@cheri dang. This post really hit my heart. I think you're totally right. I got onto Twitter because I didn't know many people IRL that had similar interests to me. Twitter was the place I found people that loved things I loved and where I could talk about them comfortably.
@cheri wrote: "the opposite of Twitter isn’t Mastadon or Micro.blog. Instead it’s connection, friendship, and community. That’s what we’re mourning. Not the tweets and likes."
Absolutely brilliant!
Everyone, go read the article. It is short, direct and to the point. Not 280, but definitely worth your valuable time.
@cheri I'm using Twitter less and less, but haven't shut down my account entirely, because there are just things that Twitter does well that do not, and likely cannot, exist without a centralized social network. But that doesn't stop me from disliking/protesting its more negative traits. Thus, the right answer for me is just finding alternatives for what I can and try to use Twitter exclusively for the things that cannot be reproduced elsewhere. I've made some enduring friendships there, and it is definitely sad to watch the place deteriorate under clueless/indifferent leadership.
@cheri smart post. I’d noticed a lot of bargaining “the algorithmic timeline is fine, I don't need to read every post, who needs 3rd party apps anyway?” and denial “other apps will never replace Twitter” and anger (well, pick any tweet really)
@Lioncourt I haven’t deleted my account either, for similar reasons. I’m loathe to lose my writing buddies, but also pulling back in my participation.
@cheri Well said. I’ve been slowly scaling back the number of follows I give on the network, as for me that’s what has made it chaotic. I think of the social network Path, where they set a 150 person limit since research showed that’s the number of personal connections the average person could manage at once. That said, how I use Twitter now and how I used it early on are totally different. I do think we’re longing for real personal connections again and the realization Twitter isn’t it is hitting some people hard after they’ve invested so much into the thing. Social media can be a catalyst for connecting with those important to us, but it shouldn’t be the only thing. I think taking a step back from social media can only be a step in the right direction.
@cheri This is so well said. The whole Mastodon thing makes me wonder if decentralised works when so much of the labour is put on the individuals, when the thing we ought to prioritise most is this kind of work in physical space.
@simonwoods I read a book entitled My Year of Living Danishly and the author talked about the Danish social & sport clubs commonly held after work. Also regular gatherings in private homes to be cozy together during winter. I’d love to do something similar.
@cheri Yes, same. After we moved to this house in February some of the first things we did included talking to our new neighbours and we're super lucky to have a local coffee shop, bakery, clothing donation, and radio station all run by volunteers. After spending a lot of time escaping via the web it was too easy to forget just how awesome people can be IRL.
@cheri I think I read that! Is one of the clubs a big singing group? And they have big parties with friends outside the city right? I'm really keen to go spend some time in Scandinavia sometime soon!
@cheri I think everyone’s already made all the points I was going to make, so I’m just adding my thank you for your post 😊
@cheri I've just caught this post. It was probably written before I signed up to micro.blog. Brilliant! You really hit the nail on the head with this one. I have cut most of my social media accounts in the last month. Twitter, which I have been on since 2008, has been harder to say goodbye to. Twitterrific makes it more manageable for me. The only other one I'm barely hanging onto is Instagram, mainly because family are there, though I suspect that I will off that soon. It no longer lives on my phone and I occaisionally take a look via a browser.
