Replacing the bird with the Mastodon
This past month, social media platform users and just about everyone else who follows or uses media have witnessed a flurry of movement away from Twitter. So many people are folding their Twitter tents that the activity has been given various monikers, such as #TwitterMigration and #twexit. Messaging Matters is part of this migration, having moved over to the rapidly-growing Mastadon site @MessagingMatters@mstdn.social. The reason for numerous Twitter refugees, of course, is that upon Elon Musk‘s takeover of Twitter, he has systematically wrecked the place, and turned it into a right wing, conspiracy-embracing, Nazi-enabling propaganda network. Musk’s stated intentions of “free speech” have gone out the window, as folks who still post there (such as @joshuatopolsky@mastodon.online) are even reporting that “Twitter is now automatically marking links to mastodon as ‘sensitive’ (aka dangerous) and forcing users who get them to ‘appeal’ the claim.”
However, it now seems that more than four years of talking about Donald Trump has been replaced by constant mentions of Elon Musk. Such discussions are everywhere, from Twitter itself (when not banned by Musk) to Mastodon to mainstream media publications. In both cases, it’s quite possible that much of the conversation has been driven by the mainstream media, who seem to think unstable billionaires make great copy. However, that doesn’t mean we need to take the bait. Therefore, the next stage in the Twitter Migration is to talk about something or someone else besides that Toxic Bird Guy.
One thing we have been saying at Messaging Matters since the beginning is that folks need to “go on offense” and drive conversations in ways that are beneficial to themselves. We do not need the corporate media to tell us what or who we should be talking about or focusing on, especially when doing so often gives those subjects more power, to our own detriment. In short, we need to be our own broadcasters and news editors.
Now, it may seem inconsistent to mention the Toxic Bird Guy in the very post in which we’re suggesting that he be mentioned less. Our hope is that we can publish fewer and fewer posts on the subject, and, like The Former Guy, he will begin to fade away.
Photo by Thomas Quine, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/Ob7hnE
