/13
Comments
Migrating to Bluesky?
Sticking it out?
I tracked 141 universities to see how they’re adapting.
Only 5 universities have publicly announced their exit, 8 haven’t posted in 2025 — suggesting quiet withdrawals rather than a mass exodus.
2/13
3/13
Mastodon, however, has failed to take off — only 2 of 11 university accounts are active via a popular Threads connection.
4/13
Less than half have posted in 2025.
Many seem to have abandoned their accounts after the initial excitement. Some simply ceased posting - no goodbyes - no updates - nothing.
5/13
Many universities now have multiple incomplete or inactive profiles — with no posts, no bios, and no clear links to their official presence. How do we know it's the real institution?
6/13
@altmetric.com data shows fewer research-related posts, and @bsky.app is eating into X’s share, with around 1.5M tracked Bluesky posts on academic research so far.
7/13
Do you think your institutional home page might follow suit?