I joined twitter around 2008. In fact, I joined, deactivated and rejoined several times before it finally stuck in 2010. Microblogging, as it was once affectionally called, was brand new and I wasn't at all convinced it was for me. Of course, as it turned out, what I hadn't managed to find during my first few attempts was community. But once I did locate my people, I was hooked. I spent the next decade+ making that space my virtual home, training other educators how to use it and creating a network of humans who made both my professional and personal selves smarter and happier. Here are some things that absolutely would not have happened for me were it not for Twitter:
I wouldn't have been connected with Donna MacDonald - who sent me a DM, back in 2012, asking if I'd like to give the keynote at the Vermont Library Association conference. I'd never given a keynote before and, literally, had to confirm she'd sent the message to the right person! I think my exact words were, "are you sure you have the right Jennifer?" Turns out she did. Since then, I've given hundreds, if not thousands, of keynotes and have traveled countless miles to speak at conferences. This would not have happened without Donna. While I never set out to be a public speaker, these experiences have been filled with joy, and I am so grateful to Donna for seeing that potential in me.
I wouldn't have been connected with Darren Hudgins - with whom I've written two books. I often joke that Darren is my "brother from another mother" and even though I'm the older sibling, he's definitely the wiser one. My life is infinitely better with "Hudgy" in it.
I wouldn't have been connected with Joyce Valenza - who was not only an early adopter of Twitter and, for many years, the leading library voice there, but who is also responsible for my connection to the MLIS program at Rutgers. Everyday, I am thankful for the opportunity to teach preservice librarians through this program and I know that would never have happened had Joyce and I found each other on Twitter.
I wouldn't have been connected with John Schu - who, thanks to our connection on Twitter, sent me a copy of RJ Palacio's Wonder with a mix tape (CD) tucked in side. I remember knowing the moment I saw songs by Nathalie Merchant and The Magnetic Fields in the mix that John and I were meant to be friends. But beyond that, John has proved to be a conduit for me to so many book creators. My podcast wouldn't exist without him. My connection to Bookelicious wouldn't exist without him. I can't imagine my life without John Schu in it.
I could go on and on, y'all. But you get the picture. It's the people that made that space so magical. And as capitalism usurped community as the driving force behind Twitter, that space was changed forever - and not for the better. What's more, it's the crumbling of community that, for me anyway, has made leaving Twitter so hard. In truth, I've been gone from Twitter for awhile now. I stopped posting/responding back in September, but I've been contemplating a move for at least a year prior to that.
(MY) TWITTER IS BROKEN
Long time readers may remember when I made the decision to leave Facebook. At the time, I cited a number of things as motivating my departure. A big part of it had to do with the conflict I felt about supporting a company whose business model depends on the spread of mis-, dis- and mal-information. Obviously, that has contributed to my decision to leave Twitter, too. But the reality is, I'm still on Instagram (which is owned by Meta), so... clearly these choices are motivated by more than just ideals.
When I left Facebook, I was struggling with the anxiety the space caused me. The way unmoderated "professional groups" seemed to attract and amplify the very worst practices caused me a great deal of stress. Additionally, after my mother died in 2017, I felt bombarded by Facebook memories (a new feature at that time) that forced me to look at her posts and photos when I really, really didn't want to. (At that time, I was unable to deactivate her account). In the end, I simply no longer enjoyed Facebook. Spending time there no longer felt good. Put another way: I took stock of the time and attention I was pouring into that space and found the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.
Now, the same is true for Twitter.
Putting aside my personal feelings about its owner and the politics that are now inescapable there, the things that once drew me to Twitter are now broken.
Despite repeated efforts to game the algorithm toward education and book people, my feed was consistently full of engagement porn; that is to say, sensational and, far too often, hate filled content designed to trigger emotions, increase engagement and contribute to dopamine addiction.
Although I've never been one to focus on follower or engagement metrics (you may have noticed I removed like counts and comments from this blog a long time ago!) even I recognized that fewer and fewer people were seeing my content on Twitter. Its pay for play model, that forces people to subscribe in order to have their content seen by their own followers, feels, to be blunt, undemocratic. I'll be frank: I can afford $8, $12 or even $24 per month and I might be willing to pay that for a service that allows users to upload higher quality/longer content, because I recognize that hi-res photos/videos or longer posts actually use up data that isn't free, but paying for exposure just feels gross - especially after all the flag waving around social media supposedly democratizing information. While that has (nearly) always been a myth, Twitter isn't even pretending anymore.
To be clear, as a white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, middle class woman I am NOT the target of most of the hate that has become ubiquitous on Twitter. And yet, there have been a few moments when even I didn't feel safe there. As an example, not long ago, when I commented on a post from my state's governor (thanking him for passing some legislation), someone I didn't follow responded by posting a photo of my house (which I guess they found online?) alongside some name calling and vague threats. The most discouraging part was that, even after reporting the post, Twitter found it didn't violate their policies.
