No one knows how this story will end, though the story's conclusion seems pretty obvious. A social media giant is edging toward oblivion. The question today is, do we care? Will its demise affect us?
Founded in 2006 as Twttr, this 140-character (then 280) behemoth became a mainstay for all sorts of people. Its ability to connect us quickly led to hundreds of millions of daily users. While not an early adapter, I did use this platform to promote this blog and occasionally leave comments on an issue that caught my eye.
I was hacked (twacked) once but came back. Then, as the online world started to harden and split into warring camps, I left for good four years ago. With the recent change in ownership and a promised adjustment in policies, I was tempted to step back into that environment but avoided the siren call.
Rather quickly, it became clear that this service was moving in the wrong direction. After paying around $44 billion, the new owner seemed to have no idea how to manage his new toy. Advertisers left in droves while the crazies came back. The company fired more than half its employees and stopped paying rent on time. One report says people had to bring their own toilet paper from home after janitorial cuts left bathrooms unstocked. Offices and server facilities were shuttered.
In days past, politicians, and one in particular, used this platform to govern. That meant announcing policy changes, prodding someone to do something, or insulting or denigrating everyone from world leaders to school teachers, scientists, to business people. It could be bragging about some achievement or complaining about a perceived slight.
Under at least some control after a rocky period of several years, the flood of false and misleading information, racial and sexual hatred, or posts designed to tear us apart returned with a vengeance. Visiting this site risked being overwhelmed with negativity and opinions separated from reality.
Once a mainstay of daily communication for so many of us, how long will Twitter remain a functioning business? What, if anything, will replace it? Have our social media habits changed to the point where many will simply abandon this outlet, regardless of what happens? Will a new social media force rise from the ashes?
So, now the questions are for you. This post is an opinion post by me. I have left Twitter; several hundred million others have not. Clearly, they are hoping that the ship will steer clear of the rocks dead ahead and find a way to fix whatever is wrong.
Where do you stand? Have you been a Twitter user in the past and are still tweeting, hoping for the best? Or have you left the blue bird for other options? Will the social media world be better off with a functioning Twitter, or has its time in the sun come to an end?
I used to be on Twitter but left after realizing that it was a sewer of negative energy.
ReplyDeleteEven before the change in ownership it had turned sour for me, too.
DeleteI'm just a bystander in the world of social media. Aside from my blog, I don't have any social media accounts. I stay in touch with family members and friends via phone, texts and emails. A true dinosaur. Alan has a Facebook account with two friends - our kids. He opened it to keep an eye on them when they got their own Facebook accounts. We use it occasionally to sell a vehicle on Marketplace. My observation is that social media is cyclical.
ReplyDeleteWith society's insatiable appetite for the next new thing (BeReal, anyone?), I'm not sure any of them will stick around forever. MySpace launched the social media craze in the early 2000's. Does anyone still use it? Does anyone remember it? Twitter may resurrect itself, die a slow death or go up in flames. Pass the popcorn.
"Pass the popcorn." At the moment it reminds me of a bad action movie: you know the ending but keep watching as a guilty pleasure.
DeleteI tried for blog promotion, but have tweeted little in months. It was used by conference attendees to promote causes, but it's been a while for that. I say it will just fade out, or be talking characters to other talking characters.
ReplyDeleteA slow fade into media history, like MySpace, or even AOL mail. Everything has a lifespan. Twitter has overstayed its.
DeleteNo Twitter-hope he goes broke on it frankly. One should understand a business before firing essential staff. I joined FB only because the next generation (nieces/nephews) told me they would no longer send photos/notes about their children but rather, post there. I continue to use it. Recently, the youngest of that generation has moved to Instagram. So now I am there for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteI could live without Social Media but I would miss the photos and family updates.
Facebook has really become the place for parents and grandparents. Instagram, TikTok...no interest for me.
DeleteIt is ungracious, but watching this investment go down the toilet is oddly satisfying. His car company is struggling, too. Hubris can be an evil mistress.
