I miss Twitter
I realize how warped that sounds. But I do. I miss Twitter.
I miss having a place where I could ask questions of experts and get answers immediately.
I miss having a place to vent about meaningless and inconsequential things.
I miss being able to find out about events and products and book releases and hyperlocal news with an immediacy that borders on ludicrous.
Mostly, I miss the incredible group of friends — yes, FRIENDS — that I had on the space. Visiting Twitter in the middle of a busy day felt like popping into a party full of people you like (mostly), saying hi really fast, and then popping out. I’ve been on Twitter since 2007. I was starting my library school journey and I used it to find like-minded folks. When we moved to Illinois in 2008, I found Chicago-area librarians to chat with. Some of these people became incredibly close friends.
Relationships shift and evolve. Three of my besties now live on my phone in a group chat instead of Twitter. Another will DM me on IG. And I find myself hanging onto FB by my fingernails because that’s the only place I see some.
I know lots of people have moved over to Mastodon, and I have as well (cough), but I haven’t been able to mesh with it. It’s a party without the music.
I don’t know if anything will replace Twitter. I don’t know if someone will swoop in and save it. So I will mourn. And think fondly of my phone friends, continuing to party in the ether.