Twitter's new TikTok copycat is filled with animal cruelty videos. Elon calls content "Edgy"
Users said they saw violent content when they swiped up on videos after the feature was highlighted by Elon Musk on Sunday.
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The best anyone can do right now is to migrate off of Twitter entirely. As long as Musk is in charge (or in charge through his puppet CEOs) the site will be a cesspool of toxicity and hate. I'm honestly not sure why reputable people are still using the site... guess the view and media exposure are better than doing the right thing and leaving?
With Reddit, I suspect it was mostly timing that can't be replicated unless something mind shattering and truly catastrophic were to happen. (Much more than what already has. Hey, it's possible Spez can fuck up even worse.) It bridged Web 1.0/2.0/3.0 (god I hate that term) and was able to facilitate mass user migrations from Digg and Fark along with a number of smaller communities that shut down or died off. Lemmy and Mastodon -do- have room to grow but I suspect people prefer "the one thing" to move to and unfortunately, there isn't that one other Reddit alternative, I'm happy enough to be here, but I'm not counting on this federated alternative to reach 10% of the total userbase that Reddit had.
Nothing really replaced LiveJournal. Nothing really replaced Tumblr. SmugMug, Flickr, Blogger were all functionally similar sites that just never got as far. I think we're going to see a bigger change in the style of the next social media site that reaches popularity more than we are going to see a functionally similar one replace Reddit and reach the same userlevels.
And I think we have the exact same problem with Twitter. Why would anyone want to move to another functionally similar microblogging site if Twitter still has more users? The problem we're seeing with post, mewe, etc... General people don't want to split themselves between several sites to keep in touch with everyone they know.
So they will just ignore what bothers them for as long as enough people remain on Twitter or Reddit.
I've been around long enough to eventually realize that no one community lasts. They all die. Whether it's due to attrition, incompetence, infighting or just those in charge giving up the pretense of professionalism and turning it into their little sandbox full of cat shit... Something new will always show up and it's a matter of time before something loses or reaches critical mass. However important that 'reaching critical mass' can be for some sites... it just doesn't seem like that happens as often anymore. TikTok being the last big example I can immediately think of. How many people do you see talking about their Kik, Snap or Telegram chats? "Everyone I know is on TikTok, I'll just go there instead." (Or Instagram/Facebook/Whatsapp.)
Whether it's general sites like Fark or specific forums like HardOCP/Forum screwing the pooch, the only thing I've been able to take away regardless of what happened: Sticking around always led to a more negative outcome. People only end up rewarding themselves with toxicity by choosing to remain with a site that has turned on its community and tried to tell others where they can or cannot go.
Those who insist on staying... I've stuck around on some sites/services for those one or two that I wanted to keep in touch with. It wasn't worth it in the end.
Cut loose. Enjoy the next spot. Tell people where you've gone but don't waste time with wondering if people are going to make it. If they care, they'll find their way.
This includes not trying to convince people to follow. If they need to be convinced, they likely won't have as good of an outcome as they expect from your sales pitch.
Why would anyone want to move to another functionally similar microblogging site if Twitter still has more users?
Perhaps because the quality of the experience is better, even if the number of users is lower. As Twitter appeals more and more to the far right, those might not be the users people want to be hanging around with.
Nothing really replaced LiveJournal. Nothing really replaced Tumblr. SmugMug, Flickr, Blogger were all functionally similar sites that just never got as far. I think we’re going to see a bigger change in the style of the next social media site that reaches popularity more than we are going to see a functionally similar one replace Reddit and reach the same userlevels.
And I think we have the exact same problem with Twitter. Why would anyone want to move to another functionally similar microblogging site if Twitter still has more users? The problem we’re seeing with post, mewe, etc… General people don’t want to split themselves between several sites to keep in touch with everyone they know.
I feel like the Livejournal crowd settled into Tumblr and AO3, and the same people have accounts on both and their online presence intermingled enough you'd recognise a tumblr user on AO3 and vice versa. I feel like forums had yet to make the transition to something like AO3 for fanworks; the creators of the work (user generated data) collectively control their data. AO3 is now collecting and archiving scattered archives and restoring them or planning to restore them; the work is enormous and it is run by volunteers after all. The true legacy of Livejournal users are AO3.
If a forum site can exist where people can have absolute faith in the site like that, people will come. If a true non-profit forum can exist, maybe archives of dead forums can be revived.
But first, there must be the first call and there must be an answer. It was a massive work.
I don't think lemmy or the fediverse is the answer, not yet. On the other side Meta will undoubtedly dilute the fediverse, unless as strong an entity as the non-profit running AO3 can stand up. A collective body have to exist if only to shelter one massive instance, an instance that welcomes any and all so that the rest too can exist.
or specific forums like HardOCP/Forum screwing the pooch
ah genmay, that takes me way back
Anyone who is still on Twitter has, in my opinion, fewer issues with being a corporate puppet and being associated with all the hatred there than they have with losing views.