In much the same way that facebook did, Twitter has simply become too toxic for me.
SO... WHAT'S NEXT?
Like a lot of people, I've made a habit of grabbing my username when new social media sites pop-up - even if I really have no intention of using them. I made the mistake of NOT doing that with Instagram (many moons ago) and TikTok, so... while I am in both of those places, my username is different from the one I use most, which I find very annoying! Plus, I don't want someone else to take my name and use it nefariously (which, let's face it, could definitely happen). Recently, I've been putting more effort into exploring both Bluesky and Threads. Here are my feelings so far.
Threads:
Pros:
It's not Twitter.
It's connected to Instagram, so it's easy to cross post.
By default, users have 15 minutes to edit a post after first sharing it.
There's a "pin thread" feature available in the webapp that makes it very easy to sort Threads into columns, which reminds me a bit of Tweet Deck.
Cons:
Like Instagram, its algorithm is engagement driven, so I see a lot of content I am not interested in.
I suspect this is the same for many of the people I've been connected to on other places, because I'm seeing very little engagement there on Threads.
I hate the limitations on hashtags. I get it... it's a different thing. It's just not a thing I enjoy.
Threads is owned by Meta which means it is constantly trying to get you to post across its products. Some of these features have been turned on without my permission and I've had to turn them off.
I have yet to find my community here.
Nothing about Threads feels particularly joyful or creative (to me).
Bluesky:
Pros:
It's not Twitter.
Its not algorithm driven, so while there are algorithms at work, they are not the center of the Bluesky universe, which means users have a great deal of control over what they see and how they see it. For example, Bluesky allows you to sort your feeds chronologically (rather than by posts with the most engagement). I'm only being a little dramatic when I say that I nearly cried when I figured this out!
Safety of users is a priority. Debbie Ridpath Ohi (who should be listed as a "pro" herself!) was quoted in this article as saying, “I adore Bluesky. While so many other new platforms chased user numbers, Bluesky focused on user safety first, and that made a huge difference." This has been my experience, too. Of course, trolls are gonna troll, but Bluesky has an active and responsive safety team that takes user safety very seriously.
One crazy cool feature in Bluesky is "starter packs." These are, essentially, lists that allow you to share users and feeds to help people who are new to Bluesky find their community. There are starter packs for just about everything under the sun and if you can't find the one you are looking for, you can always make it!
Bluesky is open source, so while that doesn't mean a villianaire can't swoop in and buy it, but it does mean that if one does, the Bluesky platform can be (relatively) easily replicated.
Capitalism isn't king in this space. There are currently no ads on Bluesky, which means that there isn't a monetary incentive for the company to prioritize some content creators over others. I think we may see a time when Bluesky offers a subscription model, but I'm hoping that will be about allowing users to create more robust content (see my cons below) and not about paying for exposure.
I am almost shocked by the level of authentic engagement I am experiencing on Bluesky - and I'm not (only) talking about numbers. It's been so easy to find my community AND for them to find me in return. I'd almost forgotten how inspiring it is to be a part of an authentic learning community that makes it easy for me to find and share content. It's been a long time since social media felt like a true PLN to me, but I've found that feeling again on Bluesky.
The joy, y'all. The joy. Maybe I am just projecting, but it feels like a lot of people have also been mourning the loss of the community they built and cherished on Twitter. It's joyful to see those communities find one another again. Plus, at a time when joy feels in short supply, I'm grabbing every example I can find with both hands.
Cons:
Post/content size is still pretty limited. I'd love a few more characters and the ability to post longer videos. A (free) edit button would be nice, too.
It's not possible to create private accounts, that are accessible only to the users you follow. (However, the block feature is available on Bluesky - which is no longer the case for Twitter).
Similarly, it's not yet possible to create group chats/DMs.
It's new! And so are a lot of its users - this means that it can sometimes be a little glitchy and lots of people (me included!) are making mistakes. I am not sure if this is a con so much as an occasional annoyance.
WHEN YOU REACH ME - And I hope you do!
(Yes, that's a nod to one of my favorite books of all time!) As I said in my final Tweet: "You can find me in all the other places - and I really hope you do." While that may have been a bit of an overstatement, as I'm not everywhere, here's where you can find me for now. And, y'all... I truly hope you do. If there's one thing I've learned from the demise of Twitter, it's that these networks are important to me both personally and professionally. I've been sad, for a long time, about the effect our current era of social media has had on me and on us. Still.. I'm convinced there's goodness to be found in these spaces... but only if we make it.
