Should you quit Twitter? What the drama around Musk’s bid for this ‘legacy’ social media is telling us

I’m going to start with a disclaimer up front: I’m not a huge Twitter fan.?

Oh sure, I jumped on board in 2009 and was all in. My first Tweet was about going to bed early. (Wow, earth shattering).

Twitter is a great channel for broadcasting, but lately let’s be honest - we’re really not getting a tonne (metric, y’all!)? of valuable engagement on Twitter. In fact, I’m getting more spam on my Twitter account these days than I am getting calls for air duct cleaning on my mobile phone.

And when Twitter started allowing 280 characters in 2017, I knew it had jumped the shark. I was teaching at Carleton University at the time, and the students and I had a laugh about it. Super cringey, as the kids said at the time.

It wasn’t always this way, of course. As a journalist and early adopter of Twitter I couldn’t get enough of the network. It was great for breaking news (we live-tweeted the court proceedings of a serial killer, consider Andy Carvin of NPR and how he live tweeted the Arab Spring from his couch in the U.S.), and we were able to some information from the people on scene.

Twitter was also, sadly, a vehicle for misinformation that often found its way onto primetime broadcast news (The Boston Marathon bombing and Sandy Hook shootings are prime examples.)

When it comes to getting the word out - true or false - Twitter shines. When it comes to where it lands and whether you're communicating with real people, Twitter can be, well, poop emoji.

I don’t know about you, but it feels to me like Twitter has been on life support for years now. Before Trump took office, its user numbers were in the basement. Of course, we all know what happened next.?

But somehow, many of us are still drawn to Twitter. I love how Katie Notopoulos sums it up in this Buzzfeed piece about ‘The Hell App.’

“But like the dopiest moths to the shittiest flame, we can’t tear ourselves away from it. Let’s be honest with ourselves: We will never quit this idiot site. Elon Musk will have to strap my phone onto a rocket and fire it into space to get me to log off.”

And what of Elon Musk’s $44-billion bid to buy this legacy social media app? It feels like there’s more high school drama here than the lead up to a killer promposal. While earlier enamoured by Twitter, it looks as though Musk is creating an exit strategy from the deal.?

On June 5, Musk said the number of fake accounts on the platform were causing him concern, and he threatened to walk away from the deal. I’m not going to poke fun at a guy who is clever enough to invent a damn-cool electric car, and put a phallic rocket into space, but is he only just realizing the number of fake accounts now? It’s an argument MSNBC labelled simply absurd.?

But maybe we’re the absurd ones? Why are we still on this site? I last used it during a major storm to see when the power would come on again. (Turns out the city’s hydro company was updating its site more often than Twitter, so that was a wasted effort).

And… there’s a lot of hate. I just don’t have time or energy for that.?

In some online discussion groups, most people who have quit Twitter state it is because of the negativity, aggressiveness and misinformation.?

My other complaint about Twitter is that it’s a bit of an echo chamber. Admittedly a lot of the folks I follow on Twitter are journalists, and I find they’re all just talking to each other. I feel sometimes like there’s an inside joke I’m just not getting - or isn’t funny.?

Many of these same journos are connections on LinkedIn, Instagram and/or Facebook, and there isn’t the same triviality to their posts. When I look at the ROI for Twitter (and we all know that Time is a precious commodity) it just isn’t there.

And I’m not alone. The New York Times recently reset its Twitter policy, asking employees to pull back on the platform.?

So, what’s your business to do? Before quitting Twitter (and yes, ironically I will be posting a link to this blog post on Twitter), ask yourself the basic questions of social media - are you having meaningful conversations with customers, potential customers and advocates on Twitter? If not, where are those happening? That’s the social platform where you should invest your energy.

Of course, you’ll want to keep an eye on Twitter for trolls/detractors/angry folks living in their mum’s basements, but I’m not sure it’s worth putting all your efforts.?I'm more reactive on Twitter than Proactive.

So yah, Twitter isn’t my first platform of choice - but it’s not others’ either. Check out this infographic from Statista on global social media platform usage - head way way down to the bottom of the list to find Twitter:

Among Twitter users, the greatest number of accounts may be in the U.S., but look where the social platform falls in Canada:

And, I hate to burst your bubble America, you might be winning this contest - but how many of those accounts are active?

It’s time to take a good, hard look at Twitter and see if the platform is serving us.?You need to ask: Is it serving you?

I feel like this old clunker has driven its last mile, and it’s time for an upgrade. And with the price of gas... let's consider a cleaner drive. Maybe an electric car?

(Author's Note: Yah, I know, my last post was about a month ago. Coincidentally, it was on the importance of timing - and how I endeavour to put this blog out weekly. And then I missed four weeks. Life happens, as you know. It’s good to be back)