The Twitter Thing

Those of you who use Twitter, either for salesmanship or personal connections, have no doubt heard about the platform being under new management soon. First there were rumors of a hostile takeover by Elon Musk. Then there was a poison pill that held it off. But now the sale is peacefully concluded. It’s interesting, sort of, as a writer, to watch how organizations can publicly proclaim something, but then instantly double back and do the exact thing they were fighting against. I guess the resistance was just a tactic to increase the price?

I’m concerned about this, to be honest. First of all, Musk sets me on edge. People who proclaim so much about freedom of speech, usually turn about to against it. As sole owner, Musk will have too much power to censor speech that he personally doesn’t like. He has followers, sure, but he also faces skeptics on Twitter. Now he’ll have the power to silence them. Depending on how he enforces community standards, I can foresee a tidal wave of misinformation that swamps the world.

In addition, Twitter is also one of my main social medias at the moment. I get a lot of news on Twitter, even if it has to be followed up for accuracy, and I’m in touch with a lot of fandom. I promote my books more there than anywhere. Plus, where will I get my adorable “cape beansies” pet art? Anything that might tamper with the experience makes me anxious.

I’m not going to vow, as some friends have, to leave Twitter immediately. Maybe it’ll be okay. It isn’t as if I actually enjoy having comments appear in my conversations that turn out to be advertisements in disguise. Even as I have to remind myself to hype my books sometimes, it might be a good idea for me to look around and find a few new arenas for promotion.

Because, when all is said and done, there are few things I trust less than a rich guy who says he’s going to save my freedom of speech.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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