I joined Twitter in November 2013. That was how I started my blog in late January 2022.
I’m still digesting what has happened between now and then. How could I move from “I love Twitter” to now?
“God, what has happened to Twitter?”
Well, the unmentionable, indeed. Elon Musk. At first, he was looking to buy Twitter, stated he wouldn’t, and then just bought it. I want to say he is a crazy lunatic, but that would be putting crazy lunatics at a disservice. I can’t comment anymore on him. Google him. That’s enough.
More importantly, I look at what I worryingly have lost. And that is a social media base, one that I’ve been comfortable with for years, growing a friendly group of followers and people I want to follow (ok, and the odd, strange ones).
I have a group of F1 nerds (sorry). My typical group of AI and AI ethics folks. Data privacy, cyber security, the metaverse, gaming, music, etc. ESG and DEI. Errr, Lego.
I’m now posting on Twitter in a semi-depressed state, knowing who owns it and how he treats the people who run it, who work for it, and those who used to work for it. I would love all of the folks I follow to move to Mastodon, but that isn’t going to happen (at least… in the immediate future).
Other options?
I have my Mastodon account, which I enjoy, and it is… quiet. I like the people there because I have connected with the folks who I have connected with on Twitter. Just fewer of them.
I struggle with LinkedIn, to be honest. Well, I think it is a cosmic mess, as I constantly get asked if I need investment advice, and the feed itself is just so hard to follow (especially if you are in the habit of accepting invites that you needn’t…um, guilty).
So as I’ve said to a few other close Twitter friends, I feel like I’m in a lost social media dimension. Twitter has become a vile creature with many on it or behind it. I’ll try to stick with those I know and like, but underneath the skin, there is grossness beyond belief. I want to unsubscribe to the entire “Twitter Blue” nonsense rather than sign up to get a Twitter Bluebird next to my handle, which means you are spending an extra $3.00 a month to get it. I don’t want to fund the company or its new owner any further.
Whether I follow them or they follow me, we chat together.
I had a friend on Twitter – someone who used https://chirpty.com, and I’d take delight to see if I was in his inner circle or close to it every Friday.
He passed away last month – many people didn’t know about it, but I found out soon after from a few close sources. I’ve never met him. I’ve only joked with him on Twitter and as a result of several things (F1 racing, cybersecurity, coffee, etc.). But when I heard he had passed away, something inside of me broke. I’d chatted with him online, really liked him, and got to know him (perhaps just a little, but enough), but now he was gone.
I guess that is the power of social media. I’ve always, always said – it doesn’t work or accomplish what it is supposed to do unless you are willing and happy to take that leap and be social. So, a social media friend was gone. I was upset. It was like a true friend was gone.
I just wanted to write this because I’m now worried that I’ll lose that feeling without a platform like Twitter. Forget the fintech posts, etc. The sociality of being on Twitter has been hit hard, to the point where I find it difficult to… support?
So, for now, I’ll post on Mastodon (which I would urge anyone interested to try), but I’ll most likely continue to post with my grouping of F1 aficionados on Twitter or gaming nerds, etc. Because I still have a bunch of core folks I like a lot there. It is just disheartening with all of the news regarding Twitter and its new owner. But I still crave those who I know and those I like. I will crave being social.
I’ll still be there, but I cannot support Twitter other than using it as a contact base with those social media friends who have not yet joined the Twitter Migration to Mastodon.
And no. Facebook is not an option.
Tumblr, anyone? Anyone?
Chris Garrod, December 12th, 2022