Thanks for writing this. I've been struggling to understand why using Twitter felt more and more unbearable in the lead up to the election, and reading this this morning was sort of a eureka moment for me. It used to be a great site to learn from various communities that I might not have to opportunity to in real life, and that has been less and less the case for awhile now.
I used Twitter both professionally and personally, but opted out after Elmo bought it. On Threads but a different handle and I upvote but rarely post. Many of the people I followed on Twitter ended up here so I’m keeping things to those two for now. Bad news travels quickly so I don’t need to read it in ten places. 😉
I left Twitter when Elno Mush bought it, because I knew that he would ruin it for everyone but the racists. Not joining Bluesky or any other social media site, as I don't want to. It seems that every site ends up ruined, even if not intentional, as in the case of Twitter, because of trolls, and the sites have no idea how to stop it.
Dear Mr. Musk: I wouldn't care if you built the Starship Enterprise by yourself — it wouldn't change the slop in your support, your program, and your words. Not to mention how this sh*thole is evolving in reverse — as the behavior on here is an embarrassment to the entire history of human achievement. Left & Right!
I’ve always hated Twitter and every long-form version of it (Reddit, Substack, and anything and everything claiming to be something it’s not). When I’m done doing what I gotta do — I’m never goin’ back. Until then, I’m sending out a certain set of messages looking for intelligent life (fiercely independent thinkers who want to solve problems — not endlessly talk about them).
Think of my signals as a poor man’s SETI: I’ve got an idea — and it’s got teeth. There’s a way we can harness folly from the past for the benefit of the future. a.k.a. learning!
"You've Proven You're a Human"—Now You Are Free to Act Like an Animal:
This was a great history lesson. Thanks SER. I was only on Twitter briefly and shortly after it sold I skeedaddled. Made friends there and I was sad to not be in touch but I could no longer support a cesspool. Like a beloved pet that dies, the loss recedes slowly but it still recedes.
Thanks for the history. I never got used to Twitter nor used it much probably because I was already past the target audience age. But my kids still go there, especially the Gen Z one, for info and news.
I am all over threads though, and have seen some #blackthreads hashtags. I hope the community can rebuild there. Seems a bit less horrible
I had a Twitter account for awhile—I mainly used it to post on the NFLUK page during middle-of-the-night telecasts of Monday Night Football over here in the UK (I missed football so much!). Otherwise, I never got used to it—it was almost too big for me to navigate. My account sat dormant for a couple years after Elno and his Fanboy Armyᵀᴹ stunk the place up and I finally went in and deleted my account for good last month. I've considered Threads and Bluesky but don't know if I'd find a fit in those places, either.
I'm sort of afraid to stay on Twitter because Musk is likely to share user account info with the government for whatever sick shit they have planned. It may be too late for anyone who was ever on there but no reason to give them more content.
Because of the need for engagement, a number of people have ignored Spoutible, which is lefty-owned (and could be invested in...I am a small-ball investor in it for $100). The mechanics of Spoutible and its lack of algorithm make it a poor environment for chuds and other cranks and that kinda starves out the dunking ecosystem. This is despite it having a better feature set than its competitors.
I predict Bluesky, once leadership gets more amenable to shittiness, to take the same route as Xitter. I recall Jack Dorsey was begged over the years to ban the Nazis and he never really did.
Yeah I definitely have a presence there. but it is guarded because I know when rightwing or rightwing-curious techbros are in charge, eventually it degrades.
Am admittedly having a better time than I thought on Bluesky, though not really interacting much
great, informative piece, thank you Stephen. just wondering if anyone is checking out sez.us? it's a new platform. Joe Trippi, the Dem pollster in the Lincoln Project, is involved. supposed to be a safer space than Twitter, which is a low bar, but I'm going to check it out.
I haven't disabled my profile, but I did just create Blue Sky and Threads accounts @mirellastoyanova. I wonder how many people who haven't yet divested from X will in light of the election results last week. I know we're certainly not alone.
A lot of folks I know from Twitter are now on Bluesky. The X party is winding down; maybe it’ll start up again there. I just don’t have my heart in it anymore, so I’m now closing down my accounts just about everywhere (except Substack). I’m way too old for this sh*t.
Thanks Stephen--very interesting read. I wasn't aware that Twitter had disproportionately Black users--all the more shame that Musk has been turning it into a right wing hellscape.
I've enjoyed following your tweets on the site, but maybe it's time we all just abandoned it and let it devolve into the mess that all unmoderated websites turn into--if Musk wants Stormfront, let him have it, and watch $44 billion turn into pennies. If there's a need for a new site, we'll all find each other on it again.
Keep us posted if you leave Twitter for somewhere new--I know I will want to read your posts there!
