❝ This article is in DRAFT mode. It is rough, contains errors and will be ammended soon.
Abstract
The current status of Twitter, the risks and what you can do about it.
FAQ
This FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) is primarily for @PureAusten users. A list of common questions and answers related to the #TwitterExodus. [0]
The FAQ covers three areas:
- What Is Happening At Twitter?
- New owner
- Majority of staff leaving
- Instability of service for users
- Users leaving
- Why Is This A Problem?
- The Risk Of Doing Nothing
- Where Are My People Going?
- What Are The Alternatives?
- What Can You Do?
- Questions You Should Be Asking
- Security Check: Sites That You Have Used Twitter To Authenticate
What Is Happening At Twitter?
- A new owner has purchased Twitter.
- The owner sacked, forced most staff to leave.
- Specialist teams are no longer there.
- Twitter is a complicated system, requiring specialist staff to maintain service quality.
- Specialist staff are no longer there.
- As a result Twitter Users are leaving
Read this report by Reuters, Sheila Dang: Twitter is losing its most active users, internal documents show [1]
Why Is This A Problem?
The Leadership instability at Twitter is creating a perfect storm of increasing risk to users and Twitter itself.
The Risk Of Doing Nothing
There will be an increased risk relying on Twitter into the future including:
- Increased chance of spam
- Increased chance of social disruption by trolls and other distruptive groups
- Increased chance of criminal activity
- Potential unreliability and degradation of services
- User focus in Interface and Human saftey measures down graded
For a technical explanation of what can happen if you reduce your technical staff, read this exellent twitter thread by technical expert: I've seen a lot of people asking "why does everyone think Twitter is doomed?". [2]
Where Are My People Going?
Where the majority of your users end up, is the place you gain the most utility. The most important issue to consider is "Where are my people going?"
What Are The Alternatives?
Here are some social media alternatives. Twitter has different uses for different people. Economist Business notes ironically "Are any, a suitable substitute?" in Fleeing the nest [3] ⚠ (Turn off JavaScript to read).
Will the alternative you choose match Twitter in terms of:
- Reach
- Audience
- Usability
- Utility
- Stablity
- Security
Here are the main Social Media services I can think of:
- Blogging
- Mastodon
- Tumbler
- TikTok
- Zoom
- Discord
- Commercial Services
- New Startups
- Instant (DM) Direct Messaging
Read what Guardian—Tech Journalist Alex Hern, has to say: How to quit Twitter – and where to go instead [4].
Read what Bill Buddington of the EFF says about the privacy and security of Mastodon: Is Mastondon Private and Secure? [5].
What Can You Do?
❝The engine that drove Twitter was the people. Nothing more. Nothing less. [6]
Questions You Should Be Asking
- Where Are My People Going?
- What Are The Alternatives?
The value of Twitter is its Users. Take note of what your friends are doing. You have the choice to:
- Stay (by not doing anything).
- Leave (and look for alternatives).
- Stay And Leave (on Twitter and find an alternative).
I would advise the third option, "Stay and Leave". Maintain your existing Twitter presence and explore alternatives. However there are some implications that you have to consider even if you stay. Have you used Twitter to authenticate some other third party website? If Twitter is compromised, these logins could also be exploited by bad actors.
Security Check
Have you used Twitter to authenticate other third party websites?
There are security implications should consider even if you stay. You should conduct a security check on sites that you yave used twitter to logon or authenticate If Twitter is compromised, these logins could also be exploited by bad actors. To verify if you have used Twitter to Authenticate other websites:
- Go to https://twitter.com, Log In
- Locate your Twitter Options (...)
- => Security and Account Access
- => Apps And Sessions
- => Connected Apps
- Are there any connected Apps?
- Do they need to be connected?
Do not forget to check:
- Security and Account Access
- => Connected accounts
- Are there any connect accounts?
- Do you need these accounts connected?
I have decided to replicate @PureAusten at Mastodon. [7] To do this I have created multiple accounts on Mastodon. Let's dig deeper.
References
[0] wikipedia, #TwitterExodus, "Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk" [Last Accessed: Saturday 19th, November 2022] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquisition_of_Twitter_by_Elon_Musk>
[1] Reuters, Sheila Dang, "Twitter is losing its most active users, internal documents show" <https://wreuters.com/technology/exclusive-where-did-tweeters-go-twitter-is-losing-its-most-active-users-internal-2022-10-25/> [Last Accessed: Saturday 19th, November 2022]
[2] MosquitoCapital, "Semi—retired SRE: I've seen a lot of people asking 'why does everyone think Twitter is doomed?' As an SRE and sysadmin with 10+ years of industry experience, I wanted to write up a few scenarios that are real threats to the integrity of the bird site over the coming weeks." <https://twitter.com/MosquitoCapital/status/1593541177965678592> [Last Accessed: Sunday 20th November, 2022]
[3] ⚠ Turn JavaScript off to read! Economist Business, "Fleeing the nest: Alternatives to Twitter see an influx of users. Are any a suitable substitute?" <https://www.economist.com/business/2022/11/17/alternatives-to-twitter-see-an-influx-of-users> [Last Accessed: Sunday 20th November, 2022]
[4 Guardian Technology, Alex Hern, has to say: "How to quit Twitter – and where to go instead" <https://theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/08/how-to-quit-twitter-and-where-to-go-instead> [Last Accessed: Sunday 20th November, 2022]
[5] EFF, Bill Buddington, "Is Mastondon Private and Secure?" <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/11/mastodon-private-and-secure-lets-take-look> [Last Accessed: Sunday 20th November, 2022]
[6] Wikipedia, Mastodon, "What is Mastodon?" <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon_(software))> [Last Accessed: Saturday 19th November, 2022]
[7] pwnallthethings, Matt Tait, "If you’re terminally online—and let’s be honest, if you’re reading this you are—you’ll know all about Twitter’s new management." <https://www.pwnallthethings.com/p/twitter-was-special-but-its-time> [Last Accessed: Sunday 20th November, 2022]
