I like Substack Notes a lot *better* than Twitter.
I got on Twitter because I was told I needed to be there for the career I was pursuing at the time. That was probably correct at the time, but it had stopped being true by the time I left that career - and in the intervening decade Twitter had left so many lives destroyed by mobs in its wake. Plus Twitter had generally come to replace the more substantial ideas on blogs. I don't miss it.
On Notes, most of the quips have a 500-word essay of substantial argument behind them. It feels like a much more civilized place.
Relationships are strengthened when people relate (couples, families, teams, tribes, cities, states, nations). At each stage there is common ground. The trick to making this more global is finding commonality. As a general rule (IMHO) we are either looking for differentiation or connection.
For many of us, Twitter was a form of first love and you can't completely replace a formative experience that has been imprinted in your mind. For many other people, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat are that place. As could be Reddit, Mastodon. .alt newsgroups or message boards. I spent 15 years on Twitter but I quit in early November 2022: the timing says it all, I think.
Your thoughts on branding's impact on social media usage do have value but are not universally applicable. My mother, my aunts and my cousins may be on Facebook but for the most part they aren't there to consciously brand themselves: they're there to see photos and occasionally encourage other family members about the good things happening in their lives. And yes, to occasionally complain and agree with other people are saying. But really, your comments are about people who use social media tools for activism, fandom and to earn money. They are important but they aren't everything. Although their content ultimately drives the platform's revenue.
One side note: one of the most valuable Twitter use cases I've ever seen is when school districts post school closures due to snow storms, which forces a lot of people to quickly replan their days. The same for other natural disasters, criminal actions and more. If we could get that kind of universal service without all of the other headaches of social media that would be fantastic. Email or text messages could do the same thing, I suppose, but Twitter made it quick and easy.
I'm like you, Gurwinder, in that I'm eternally grateful that social media allowed me to connect with interesting and talented people that I'd never meet in person: it really can (and does) flatten and shrink the world. In retrospect, I kind of wish Twitter had begun as a subscription based service because it could have scaled without as much need for ad revenues. But then it would have been much, much different and would have lost its disruptive power. Although we wouldn't be hooked into it the way gamblers are hooked on video gambling.
Having said all that, I think I've given up on the quest for the ultimate universal social media app. Maybe instead of apps we need to think of them as different clubs that we join and leave as wanted. And recognize that people are going to be people, some more unquestioning and malleable than others.
Wow, thanks for that comment, Mark. Many great thoughts there.
I really like the 'first love' analogy and you're absolutely, right, I should have made the distinction between people who are on social media only to 'keep in touch' versus the people who are actively trying to recruit subscribers/followers. Great point.
A lot of my male friends try to follow extremely attractive women that they judged as extremely attractive in <1 second. Me? I follow middle-aged dudes with huge beards.
It’s just as arbitrary, only, instead of my feed being riddled with a bunch of beautiful women I’ll never talk to, I get all my news and updates from a bunch of guys who look like wizards.
The latest internet gossip hits different when the guy explaining it to you always looks like Gandalf.
I’m half kidding. No, in all seriousness, I’m actually a bit optimistic about Threads. Twitter is over as far as I’m concerned and it’s only a matter of time. The main reason I use it is to get/keep in touch with science researchers.
I think this is what people are forgetting. Science needs a way to communicate in today’s world. And the Musk-Rogan-Hotez fiasco has assured anyone who remotely cares about science that Twitter isn’t the place for that.
I sense Threads will eventually replace it entirely.
Possible. The Meta factor gives me the creeps a little bit, though. Then again, all these platforms probably siphon our data to whoever pays. Any thoughts on BlueSky?
I think Meta gets an unfair amount of flak just because they’re the oldest, but absolutely everyone is doing what they’re doing data wise, Twitter included.
Fun fact: you know that little pop-up that comes on your screen whenever you visit a website that asks permission to track/share data/install cookies? Before I was a writer, I worked to get the California law passed that made that happen. I’m pretty sure it’s worldwide, but if not, it’s a US privacy law that gives users permission to stop the data tracking, as I think they should be able to.
Personally, I don’t mind it. I’d rather have ads for music instruments than tampons.
I like Substack Notes a lot *better* than Twitter.
I got on Twitter because I was told I needed to be there for the career I was pursuing at the time. That was probably correct at the time, but it had stopped being true by the time I left that career - and in the intervening decade Twitter had left so many lives destroyed by mobs in its wake. Plus Twitter had generally come to replace the more substantial ideas on blogs. I don't miss it.
