I tweet my own posts pretty often, but in the last couple of years have rarely actually gone onto Twitter, mostly because I consider it a cesspool of stupidity and hate. But it has been a useful communications medium for many, including Glenn Reynolds, who had a lot of followers and tweeted often. But no longer:
TWITTER’S GONE CRAZY BANNING PEOPLE ON THE RIGHT, so I’ve deactivated my Twitter account.
Flashback: Despite Twitter’s Protests, The Stifling of Conservative Speech On The Platform Is Real.
UPDATE: People seem to want more, and although there’s nothing duller than posting a screed on why you’re quitting a platform, here’s the gist: I’ve never liked Twitter even though I’ve used it. I was a late adopter, and with good reason. It’s the crystal meth of social media — addictive and destructive, yet simultaneously unsatisfying. When I’m off it I’m happier than when I’m on it. That it’s also being run by crappy SJW types who break their promises, to users, shareholders, and the government, of free speech is just the final reason. Why should I provide free content to people I don’t like, who hate me? I’m currently working on a book on social media, and I keep coming back to the point that Twitter is far and away the most socially destructive of the various platforms. So I decided to suspend them, as they are suspending others. At least I’m giving my reasons, which is more than they’ve done usually.
For me, the Twitter turning point came when the company denied that it shadow-bans conservatives. It then explained what it does do, which corresponds precisely to the definition of shadow-banning. Like other Silicon Valley tech giants, Twitter is run by people who think it is their job to help left-wing Democrats win elections. There is no reason why conservatives should support Twitter.
On the other hand, abandoning dominant tech platforms–I am pretty sure that Twitter is, by legal definition, a monopoly in its market–to liberals isn’t ideal, either. Social media platforms have become “mainstream” much like network and cable television and newspapers, and like those media, to be “mainstream” is to be liberal. Conservatism has suffered greatly from the fact that our dominant media outlets are almost universally in the hands of the pretty-far-left. Adding social media platforms to that list only makes our problems more intractable.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.