I discovered you on Twitter. I first would read Twitter without an account and finally got one, but I do not use my name (did at one point but then changed to be anonymous). I am a SBC pastors wife, mom, nurse practitioner and for me Twitter is a place where I feel like there are people who think the way I do about lots of things. With everything going on with SBC, my job as a nurse practitioner etc I feel like the ground is absolutely shifting under my feet. So many institutions I relied on are just not what I thought they were. Finding accounts like yours on Twitter has made the world feel less…lonely. You are one of my favorite accounts and I feel like we are friends!! I know it’s weird because we’ve never met and my account is anonymous but you have been so encouraging to me. So, I hope Twitter doesn’t go away.
I worry about losing my job/ not being able to find work in the future l/hurting my husband’s job if I make my account with my actual name. Outside of my husband and immediate family, there is no one I talk to about the topics I follow on Twitter. I don’t know anyone personally who uses Twitter.
You give words to things that I see and know to be true. That’s why I feel like we are friends. Thank you for writing.
Thanks so much for reading, SS! I'm so sorry you feel so isolated where you are. I've learned not to take people seriously when they pretend situations like yours are rare.
Well said. I wouldn’t plan the funeral just yet - not that you are. The whole verification/checkmark thing is changing all the time and I think we’re far from its final state.
I think Elon “gets” Twitter, and he’s just playing around with the controls and causing chaos because A) he is testing out various things to see how they work - he tweeted something to that effect last week, and B) he likes attention and controversy. On that note, I’d guess he’s saving the reintroduction of Babylon Bee for a day when he wants extra attention.
Musk narcissism flaws aside, I’ve got faith in his business acumen and vision, so I’m cautiously optimistic for Twitter.
The comment on unverified users and "spam" worried me though, because so much of Twitter's charm is the fun of discovering "randos" who are naturally clever/funny/insightful. That's the whole magic of the viral tweet.
I may have a unique perspective on this. I never had any social media until Substack about 6 months ago, and I only made a Twitter account a couple weeks back.
I agree completely with your assessment of Twitter: great way to stay updated/connected; huge time waster. I finally see what all the fuss is about, but people fuss over the stupidest things.
I wouldn’t count Twitter as down and out yet. The Muskinator is the visionary entrepreneur of our time. I’m sure he’s got something cooking.
As to utilizing the chat feature on Substack: You could post shorter essays that ask a question/raise a topic that you think deserves attention and then the chat feature will be a way for us (the audience/you) to hash things out. Twitter may be the largest public square on the internet, but it’s certainly not the only one.
Lastly: you mentioned it in passing, but the human brain was certainly not meant to process so much information at once. Twitter/the internet in general have immeasurable capabilities for promoting the general welfare; but people are people, so it’ll be used mostly for evils not yet comprehensible to the 21st century mind.
I discovered you on Twitter. I first would read Twitter without an account and finally got one, but I do not use my name (did at one point but then changed to be anonymous). I am a SBC pastors wife, mom, nurse practitioner and for me Twitter is a place where I feel like there are people who think the way I do about lots of things. With everything going on with SBC, my job as a nurse practitioner etc I feel like the ground is absolutely shifting under my feet. So many institutions I relied on are just not what I thought they were. Finding accounts like yours on Twitter has made the world feel less…lonely. You are one of my favorite accounts and I feel like we are friends!! I know it’s weird because we’ve never met and my account is anonymous but you have been so encouraging to me. So, I hope Twitter doesn’t go away.
I worry about losing my job/ not being able to find work in the future l/hurting my husband’s job if I make my account with my actual name. Outside of my husband and immediate family, there is no one I talk to about the topics I follow on Twitter. I don’t know anyone personally who uses Twitter.
You give words to things that I see and know to be true. That’s why I feel like we are friends. Thank you for writing.
Thanks so much for reading, SS! I'm so sorry you feel so isolated where you are. I've learned not to take people seriously when they pretend situations like yours are rare.
Well said. I wouldn’t plan the funeral just yet - not that you are. The whole verification/checkmark thing is changing all the time and I think we’re far from its final state.
I think Elon “gets” Twitter, and he’s just playing around with the controls and causing chaos because A) he is testing out various things to see how they work - he tweeted something to that effect last week, and B) he likes attention and controversy. On that note, I’d guess he’s saving the reintroduction of Babylon Bee for a day when he wants extra attention.
Musk narcissism flaws aside, I’ve got faith in his business acumen and vision, so I’m cautiously optimistic for Twitter.
The comment on unverified users and "spam" worried me though, because so much of Twitter's charm is the fun of discovering "randos" who are naturally clever/funny/insightful. That's the whole magic of the viral tweet.
I may have a unique perspective on this. I never had any social media until Substack about 6 months ago, and I only made a Twitter account a couple weeks back.
I agree completely with your assessment of Twitter: great way to stay updated/connected; huge time waster. I finally see what all the fuss is about, but people fuss over the stupidest things.
I wouldn’t count Twitter as down and out yet. The Muskinator is the visionary entrepreneur of our time. I’m sure he’s got something cooking.
As to utilizing the chat feature on Substack: You could post shorter essays that ask a question/raise a topic that you think deserves attention and then the chat feature will be a way for us (the audience/you) to hash things out. Twitter may be the largest public square on the internet, but it’s certainly not the only one.
Lastly: you mentioned it in passing, but the human brain was certainly not meant to process so much information at once. Twitter/the internet in general have immeasurable capabilities for promoting the general welfare; but people are people, so it’ll be used mostly for evils not yet comprehensible to the 21st century mind.