On Notes, most of the quips have a 500-word essay of substantial argument behind them. It feels like a much more civilized place.
I agree, Amod.
Notes is still quite young, though, so I wonder if it will manage to keep the Twitterification at bay...
Relationships are strengthened when people relate (couples, families, teams, tribes, cities, states, nations). At each stage there is common ground. The trick to making this more global is finding commonality. As a general rule (IMHO) we are either looking for differentiation or connection.
Very true. Too bad that there are people who try to turn this commonality-seeking to their advantage.
For many of us, Twitter was a form of first love and you can't completely replace a formative experience that has been imprinted in your mind. For many other people, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat are that place. As could be Reddit, Mastodon. .alt newsgroups or message boards. I spent 15 years on Twitter but I quit in early November 2022: the timing says it all, I think.
Your thoughts on branding's impact on social media usage do have value but are not universally applicable. My mother, my aunts and my cousins may be on Facebook but for the most part they aren't there to consciously brand themselves: they're there to see photos and occasionally encourage other family members about the good things happening in their lives. And yes, to occasionally complain and agree with other people are saying. But really, your comments are about people who use social media tools for activism, fandom and to earn money. They are important but they aren't everything. Although their content ultimately drives the platform's revenue.
One side note: one of the most valuable Twitter use cases I've ever seen is when school districts post school closures due to snow storms, which forces a lot of people to quickly replan their days. The same for other natural disasters, criminal actions and more. If we could get that kind of universal service without all of the other headaches of social media that would be fantastic. Email or text messages could do the same thing, I suppose, but Twitter made it quick and easy.
I'm like you, Gurwinder, in that I'm eternally grateful that social media allowed me to connect with interesting and talented people that I'd never meet in person: it really can (and does) flatten and shrink the world. In retrospect, I kind of wish Twitter had begun as a subscription based service because it could have scaled without as much need for ad revenues. But then it would have been much, much different and would have lost its disruptive power. Although we wouldn't be hooked into it the way gamblers are hooked on video gambling.
Having said all that, I think I've given up on the quest for the ultimate universal social media app. Maybe instead of apps we need to think of them as different clubs that we join and leave as wanted. And recognize that people are going to be people, some more unquestioning and malleable than others.
Wow, thanks for that comment, Mark. Many great thoughts there.
I really like the 'first love' analogy and you're absolutely, right, I should have made the distinction between people who are on social media only to 'keep in touch' versus the people who are actively trying to recruit subscribers/followers. Great point.
Thanks for stopping by!
A lot of my male friends try to follow extremely attractive women that they judged as extremely attractive in <1 second. Me? I follow middle-aged dudes with huge beards.
It’s just as arbitrary, only, instead of my feed being riddled with a bunch of beautiful women I’ll never talk to, I get all my news and updates from a bunch of guys who look like wizards.
The latest internet gossip hits different when the guy explaining it to you always looks like Gandalf.
Interesting strategy.
Maybe I should try growing a beard...
I’m half kidding. No, in all seriousness, I’m actually a bit optimistic about Threads. Twitter is over as far as I’m concerned and it’s only a matter of time. The main reason I use it is to get/keep in touch with science researchers.
I think this is what people are forgetting. Science needs a way to communicate in today’s world. And the Musk-Rogan-Hotez fiasco has assured anyone who remotely cares about science that Twitter isn’t the place for that.
I sense Threads will eventually replace it entirely.
Possible. The Meta factor gives me the creeps a little bit, though. Then again, all these platforms probably siphon our data to whoever pays. Any thoughts on BlueSky?
I think Meta gets an unfair amount of flak just because they’re the oldest, but absolutely everyone is doing what they’re doing data wise, Twitter included.
Fun fact: you know that little pop-up that comes on your screen whenever you visit a website that asks permission to track/share data/install cookies? Before I was a writer, I worked to get the California law passed that made that happen. I’m pretty sure it’s worldwide, but if not, it’s a US privacy law that gives users permission to stop the data tracking, as I think they should be able to.
Personally, I don’t mind it. I’d rather have ads for music instruments than tampons.
Meta has size too, which can be both advantage and disadvantage.
Nice. In Europe, GDPR regulations handle most of that stuff. Plenty of pop-ups all over the place.