I'm done with Twitter

Yep, that's it, it's finally happened: I'm done with Twitter.

Since it's purchase by Elon Musk back in around October 2022, Twitter (I refuse to call it X) has slowly (or in some cases not-so-slowly) been going downhill. Various changes to the algorithm to push various policies, multiple instability issues, AI for the sake of AI, and much more. Unless you've been living under a rock, you already know about these "improvements", but if you don't I suggest you look them up.

In many communities, other platforms have already surged in popularity, notably Mastodon. Leaving twitter completely isn't a new phenomenon either, and in fact I'm quite late to the party. But I think now is the time for me.

#Breaking point

The breaking point for me came when a post I tried to write deleted itself mere seconds after posting. For a platform whose whole reason for existing is to post content to followers, surprise content deletions are quite a serious problem.

Managing 3 social media accounts is quite annoying, especially when trying to reference accounts correctly. Currently, I do this by writing and posting in triplicate. I write a post in one platform, reference the right accounts, and copy it over to the others.

Once I'd written a post for Twitter and hit "Post", everything seemed fine. It appeared at the top of the timeline as it normally does. But, after I scrolled down a bit to read more of my timeline, a red message appeared at the top of the screen stating that my post had been deleted. No reason (But I forget the exact wording), just that it had been deleted - as if I had done it myself. When I scrolled up, it had indeed disappeared. When I checked my profile, it was gone too. It's now many days later, and it's still not there. At least the message was right, my post has been deleted.

I've seen issues in the past where "something went wrong" when trying to post, but clicking the button again always worked. This time, it's not quite that simple. Sure, I could post it again, but that's not the point. The community is drying up, the platform itself is starting to crack, and the policies and ownership are infamous.

#Where instead?

If you're reading this from my Twitter account, it'll be the last thing I post (assuming it actually posts...). I'm not deleting the content there, on the off chance of a resurgence in years to come (which rather surprisingly seems to have happened for both Facebook and Linkedin recently). Instead the account will lay dormant, frozen in time, with this post at the top. But I will be uninstalling the app from my phone, and rarely if ever checking it.

If you haven't noticed already, I'm fairly active on some other social media platforms, both at one point claimed to be "the next Twitter".

• Mastodon
• Bluesky

For now, you can find me there!