Mastodon or Twitter after all?
Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter has caused a stir on that channel. What are the alternatives?
I am not switching to Mastodon and will stay on Twitter. If Twitter changes irreparably, becomes too expensive or deflates, then I will focus on LinkedIn business-wise and even more on writing for this blog personally.
The charm of Twitter for me though is that it is a plunge into a vast ocean where you don't know beforehand who or what you are going to encounter. I enjoy the many creative posts and opinions there, I learn every day and meet driven, funny as well as intelligent people. And often there is something new to see and laugh at, it sharpens the critical mind.
But now, because of the takeover, there is a lot of turmoil and uncertainty. People are taking no chances and exploring new avenues to secure future channels. Especially the German Mastodon and the somewhat nerdy Discord. I also found myself exploring LinkedIn posting and blogging.
And fortunately, I have always invested in my piece of property on the internet in the form of this blog. Something I can recommend to everyone.
Mastodon and Discord
Should Twitter change beyond recognition, either through content or a reverse network effect, I, personally, see no alternative in Mastodon. I have explored it, set up my Mastodon account, and feel as if I have gone from a busy market square into a shabby clubhouse. Complete with beanbags and atmospheric fluorescent lights. Kind of a vibe that used to hang around chat channels (IRC). Not my personal taste. And basically the same goes for Discord.
LinkedIn for professional messages
On Twitter, I have two accounts. A personal account on which I like to post trivial facts, nostalgic photos and historical stories and a professionally focused account on which I write about digital transformation, content writing and marketing technology.
That business account might be a better fit on LinkedIn, and I do engage more actively with that since the Twitter riot. What I miss on LinkedIn is that you can also just send informal updates about what you are learning, doing or experiencing. And there's no chatting about it, either.
Opinion
The personal account I will just keep going on Twitter, waiting out the storm and just moving on. Politics is not one of my themes here, and the fun, depth and social contact I find there are too valuable for me to already be thinking about saying goodbye to Twitter.
Do I have an idea or opinion whether Twitter will disappear into the same pit as Facebook? It seems to me that the race is far from over, and we just have to wait and see. A healthy option would be for Twitter to go from platform to more of a protocol, like HTTP or SMTP, as it is too vital a tool for the global (democratic) community to be lost. But it has (too) much money invested in it, and that has to be recouped somewhere.
Please let me know what you think below or talk further on Twitter ;-) You are welcome to subscribe for free for more stories on digital.
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