I'm still on Twitter
As Usher would say: These are my confessions.
It’s uncool to like Twitter. Even before Elon Musk bought the platform and rebranded it as X, in the last few years, in media circles, it was mostly looked at as a necessary evil. So here’s my confession: I’ve always really liked Twitter, and I’m sad at the current state of the platform.
Twitter was more than where I got most of my news and some of the best jokes on the internet. It was a place where journalists found out about job opportunities and media gossip. It was a place where I could listen in (for free!) when industry experts talked and debated amongst themselves. Until recently, one of my best pieces of advice for up and coming journalists was to follow people smarter than them and just listen for awhile. I loved that I could easily connect with journalists across the world. It’s a place where I was inspired with so many new ideas, approaches, and formats for journalism.
It’s also a place where I was harassed. One time, a bunch of men were unhappy with a comment I made about an NFL game. My tweet made its way to a Fox News host, and when he amplified his disapproval, I was verbally attacked and threatened, not only on Twitter, but in my email inbox and across other social platforms where people with too much time on their hands could find me.
I don’t believe that any platform can take its place. We’ve been on the internet too long, and we know too much. I think we’re likely to see certain communities flock to one platform or another, which means that journalists will have to maintain profiles in many places. As a journalist, the most important function for me is to have a space where I can connect with audiences, share work that they’ll find helpful, and listen to what they care about. I’m still technically on Twitter, but I will go entire days without checking the app, which never happened in the before times. As far as competitors go, I’ve signed up for Threads and Bluesky. Bluesky is showing the most promise. Like Jay Peters said, it feels the most like Twitter. News publishers are joining, and I share a lot of Kevin Roose’s feelings.
One of the hard parts about moving platforms is recreating your feed. I’ve spent more than 15 years on Twitter, and I’ve carefully curated who I hear from. As people started to leave X and use LinkedIn more as a social platform in the last year or so, I used my Twitter following list as a guide for who to find on LinkedIn and follow.
Last week, I used a Chrome extension called Sky Follower Bridge to port over the people I follow on X to Bluesky. I follow 1,604 accounts on X; the tool found 497 Bluesky accounts. Most of them were right. A few were off, like when it found Episcopal priest Sara Fischer instead of media reporter Sara Fischer. But even if it’s not perfect, it’s nice to not be starting at zero. (Do you have a starter pack I should know about?!)
If you’re investing time into other platforms, I’d love to connect. Find me on Threads and Bluesky. Something I haven’t tried yet: Sill, a tool meant to streamline Bluesky and Mastodon.
What I’m reading
LinkedIn: What a 48-hour train ride taught me about audience-centered journalism
Two stories about the Salt Lake Tribune:
Angie Jones: The Betterment Metric: Do you identify areas for improvement and make them better without being prompted?
CNBC: Is the ‘vibecession’ here to stay? Here’s what experts say
Nieman Lab: The Atlantic’s Sarah Zhang on covering the science and emotion of being human
Harvard Business Review: How to Rehearse for an Important Presentation
And a bonus link: I refreshed my portfolio website.
One more thing
This weekend, I made a small craft with my 2 year old to highlight what he’s thankful for. I asked him about his favorite activities or food, but, in the end, he only listed the names of his friends and family that he loves to spend time with. It was incredibly heartwarming. Happy Thanksgiving!
See you next week,
Rachel
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