I think of Twitter as a town square. It’s where all your best (and worst) media sources are. Or were, until now. It’s where everything was happening. And as Stephen explains, it was an inspiring jumping-off point for consciousness-raising and a welcome education in discovering that different communities existed. And you could interact, virtually, with literally anyone on the planet. I remain inordinately proud that people such as Peter Frampton, Glenn Kirschner and Marcus Flowers are among my followers. Where else would that ever happen?!
But now, that town square is packed with street-corner screamers, open-carriers, and shouty degenerates exposing themselves. It’s a dangerous part of town that should be left to the “morons, psychopaths and mental defectives.” (Bonus points for anyone who remembers that phrase from the ancient times back in the last century.)
In the words of WB Yeats: “It had all seemed happy, and yet we’d grown
Peter Frampton follows you on Twitter! Cool. My youngest and SIL went to his concert in Windsor OT for their anniversary trip this year. Millennials have good taste in music.
Peter Frampton lives in Nashville and was a big Gloria Johnson supporter. I guess that’s why he followed me. Also probably because I’ve been a fan for ~ 50 years.
This gives you a bigger platform to interact with. When your family is done hearing complaints about the election, you can find like minded people there. Same with any rabid fan base. It brings people together for common discussion
There's a number of people who get serious engagement and clout from fighting with chuds. That, I believe, is why they gravitate to other similar platforms and ignore safer spaces. And they keep giving Apartheid Clyde clicks.
Texting and e-mailing though, can often be unwieldy and it's difficult to follow a conversation thread in e-mail. I happen to be doing one now (juggling several e-mail chains) and it's really, really tough. And in addition the individual messages aren't addressable (they lack their own discrete URLS) which makes referencing very difficult.
That is the power of social media...it makes talking easier.
Oh yeah and texting, depending on your plan, costs money and also offers you fewer characters. And you may not be able to send pictures or videos (like GIFs) via text either.
Thanks for writing this. I've been struggling to understand why using Twitter felt more and more unbearable in the lead up to the election, and reading this this morning was sort of a eureka moment for me. It used to be a great site to learn from various communities that I might not have to opportunity to in real life, and that has been less and less the case for awhile now.
I used Twitter both professionally and personally, but opted out after Elmo bought it. On Threads but a different handle and I upvote but rarely post. Many of the people I followed on Twitter ended up here so I’m keeping things to those two for now. Bad news travels quickly so I don’t need to read it in ten places. 😉
I left Twitter when Elno Mush bought it, because I knew that he would ruin it for everyone but the racists. Not joining Bluesky or any other social media site, as I don't want to. It seems that every site ends up ruined, even if not intentional, as in the case of Twitter, because of trolls, and the sites have no idea how to stop it.
Dear Mr. Musk: I wouldn't care if you built the Starship Enterprise by yourself — it wouldn't change the slop in your support, your program, and your words. Not to mention how this sh*thole is evolving in reverse — as the behavior on here is an embarrassment to the entire history of human achievement. Left & Right!
I’ve always hated Twitter and every long-form version of it (Reddit, Substack, and anything and everything claiming to be something it’s not). When I’m done doing what I gotta do — I’m never goin’ back. Until then, I’m sending out a certain set of messages looking for intelligent life (fiercely independent thinkers who want to solve problems — not endlessly talk about them).
Think of my signals as a poor man’s SETI: I’ve got an idea — and it’s got teeth. There’s a way we can harness folly from the past for the benefit of the future. a.k.a. learning!
"You've Proven You're a Human"—Now You Are Free to Act Like an Animal:
https://centurionoftheseed.substack.com/p/youve-proven-youre-a-humannow-you
Same here. See you on Bluesky
This was a great history lesson. Thanks SER. I was only on Twitter briefly and shortly after it sold I skeedaddled. Made friends there and I was sad to not be in touch but I could no longer support a cesspool. Like a beloved pet that dies, the loss recedes slowly but it still recedes.
Thank you, Stephen. Great information I likely wouldn’t have found anywhere else. Grateful that you’re still here. ❤️
Thanks for the history. I never got used to Twitter nor used it much probably because I was already past the target audience age. But my kids still go there, especially the Gen Z one, for info and news.
I am all over threads though, and have seen some #blackthreads hashtags. I hope the community can rebuild there. Seems a bit less horrible
I had a Twitter account for awhile—I mainly used it to post on the NFLUK page during middle-of-the-night telecasts of Monday Night Football over here in the UK (I missed football so much!). Otherwise, I never got used to it—it was almost too big for me to navigate. My account sat dormant for a couple years after Elno and his Fanboy Armyᵀᴹ stunk the place up and I finally went in and deleted my account for good last month. I've considered Threads and Bluesky but don't know if I'd find a fit in those places, either.