I have (had?) plenty of friends on Twitter who loudly proudly boycotted the Harry Potter game due to JKR's comments about trans people.
But they’ve stayed on Twitter despite its horrible owner and how he runs things.
I’m willing to give a pass to creators who make a living off their online audience. If the audience went off Twitter, so would they.
Everyone else, though? I don’t ever care to hear about what they're boycotting again if they can’t pull themselves off Twitter.
I don't agree with that logic because that means whenever horrible people buy off a platform, even if you do not pay for it, you are obligated to leave rather than push back. There are people who spent decades cultivating their community before Elon Musk had any interest in it. There are people who are right now pushing back against the rise of hate in it. It seems like a Catch-22 where the person either gives up their platform or they are discredited. The end result either way is that Musk's crowd wins.
rather than push back.
Elon Musk owns Twitter. Every single time a person tweets some kind of "push back," it's just more activity on the platform that Elon Musk owns.
Question for you: Would you say all the pushback has been working? Because it seems like every comment out of Elon Musk's mouth is worse.
Well, given how saddled with debt the place was it wouldn't be hard to argue that more activity in fact only burdens him more. It's not a sustainable or profitable place. I also don't think advertisers will be to thrilled by the activity of shit constantly being flung everywhere.
But more than that, it is a social media platform, not a shop. I think there is inherent value in the people who stay there and highlight the issues going on regarding hate speech and political manipulation, rather than they all leave. That would allow hateful people to mold the platform around a whole lot of clueless people who don't realize what is going on, and might just go along with it because they are immersed in this environment. Twitter is not made exclusively of bigots, but it could become more like that over time.
Sure there is no amount of tweets that will stop Elon Musk's mad spiral. But his reputation definitely took some hits.
As far as it compares with JK Rowling, I also think it's not the same. Say, if we were to compare, as far as engagement and community goes, I wouldn't expect anyone to drop all their friends and groups they make through their shared love of Harry Potter just because the author is awful.
If anything I'm a bit suspicious from where first came this call for complete disengagement. Because if there are no voices calling for inclusivity and respect in social media platforms and fandoms, they just become breeding grounds for hate.
If anything I'm a bit suspicious from where first came this call for complete disengagement.
lol, seriously? Musk wants to disable blocking on Twitter, while continuing to ratchet up the transphobia.
You're truly suspicious about people not wanting to wallow in a cesspool of hate?
I'm also on Kbin so you can guess what's my stance on remaining in bad platforms.
But these are two different arguments: Whether it's sensible for people to leave, or whether they are obligated out of moral consistency to leave.
Absolutely people have plenty of reasons not want to wallow there and I wouldn't in a million years say anything bad to anyone who wants to leave. But I also wouldn't shame those who want to push back against hate, who want to protect the following they gathered, or who want to support the creators who didn't find an adequate place to rebuild their online presence yet.
What I am suspicious of is from whoever came up with this argument "if you are so opposed to bigots, how about you leave this platform" when the end result is that many of these same marginalized people targeted by hate speech might have less reach because of it.
I think you're overthinking this. Twitter used to be a place where I could keep up with my friends. Now, it's a place filled with many forms of hate. Because of this, I no longer wish to use it, so I left.
I personally have no care in the world for what happens with Twitter. Why should I? It becomes overrun with bigots? So what?
Remaining on a platform filled with hate is an indicator that you're ok with that. I am not, so I left. end of story.
This is not someone randomly joining Parler. Not only minorities don't always have the luxury to only exist where they are welcomed, they had been accepted and that was taken away from them. They already had built their following and that's being ruined. To say that trying to hold onto what they've built and resist is "being okay with hate" doesn't sound right to me.
Twitter as a place does not matter to me, but I still have friends and creators that I like that use it, and especially for artists, they need a platform with wide reach for their careers. I can preach the Fediverse and Mastodon as much as I want, but until it's widely adopted, it's not going to help them.
There are people who are right now pushing back against the rise of hate in it.
To what end? What do they really hope to accomplish?
It's owned by a bigot who is making both social and corporate changes to explicitly signal to and allow other bigots to take over the platform. They're pulling back on moderation and firing all of the people who prevented it from becoming even more of a cesspool. What chance to a bunch of people tweeting about how things should change have against the person who literally runs the platform and his toxic fanatic horde?
I understand that a lot of people have spent a lot of time on there and so it may feel hard to let go, but at this point it's it's beyond a lost cause and any further effort is just a sunk cost fallacy. You have to know when to realize that everything around you is on fire and that bucket of water you're holding isn't going to make any difference.
This is why decentralized and federated platforms like Mastodon and Lemmy are the only real answer. Otherwise you're just swimming in someone else's pool and hoping they don't shit in it.
