Gone Good Old Twitter
I’ve always joked about how “influencers” and Instagram models are going to be so homeless if, one day, IG simply disappears. With its ever-changing algorithm, I’ve always thought of it as a yet another very fleeting moment in time. Because, let’s be honest, IG seems to be the least reliable of all social networks when it comes to promoting your work… or so I thought.
Little did I know it would actually be, what I used to call, my “home base” that would suddenly become the most troubled of all platforms. I’m talking about Twitter, of course.
Why does it even matter?
Well, for those of us who grew up in the Myspace and micro blogging era; a time leading to a digital world we didn’t even imagine. And specially for writers, poets, activists, and anyone with a voice, those little outlets were the “newspaper” of our time. So, it mattered.
As flawed as it was, Twitter worked because its founders shared that same vision. It was a source of a lot of important breaking news where, compared to other social media, you could easily fact-check the information being shared.
I remember, though, it was exactly that appeal that made me reject it back in 2007, when I tried to join Twitter for the first time. Perhaps, because I was younger and not very political, I found it boring and “too serious.” So I stuck with Facebook — only to find myself shutting down that account in 2015, after nine years, and sticking with Twitter instead. I never looked back.
Fast-forward to 2022, and here we are, in an unprecedented media mess. Why do I think it’s messy? I’m not going to list all of the problems, but let’s mention a crucial one: blue check mark.
The whole entire point of a verified account is so that the public can verify that it is real; that any information being shared by said account is legitimate. That way, we feel safe(ish) and more confident about re-sharing important information on such platform.
But when you remove that safety space, allowing everyone and their mom to be verified, what on earth is the point of being verified?! Not everyone on there has good intentions. It is bound to become a misinformation medium (just ask Eli Lilly and Co.) and that’s exactly what it’s becoming. And that’s exactly why I can no longer trust Twitter, nor its new owner.
This new owner is palpably entitled, arrogant, vindictive, and quite frankly, seems to have no idea how to manage a social medium. Let’s not forget he is basically saying hate speech is more than welcome. By reinstating the accounts of some major antagonists, like Trump et al., he’s showing that he has zero ethics in place and that his ONLY goal is to make money at any cost.
He couldn’t care less about “free speech” or “comedy” on Twitter. We’ve seen what he does with those accounts that criticize him! Aside from being the main troll in his own novel, he just wants to make money out of your praise for him and your desire to have a blue checkmark. That’s it. It is more than evident.
Now, on a personal level, it really saddens me that it was Twitter that it happened to. I loved it there. I shared my words, I connected with and learned from so many people — and now that’s all ruined. I should’ve known. Of course I knew not to get too comfortable. But I’ll say it out loud for future reference, and as a reminder to all: DO NOT GET ATTACHED TO ANY SOCIAL MEDIA.
As we’ve seen, it can be gone with the wind. Protect your sanity and always fact-check before sharing!