I'm sort of afraid to stay on Twitter because Musk is likely to share user account info with the government for whatever sick shit they have planned. It may be too late for anyone who was ever on there but no reason to give them more content.
This is a great article and I miss Black Twitter.
Because of the need for engagement, a number of people have ignored Spoutible, which is lefty-owned (and could be invested in...I am a small-ball investor in it for $100). The mechanics of Spoutible and its lack of algorithm make it a poor environment for chuds and other cranks and that kinda starves out the dunking ecosystem. This is despite it having a better feature set than its competitors.
I predict Bluesky, once leadership gets more amenable to shittiness, to take the same route as Xitter. I recall Jack Dorsey was begged over the years to ban the Nazis and he never really did.
I hear that a lot of people are moving to Bluesky due to it not tolerating bullshit.
Yeah I definitely have a presence there. but it is guarded because I know when rightwing or rightwing-curious techbros are in charge, eventually it degrades.
Am admittedly having a better time than I thought on Bluesky, though not really interacting much
Well, I just started an account on Blue Sky. For what it's worth, I just started following you.
great, informative piece, thank you Stephen. just wondering if anyone is checking out sez.us? it's a new platform. Joe Trippi, the Dem pollster in the Lincoln Project, is involved. supposed to be a safer space than Twitter, which is a low bar, but I'm going to check it out.
I haven't disabled my profile, but I did just create Blue Sky and Threads accounts @mirellastoyanova. I wonder how many people who haven't yet divested from X will in light of the election results last week. I know we're certainly not alone.
A lot of folks I know from Twitter are now on Bluesky. The X party is winding down; maybe it’ll start up again there. I just don’t have my heart in it anymore, so I’m now closing down my accounts just about everywhere (except Substack). I’m way too old for this sh*t.
Thanks Stephen--very interesting read. I wasn't aware that Twitter had disproportionately Black users--all the more shame that Musk has been turning it into a right wing hellscape.
I've enjoyed following your tweets on the site, but maybe it's time we all just abandoned it and let it devolve into the mess that all unmoderated websites turn into--if Musk wants Stormfront, let him have it, and watch $44 billion turn into pennies. If there's a need for a new site, we'll all find each other on it again.
Keep us posted if you leave Twitter for somewhere new--I know I will want to read your posts there!
I’m on Bluesky now!
Thanks--I'm going to see about setting up an account there and finding your posts!
Ditto! I haven't clicked on any links to Twitter/X since the site was taken over by Elmo, and never will.
Yeah the only thing keeping me there was people I followed, but at this point it feels like it's supporting the beast. Time to cut the cord.
I think of Twitter as a town square. It’s where all your best (and worst) media sources are. Or were, until now. It’s where everything was happening. And as Stephen explains, it was an inspiring jumping-off point for consciousness-raising and a welcome education in discovering that different communities existed. And you could interact, virtually, with literally anyone on the planet. I remain inordinately proud that people such as Peter Frampton, Glenn Kirschner and Marcus Flowers are among my followers. Where else would that ever happen?!
But now, that town square is packed with street-corner screamers, open-carriers, and shouty degenerates exposing themselves. It’s a dangerous part of town that should be left to the “morons, psychopaths and mental defectives.” (Bonus points for anyone who remembers that phrase from the ancient times back in the last century.)
In the words of WB Yeats: “It had all seemed happy, and yet we’d grown
As weary-hearted as that hollow moon.”
Peter Frampton follows you on Twitter! Cool. My youngest and SIL went to his concert in Windsor OT for their anniversary trip this year. Millennials have good taste in music.
Peter Frampton lives in Nashville and was a big Gloria Johnson supporter. I guess that’s why he followed me. Also probably because I’ve been a fan for ~ 50 years.
This gives you a bigger platform to interact with. When your family is done hearing complaints about the election, you can find like minded people there. Same with any rabid fan base. It brings people together for common discussion
There's a number of people who get serious engagement and clout from fighting with chuds. That, I believe, is why they gravitate to other similar platforms and ignore safer spaces. And they keep giving Apartheid Clyde clicks.
Texting and e-mailing though, can often be unwieldy and it's difficult to follow a conversation thread in e-mail. I happen to be doing one now (juggling several e-mail chains) and it's really, really tough. And in addition the individual messages aren't addressable (they lack their own discrete URLS) which makes referencing very difficult.
That is the power of social media...it makes talking easier.
Oh yeah and texting, depending on your plan, costs money and also offers you fewer characters. And you may not be able to send pictures or videos (like GIFs) via text either.