Many users are interested in the Twitter alternative Mastodon, but do not (yet) want to take the complete step of completely refraining from tweeting and thus losing any followers they may have built up.
That’s why they fill both Mastodon and Twitter at the same time – and often manually. The product manager Parker Ortolani, who works for the well-known IT blog The Verge, among other things, has now presented a simplification for this: A simple shortcut for the iPhone, with which you can chirp and horn at the same time.
The solution: a shortcut
The clever little tool is free and is called “Twoot” – the name is a combination of “Tweet” and “Toot”, as a message is called in Mastodon. The shortcut uses the official apps from Twitter and Mastodon, so these must be installed on the iOS device – of course when logged in. According to Ortolani, Twoot also works on iPadOS and macOS, the same applies here.
The twoot shortcut is only for composing new tweets and toots. A second shortcut called ReTwoot can also be used to share existing content: It works via the operating system’s share dialog and allows existing content to be shared between the two networks. This currently works with texts and links, but can also be tried out with other content.
Double operation is likely to continue
The dual operation of Twitter and Mastodon accounts is likely to last longer for many users. While Mastodon initially grew quickly after the numerous – by no means always positive – changes and errors on Twitter in recent months, some disillusionment now seems to have set in, the network is growing more slowly. Nevertheless, it remains an attractive alternative, Mac&i also has an account there with @[email protected]. With a tool like Twoot, you can serve both networks without having to get a social media management app.
However, Ortolani warns that he may not continue to maintain the two shortcuts. It was a “fun experiment for my personal use”. Accordingly: “It is possible that Twoot and ReTwoot will no longer work in the future and that they will never be updated again.” Fortunately, however, any user can see how a shortcut works – and adjust and improve it if necessary.
(bsc)
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