Twitter is Dead, Long Live Twitter

If you’re reading this, I assume that means at some point you found out that I exist via Twitter. Which means that you have been at some point in the last 15 years at least a casual Twitter user. Which means that you may be aware that Twitter was recently purchased by Elon Musk and things are quickly going to Hell in a Handbasket over there.

To be clear, the place wasn’t great to begin with. There’s a reason users affectionately called it “This Hellsite.” The amount of unchecked abuse users from marginalized communities were exposed to was unnacceptable but at least there was a glimmer of hope that some people at Twitter HQ were trying to find a solution.

As soon as the deal closed last Friday, lots of people began closing their accounts and moving to Mastodon or other online spaces. (God bless the librarians that revivied a decade+ old “NextGen Librarian” listserv. I mean, there’s no way in shit I’m participating, but you’re thinking out of the box and trying, so good for you.) I don’t blame them, but I have not yet made the leap yet.

Like, I go on cruises and shop at Walmart so the “ethical consumption” horse has left my barn a long time ago. Although it may get to the point where I can’t in good conscience keep my account going. I’m also not sure if the better move is to stay and create and curate content that aligns with my interests and agrees with my worldview (which for American politics I mean ‘reality’) or leave Twitter to become an echochamber of propapganda and misinformation and let it crash its credibility so normie users don’t trust it anymore.

Which may be the goal for Musk and his backers after all. For all the problems of Twitter, we can never forget the important role it played in the Arab Spring or early days of Black Lives Matter after the killing of Michael Brown in Missouri. In it’s early days someone once described Twitter to me as “it’s an open chatroom and the entire world is invited to join” and it will be a huge loss to people who want to connect with and learn from others as well as organize.

(Assuming the worst intentions aren’t true, it seems like so few people now in charge of Twitter understand that social media needs good content creators and curators to be worthwhile (i.e. entertaining and trustworthy and not filled with harrassment or hate) to the people that use it and the user experience is central to maintaining an active online space.)

Next month is the 15th anniversary of me signing up for Twitter. It’s been a part of my routine for almost 1/3 of my life and almost the entirety of my professional one. It has been said in kind and unkind ways to my face and behind my back that it is my main contribution. If it folds, I probably have a lot to lose?

<shrug>

There was a point that maybe that would have been the case. Maybe. I can’t lie, I’ve gotten great opportunities because of it. Met lots of neat people. Been able to learn about so many things that I never would have been exposed to in my meatspace life. It’s made me a better writer and has been a fun creative outlet. And I have been genuinely touched at how much some of you enjoy reading what I write.

Despite what people say, Twitter (and other social media) is real life but it’s not the only avenue for life or expression out there.

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure the human brain is supposed to be connected to so many people. I think about this tweet a lot. A LOT.

I also think about my one anthropology professor’s sage advice: “The human brain spent millions of years evolving to be perfectly adapted for a way of life that hasn’t existed for hundreds and thousands of years so expect to feel a little fucked up.” I very deliberately try to keep the number of people I follow or interact with close to the Dunbar Number but (and this is not meant to be a brag) but the number of people that follow me is 10x that. And stuff I post can get shared way beyond that.

Side note, I finally had the uniquely Twitter experience of actually havin a tweet go viral-viral and not just LawTwitter or Libraryland viral and thanks I hated it.

I’m pretty much past the point in life where I get fucked up over things people say to or about me on the Internet although it still happens (and I thank every diety I can think of this all didn’t exist when I was in my teens and early 20s). I hate feeling absolutely great and then the opinion of some asshole 750 miles away that I have never met ruins it. That’s so dumb. And absolutely self-inflicted.

(Note: This is not me saying I can never recieve nor do I not welcome critique; this is me saying I don’t need to hear the opinion of assholes who are just dunking on me to get points with their equally assholish friends.)

For all of it’s faults and despite the fact that I have this, my blog, and accounts on Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn (lol), and a couple of niche forums, listservs, and Slacks, Twitter feels most like my “Internet Home.” It’s where I can get the best mix of news, professinal information, and personal interests and easily create and curate what I find interesting. But I’ve had much greater emotional attachment to other internet spaces in the past and survived without them. I’ll do it again, I guess.

Listen, I’m a Gen-Xer which means I’ve spent my entire life preparing for two things: (1) thermonuclear war and (2) being left to my own devices to take care of myself. 2022 is my time to shine.

So anyways, I don’t know what’s next for me or Twitter, where I’ll be consuming and creating content, or what forms it will take. I do know as soon as Twitter ceases to be fun or useful, I’ll fade out. All I know for sure is that I’ll definitely be creating and curating stuff somewhere and if it’s for public view, I’ll use my usual sglassmeyer handle.

Some further relevant reading that may be interesting/prove helpful:

This thread:

This thread:

There' is a Mastodon instance for legal types that more in the legal tech/A2J/civtech/Innovation space. I declared main lawtwitter to be Vanilla Law Twitter and this to be Rocky Road Law Twitter and goddamn I really crack myself sometimes.

Remember, you can join more than one and still interact with other instances.

And finally, before you delete, especially if you are a member of Black Twitter, LGBTQ Twitter, any marginalized or organizign community or even Law Twitter or Library Twitter, please download and save your archive. I was so happy to see that efforts are being made to preserve Black Twitter and other online spaces. There are probably other efforts out there for other communities.