The countdown to the countdown. This year, our Christmas party is happening on Mastodon. Here's how it works

There’s still time to vote in Mushroom FM’s holiday countdown and to receive an invitation to our Christmas party. But time is running out rapidly with votes closing this Thursday at 11:59 PM North American Eastern Time.

Being able to tune in to hear how the 10 songs you voted for ranked in the countdown, or indeed whether they made it to the countdown at all since we have around 310 songs people have voted for at this point, is a lot of fun. But we add even more to the fun by turning the countdown in to another of Mushroom FM’s famous social media events. We were doing virtual parties long before the pandemic, and it's something we do well.

This year, we’re moving with the times and hanging out with the cool kids, running a social media event on Mastodon for the first time. We already see from those who have voted that most of our regulars have made the jump to mastodon. If it’s the other way around, that is to say you’re a Mastodon ninja but this is your first time participating in our party, read on to learn important things. We believe the festive and fun atmosphere of our party really suits the better culture of Mastodon we are all trying to build there.

When you vote, our system automatically assigns you to one of four virtual tables at our Christmas party, named after the first four reindeer in “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”. They are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. We don’t think it’s the same Dasher who brings your food when you use a certain delivery app, but who knows, with the cost of living so high, maybe Dasher’s got a part-time job?

While the initial assignments are random, this is one setting those of us working on the countdown do have the tools and authority to override. When we can clearly tell that two people are related, we’ll do all we can to seat them at the same table. Our annual countdown event attracts a wide audience, many of whom aren’t Mushroom FM regulars. However Mushroom FM’s core listener base is very loyal, meaning we tend to remember details they’ve told the fun guys over the years. We’ll do our best to seat people together, even if they don’t have the same last name, if we know they’re a couple or related in some way. It’s one of the cool things about Mushroom FM. We’re big enough to pull something like the countdown off, still very much small enough to care about those details.

The Seating Plan goes live at midnight on the day of the countdown. This way, you can see who you’re sitting with and perhaps begin to get to know your table mates on Mastodon. It’s totally optional, but you have the opportunity to provide your Mastodon address at the time you vote. It’s a cool way to help your table mates reach out and say “hi”. Many of us are quite new to mastodon and on the hunt for more cool people to follow. So when that page goes live, check out the list and you may find some new social media buddies.

Key to participating fully in the party is tracking our Mushroom FM hashtag on Mastodon. It is difficult to give precise instructions, because the client you use and the version of Mastodon your instance is running will influence your options. People on Mastodon are helpful though, and there is already plenty happening on the MushroomFM hashtag, so you have some days to make sure you’re good to go. One of the most common ways of searching on a hashtag is to use your client’s search options, ensure that searching for hashtags is selected, and in the search box, type MushroomFM. As long as hashtag searching is selected, it should not be necessary to type the number sign. Save the search if that’s an option in your Mastodon client, then you can return easily to tracking the hashtag whenever you want. We promote our hashtag year-round as a great way to keep in touch with other Mushroom FM listeners, but at events like our Christmas party, it’s especially useful so you can enjoy the fun chitchat of the party.

If you’re not on mastodon, don’t worry, you’re not excluded. You’ll be able to email the fun guy on-air with any thoughts and attempts to score some Christmas crackers for your table.

What would a Christmas party be without plenty of delicious, usually forbidden food? Ah, now that’s where you come in. Be sure to stock up ahead of our 10 hours of festive fun.

If all this sounds really inventive and cool, it is. Be a part of it by voting and inviting all your friends and family to vote too. https://MushroomFM.com/countdown2022

If you have a song you really want to be high on the chart, you can only vote once, but you can encourage family members, friends, and even enemies (it is Christmas and a time of peace on earth after all) to vote. So, be sure to let your voice be heard and to spread the word. See you on Saturday at 7 AM Eastern, noon in the UK. Check the schedule to find out when that is in your time zone.