I joined Twitter way back in 2008, after reading a Fast Company article featuring founder Biz Stone. At the time, during the Foursquare, Gowalla, pre-Like button internet era, Twitter was a private company. The only other social media platforms I’ve been on longer (and still exist) are Facebook and LinkedIn.
Twitter, back in the day, was way better
Twitter was unique. You could connect directly with thought leaders, post micro-thoughts, and connect with brands. I was a big believer in Twitter for years, and it marked my first foray into the world of publicly facing social media. I even dabbled with Periscope (that it acquired) for a while.
I once believed Twitter was a solid platform
Prior to 2022, I regularly recommended Twitter to audiences who joined my personal branding workshops as one of the top three social media platforms (in addition to LinkedIn and Medium) where you can get the greatest return on your invested time when using it to convey your professional reputation and domain expertise.
“Twitter is here to stay. I can’t imagine a world where it doesn’t remain a convenient, go-to platform for journalists, the media, and professionals to share content. So I’d recommend you at least secure your username and profile there even if you don’t intent to use it immediately.”
That’s a direct quote from . . . me. I couldn’t have been more wrong about the future of Twitter at the time.
X has decimated Twitter’s brand
Since Elon Musk’s takeover in 2022, the platform has been in a downward spiral both in terms of content and brand. The content has become very aggressive, negative, vicious at times, and full of falsehoods. From a branding standpoint, the fall from Twitter to X has been a true brand tragedy, where the equity and reputation of the platform have been all but destroyed. I can only imagine what people like Biz Stone or Ev Williams now think about what remains of what they worked so hard to build.
In 2023, I stopped recommending the platform in my personal branding workshops. I’ve never had a large following on Twitter/X (or any social media platform for that matter), but I maintained a presence there mostly because it remains one of the world’s most frequented social media sites. However, for the same reasons I’m not active on platforms like Truth Social, Gab, or Parlor due to the negative connotations it may have by association, I don’t feel being on X is great for one’s reputation any longer.
For all these reasons, I no longer plan to remain active on X moving forward.
Where I’ll go instead for microblogging
I don’t, however, want to completely abandon micro-posting. I do feel it serves a unique role in sharing content from a personal branding standpoint. Therefore, I’ve decided, for the time being, to shift to Bluesky for a whole host of reasons, including its set of safety and content moderation tools and focus on trust and safety. For my micro-posts moving forward, you’re welcome to now instead follow me on:
How do you feel about Twitter/X these days?
I’d be curious how other long-time users of Twitter are now thinking about the platform, both fans and non-fans. What are your thoughts on the state of X? For those also leaving X, where are you now headed and why? Bluesky? Mastadon? Threads? Reddit? I’d welcome your thoughts and suggestions, as I’ve been very wrong about this before.