Twitter Rebranded now Called X

[Vaelith]

I wish we could back to a world where idiots existed all the same, but you didn't have to know about them, and you could have a blissfully optimistic outlook on the world. Happier times, for sure.

Not a Twitter problem alone, mind you.

 

[Redglyph]

It's as if they were celebrated now. Happier times indeed.

But this particular idiot has been very difficult to ignore, even outside of the US. I'm sure we would have heard of him even in the 80s.

 

[SveNitoR]

"Hi! I'm Elon Musk. I want you to pay me to create content on X. And less people can see it due to only paying customers being able to read your content. Good idea for you, right?"

I can't see how X will survive as anything but something similar to a barebones legacy forum. Its unique selling point is moot the way he is changing it.

 

[Couchpotato]

Well it's official you will now have to pay a minimum of one dollar a year.

X will begin charging new users $1 a year | Fortune

X owner Elon Musk has long floated the idea of charging users $1 for the platform. Now the team is moving the idea into production.

fortune.com

 

[Vaelith]

That's great, honestly. It will filter out a lot of trolls, and with luck, it will be a debacle and people will stop using it. Here's hoping.

 

[Couchpotato]

Hopefully Facebook and Meta crash in the next few years.

 

[Redglyph]

Mastodon isn't really catching on, and the initial enthusiasm for Threads has plummeted. We'll see if that new move will give a second wind to those attempts.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

The X Files ...

 

[Ivanwah]

Maybe we don't need a platform like that? I mean, we were doing fine before Twitter, I think we'll manage if it crashes and no other platform steps up. I was a bit addicted to it about ten or so years ago, mind you. but I think I'm way, way better off since I deleted my account. Beyond perils of being flooded by "regular" people's curated lives, I don't need to know every time a politician/athlete/celebrity farts and a million non-stories that spawn from that.

 

[JDR13]

Mastodon isn't really catching on, and the initial enthusiasm for Threads has plummeted. We'll see if that new move will give a second wind to those attempts.

Mastodon needs a name change. That has to be the worst name ever for a social media app.

I'd never even heard of Threads until you posted that.

 

[Redglyph]

Mastodon needs a name change. That has to be the worst name ever for a social media app.

I'd never even heard of Threads until you posted that.

It's a silly name. I've briefly tried it months ago and didn't find it very convenient (not that Twitter is great).

I didn't know about Threads either - I don't even have Instagram. I looked at possible alternatives, out of curiosity, and found that article. It must be a ferocious battle between all these platforms.

 

[Redglyph]

Maybe we don't need a platform like that? I mean, we were doing fine before Twitter, I think we'll manage if it crashes and no other platform steps up. I was a bit addicted to it about ten or so years ago, mind you. but I think I'm way, way better off since I deleted my account. Beyond perils of being flooded by "regular" people's curated lives, I don't need to know every time a politician/athlete/celebrity farts and a million non-stories that spawn from that.

I've been told one day that it was handy to keep in touch with what was happening, about companies, topics, and so on. If you can find the right people to follow, it's not entirely false, but there's so much noise with ads, related messages I don't care about, suggestions, and replies that it's not entirely true either.

 

[Ivanwah]

Yeah, that seems to be a valid use case, but like you say, relevant stuff easily gets buried in trash. I don't think it is a uniquely Twitter problem, I think every similar platform would devolve into that. I remember when I was using it regularly, it was similar filled with noise, maybe not as polarized as it is today, but then again, the whole world seems much more polarized.

It's same with Facebook. All they want is to serve you content. I remember back in the day, a fresh Facebook profile had an empty feed. I have an old profile I made and kept for god knows what reason, that has no friends, no pages followed, no groups, nothing, and I still get a bunch of crap on my feed.

I remember when my mother made a profile, basically to keep up with family from another town and abroad, and she was shocked to see a post from a writer who was in hospital battling cancer and was in a very bad shape (you can imagine). Considering my mother was really sick and in a very poor state herself at that time, she couldn't understand why she was seeing that post when she wasn't even following that writer. I could see it really left a terrible mark on her. I tried to get rid of such posts, or any other post that was not from her friends, but to no avail.

 

[Redglyph]

Facebook is a great example. I've been very late to register and I'm barely looking at it now, but the change over a few years was shocking. In 2011 or so, it was possible to see new friends' posts sorted by time, as one would expect. A few years later, the posts started to appear in a random way. You could easily miss posts, yet at the same time see old remembrance posts, or as you said, posts from unknown people. The format was initially nice, then they made it uglier and more difficult to read. And so on.

I'm sure there's a good explanation for it, but I just lost any interest in that platform.

It's a general trend. I've just seen an update in Chrome that makes it look even worse than before, with huge menu items that don't fit any more. Why change something that works well?

 

[JDR13]

Facebook is a great example. I've been very late to register and I'm barely looking at it now, but the change over a few years was shocking. In 2011 or so, it was possible to see new friends' posts sorted by time, as one would expect. A few years later, the posts started to appear in a random way. You could easily miss posts, yet at the same time see old remembrance posts, or as you said, posts from unknown people. The format was initially nice, then they made it uglier and more difficult to read. And so on.

It sounds like you've been on it for quite awhile if you noticed those changes way back then.

I agree though, Facebook has really went downhill. I barely go on there anymore, and it doesn't cross my mind unless I get a notification. Also, the ads continue to grow more annoying.

 

[Redglyph]

It sounds like you've been on it for quite awhile if you noticed those changes way back then.

I think I've registered in 2011-2012, but 2 or 3 years I've stopped visiting it regularly. From what I saw, it's the pattern most people follow, except a few addicted. I'm glad I didn't catch the bug, seeing what FB has become.

People who registered before (or after) will probably tell the same story about the changes they saw. When did you register?

 

[JDR13]

I think I've registered in 2011-2012, but 2 or 3 years I've stopped visiting it regularly. From what I saw, it's the pattern most people follow, except a few addicted. I'm glad I didn't catch the bug, seeing what FB has become.

People who registered before (or after) will probably tell the same story about the changes they saw. When did you register?

I registered in March 2009 according to my profile. I thought it was longer ago until I checked just now.

I've met quite a few who seem addicted or just care way too much about it. For me, it's an app to look someone up or to find funny memes. I'll post occasionally, mostly about sports, but I don't really follow other people's posts.

 

[Ivanwah]

I believe I made a profile in 2010 and deleted it in 2014. Then made a new one in 2018 for a work group, but I haven't posted or uploaded any images from that profile. I visit it once every few days to check the group, but that's pretty much it.

 

[Shattermind]

I only use twitter to follow some Japanese bands I listen to. Western coverage of this is borderline useless to me, so I have to do things myself. It still serves a function, but has diminished greatly for me over the last few years (bands I listen to love to disband or go in indefinite hiatuses, and there aren't many left now). I think I only check my feed out of habit more than anything now.

I've also been following a few indie RPG developers, but I can get that news here.

I use a firefox plugin that makes twitter somewhat bearable (gets rid of algorithm content, removes news/trending from the sidebar, etc).

 

[Redglyph]

Yeah, some public figures and even companies post on FB too, and sometimes it's the best source of information when it's not Twitter.

And the happy birthdays, of course. I make sure to post on a friends' wall when I know they care about it, but I think it makes it a little less spontaneous when you're the nth person to post about it. Sometimes it's fun though.