My comment is ungracious for sure. His blatant disregard for humans, in laying off nearly 50% of the workforce without first making an attempt to understand the business and the value they offered the platform, is truly the first time I've disrespected him.
DeleteActually, after reading your first paragraph I thought you were talking about facebook which I use infrequently for the same reasons -- too much political diatribe and after you've already seen a hundred pictures of your friends' grandchildren, do you really want to see any more? I am also on twitter but just haven't paid much attention. Our family uses a site called "Family Album" to post photos and videos on a sign-in basis only.
ReplyDeleteThis could have been about Facebook, but Twitter's implosion seems more likely at this time. I believe Mr. Musk's first large interest payment in due in April. That might be the breaking point.
DeleteI use Twitter only for the following:
ReplyDeleteTo follow a media financial person I like so I get notifications when he has new articles in the mainstream newspaper he works for.
The other time I use Twitter is to notify local utilities if there's an outage of some kind that lasts longer than say 30 minutes. It doesn't happen often but rather than calling and getting caught up in endless "press this button, press that button" and waiting on hold for what seems like an interminable amount of time I send them a tweet, I just give the street name, say there's no service, and leave it at that. All the utilities have someone that monitors their twitter feed so I figure they'll get the message.
As for the new owner of Twitter I agree with you, he doesn't seem to know what he's doing. Perhaps it's a case of being so successful it lead him to believe he can do anything. Apparently not.
Mr. Musk's luster has suffered some serious damage. I don't really see an exit strategy that leaves Tesla and him in one piece..
DeleteTwitter had it's first profitable quarter in FY 2022. There are two ways to increase a companies profitability one is to increase sales, the other is to decrease expenses.
ReplyDeleteFor all the laid off employees it hasn't affected the user experience. It reminds me of what Samuel Clemens said, "the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated."
I tried Twitter and stopped using it many years ago. I've been of the opinion that Twitter is for assholes who want to fight each other for a long time. Since there are no shortages of the afore mentioned people Twitter will do just fine. The problem with censorship is when it was McCarthy and HUAC were censoring Communists everyone was opposed to it when Twitter was are censoring people that disagree with you then everyone is for it. Bob, have you ever read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. In February 1945, Solzhenitsyn is arrested for writing comments in private letters to a friend about Joseph Stalin. He spent eight years on the Soviet Labor Camps.
Doctors' were silenced by Social Media Corporations at the request of our government for distributing false information. Do you really want the Government to censor the next Galileo or Copernicus? Doctors' all said Ignaz Semmelweis was crazy for advocating Doctors wash their hands before touching a patient, that unwashed hands can kill.
Every horrible act perpetrated on Native Americans and Blacks was either done by our government or with it's blessing. Should minorities be allowed to use Twitter once the government labels their speech misinformation?
Twitter has lost the bulk of its advertising support, so I doubt profitable quarters will continue once the firing stops.
DeleteI really am not sure what your point is in your last comment, but I did read something interesting to add to all this: there is a big difference between misinformation and disinformation. The former is due to lack of knowledge, the latter is a conscious effort to distort or incite.
I have a Twitter account but have never used it. I am active on Facebook for the friends I've been able to reestablish contact with after many years, for new friends who live elsewhere, and for Facebook groups, especially the Buy Nothing movement.
ReplyDeleteSo you will not miss Twitter! I use Facebook just enough to keep my foot in social media.
DeleteFor me, Twitter used to be the place to see the latest news links when something happened...real time updates. Since Musk took over, that is over and it has somehow started showing me a lot of people I disagree with...most Trumpers and ranting politicians on the right wing. So I have had to mute so many people it's just not worth my time anymore. The disinformation is maddening and I agree that once Musk gets his profit bump from all the firing he did, the site is going to become either irrelevant or a right wing echo chamber -- if it survives. Either way, he is in the soup. And Tesla isn't doing so well either.
