Some of the users of Twitter are already grieving what the platform was before Elon Musk'sMusk's takeover.
Users are sharing their favorite memories of old school Twitter as the site descends further into chaos. Some people lamented Twitter for being one of the first platforms to remove the boundaries between celebrities and everyday people. Others recalled the laughs they had had over quick-witted tweets.
Meghan Crozier, a podcaster, said that Twitter has been a place for people to interact with groups and communities they might never meet offline.
Crozier hosts a community Tuesday mornings on Twitter Spaces called Deconstruction Coffee Hour. She asked her followers to share a happy Twitter memory, and said the responses affirmed her appreciation for pre-chaos Twitter.
I used to think queer people were sinning, but now I don't because of Twitter, Crozier said. When I think about the access to voices that people have on Twitter and the access they won't have if Twitter goes away, I think that's the hardest part. The connections forged on Twitter are unavoidable, according to Yong Chavez, a Southern California-based journalist. She said she's made lifelong friends across the globe thanks to Twitter.
Chavez, who works for Filipino news outlet ABS-CBN News, said he was heartbreaking to see priceless work connections through the site and to see it disintegrate.
Chavez said she often turned to the site for a break from her day. She'll never forget memorable moments on the platform, like when she got retweeted by Dwayne The Rock Johnson.
Chavez said that I'm getting teary-eyed, recalling the reasons Twitter was important to her. We use Twitter for a lot of things, but mostly it was a break. There were those who preferred to look at the platform through a less positive lens as a result of the nostalgic posts. Users pointed out that Twitter, pre-Musk, had been referred to as a hellsite where users doomscrolled for hours.
A law professor at Birkbeck, University of London, Maria Aristodemou, tweeted, "These maybe premature eulogies of twitter are suddenly transforming it into some lost object." I didn't find it particularly friendly or welcoming, yes, but we should go easy on the nostalgia for imaginary ideal objects. Many on Twitter said that Musk's takeover has been frustrating because they love the platform because they grew to love the platform for its sense of community.
Watching friends say goodbye on this bird app makes me wish someone would migrate Twitter to a better place, and just change one letter of the name, freelance writer Karen Dalton Beninato tweeted.
Some people have moved to Mastodon, a decentralization microblogging platform. There are those who aren't sure if there's a replacement for Twitter.
It's not going to feel the same as on Twitter, but there's a way to piece together different social media platforms, to kind of recreate that, according to Crozier. The way we've cultivated our community is unique to the platform. Some celebrities - including a number of celebrities - have left the platform for good, but there are those who say they want to stick with it through this tough transitional time.
Let s hope it doesn't end, said Lisa Lucas, senior vice president at Knopf Doubleday. Here until the screen fades to black tho. In the meantime, y'all will never know how much you've meant to me and done for me over the years, and I'm so grateful. I told a couple of good jokes.