This is to my eyes the core problem with centralized corporate social networks. Ultimately, where you intend it or not, your presence is in support to the core mission of the corporate entity holding the platform. Twitter has 16 years of history at this point, and I think can be viewed in three periods. First was the tech experiment to bring online interactions more into the real world. This was Twitter's shortest period. It lasted a month or so at most. In this phase, the mission was to create a bridge between online interactions and real world experiences using cell phone technology. Second was the venture capital chasing profits period. This was the longest and least successful period of Twitters history. In this phase, the mission was to make some money. I don't think Twitter had a mission beyond that, and that ultimately they tried to curate an environment that would appease advertisers and drive engagement (even if it was mostly through outrage). In this phase, I don't hold all that much against anyone who engaged with the platform. I don't think Twitter was doing anything egregiously unethical (beyond the usual bullshit every tech company does). I lost interest in Twitter in this timeframe because the outrage engagement model bummed me out. All this brings us to now...
At this point. Twitter is Elon Musk's personal messaging platform. Its purpose is to inflate and normalize Elon Musk's world view, and those of his cronies. Anyone who remains on the platform his helping him and his shift right mission, preferring to respect the requests of authoritarian right wing governments vs common sense consumer protections requested by more free governments. There are people on Twitter who disagree with this, but their presence still supports Musk in his mission. Whether you were there before Musk or not is immaterial. Its his personal platform, and it's for his mission
This is to my eyes the core problem with centralized corporate social networks. Ultimately, where you intend it or not, your presence is in support to the core mission of the corporate entity holding the platform. Twitter has 16 years of history at this point, and I think can be viewed in three periods. First was the tech experiment to bring online interactions more into the real world. This was Twitter's shortest period. It lasted a month or so at most. In this phase, the mission was to create a bridge between online interactions and real world experiences using cell phone technology. Second was the venture capital chasing profits period. This was the longest and least successful period of Twitters history. In this phase, the mission was to make some money. I don't think Twitter had a mission beyond that, and that ultimately they tried to curate an environment that would appease advertisers and drive engagement (even if it was mostly through outrage). In this phase, I don't hold all that much against anyone who engaged with the platform. I don't think Twitter was doing anything egregiously unethical (beyond the usual bullshit every tech company does). I lost interest in Twitter in this timeframe because the outrage engagement model bummed me out. All this brings us to now...
At this point. Twitter is Elon Musk's personal messaging platform. Its purpose is to inflate and normalize Elon Musk's world view, and those of his cronies. Anyone who remains on the platform his helping him and his shift right mission, preferring to respect the requests of authoritarian right wing governments vs common sense consumer protections requested by more free governments. There are people on Twitter who disagree with this, but their presence still supports Musk in his mission. Whether you were there before Musk or not is immaterial. Its his personal platform, and it's for his mission
This is to my eyes the core problem with centralized corporate social networks. Ultimately, where you intend it or not, your presence is in support to the core mission of the corporate entity holding the platform. Twitter has 16 years of history at this point, and I think can be viewed in three periods. First was the tech experiment to bring online interactions more into the real world. This was Twitter's shortest period. It lasted a month or so at most. In this phase, the mission was to create a bridge between online interactions and real world experiences using cell phone technology. Second was the venture capital chasing profits period. This was the longest and least successful period of Twitters history. In this phase, the mission was to make some money. I don't think Twitter had a mission beyond that, and that ultimately they tried to curate an environment that would appease advertisers and drive engagement (even if it was mostly through outrage). In this phase, I don't hold all that much against anyone who engaged with the platform. I don't think Twitter was doing anything egregiously unethical (beyond the usual bullshit every tech company does). I lost interest in Twitter in this timeframe because the outrage engagement model bummed me out. All this brings us to now...
At this point. Twitter is Elon Musk's personal messaging platform. Its purpose is to inflate and normalize Elon Musk's world view, and those of his cronies. Anyone who remains on the platform his helping him and his shift right mission, preferring to respect the requests of authoritarian right wing governments vs common sense consumer protections requested by more free governments. There are people on Twitter who disagree with this, but their presence still supports Musk in his mission. Whether you were there before Musk or not is immaterial. Its his personal platform, and it's for his mission
Yeah, I'm still there. I'm not letting the right-wing trolls win. I'm there until it implodes.
Much like Reddit, if you curate your feed, stay away from the big accounts and avoid the Trending Topics and don't talk politics then it's still a decent place to be.
Yeah, I do still have my twitter account but I try to avoid going on it and only still have it because there are a few niche times where it's still unfortunately the best place to get current information on local issues (last Sunday for example there was a power outage in my area and the power company's twitter is a bit better at giving updates than their official site so I was checking both).
I really wish I could just delete my account and maybe I still will (and just create an empty dummy account for those rare cases so twitter doesn't harass me to log in). But to be honest I'm less stressed about social media in general ever since I left twitter and I suspect over time a similar thing will happen with being off Reddit.
We (most of the people here), already did. Thats how mastadon was born!