ReplyDeleteThere are other people developing Twitter type sites (Post, Spoutable,etc.) but I doubt any of them will reach the heights Twitter did pre-Musk.
I agree. Even if Twitter somehow survives as a business, it will be mostly populated with misinformation, sketchy advertising, and people full of anger and hate.
DeleteHey Bob! I was a "member" of Twitter for years. I hoped it helped promote my blog and writing but I wasn't nearly as invested in it as I am on Facebook. I used to be able to track where people were coming from and FB by far was more important. So when you know who started pulling all his stuff I just dropped out of Twitter. While once in a while I'm tempted because there were a few interesting memes on it, it's not worth the time. And I don't want to do anything to support Musk at this point. As for FB. I only follow people who stick with the positive and have created my own bubble (good and bad??) so I enjoy checking in with people there so not likely to give it up. We all have to choose how to spend our time, right? ~Kathy
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, it is about balancing time invested and what is gained. Like you, I used Twitter for blogging promotion until the environment turned toxic; it didn't make sense to have the blog associated with all the problems, so I stopped.
DeleteNow, I am writing for myself and those who find me here. Promotion is no longer part of the reason I do this and that makes life much simpler.
It has now been over a year since I withdrew from all social media and canceled all my accounts. So my response to your post is a bit more wide ranging. I've been thinking of writing a blog post about it, so I was very interested in yours. Although I did have a Twitter account, I never really used it. I was more active on Facebook and Instagram. Like you and others, my initial motivation was to promote my writing, although I also used a private social media account to keep up with family and friends. Now with all account closed, it has been an adjustment, mostly positive, occasionally frustrating when I am trying to connect with a business or organization that only operates through Facebook. There are friends and family folks I don't keep up with as well, and I miss that, but going back to texting and email has worked well enough to stay in touch. So no, I won't miss Twitter, and I hope that its anticipated demise might actually do some good.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt that the end of Twitter would 1) be a good thing. And, 2) be replaced by something without all the baggage and vitriol, at least for awhile.
DeleteIn the beginning, I tried it for maybe two weeks and deleted my account. It wasn't for me.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the club!
DeleteI quickly saw twitter as a gossip column for the left. It was used well to dis / cancel and public hate people. I shy away from anything one sided. Tough these days.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I see Musk as a Howard Hughes of this day. Way more philanthropic then most other billionaires. Brilliant. Darling of the left until he defended anyone’s right to speak.
I find this whole thing enjoying to watch.
It is sort of like watching a slow motion car accident. The ending seems predestined but the details remain unclear until the end.
DeleteTesla's timing and evolution were very impressive. Twitter has shown there are limits to what one wants and what one can do.
Never had an account, never would. Social media had promise, potentially an important tool to increase and foster communication and education. But just like guns (another tool) a few choose to use it as a means of destruction. If it all went away tomorrow I would not shed a tear.
ReplyDeleteRick in Oregon
I have some friends on FB but have not had any skin in the Twitter world for years. It is a news story that is interesting to follow, but the fate of the service is irrelevant to me.
DeleteI have never been on Twitter. I feel like I only have so much time in my life that I will allow for social media, so I need to be very particular about where I spend it. I like FB to keep up with friends and family. I follow a few people on IG for recipes, ideas and inspiration. But Twitter is a "no" for me. Unless you count blogs...oh I hope this does not include blogs! This does not include blogs does it?!? I love a good blog!
ReplyDeleteBlogs are a separate category of social media. Rest easy, Marian! And, keep blogging.
DeleteI started using Twitter to follow my kid and then expanded to various other folks that seemed interesting or entertaining. However it's become more and more negative. I also used to see more breaking news on the site and now it's usually fake news. Reading about how Elon has acted as CEO has made me want to delete the app or at least hide it so I don't click through on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteYour experience mirrors what most of these comments reflect: disappointment in its dire3ction and usefulness.
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