Are you guys still using twitter. And if you are.....Why?

[KennethLopezJr921]

I thought everyone mutually decided to stop using twitter in like 2024 or something. I mean that's what I did but I know most people didnt, and Im genuinely curious as to why.

Like seriously why? Its a toxic shithole filled with ai, political extremists, nat zees, and bots. And on top of all of that, its run a complete looser who has made a complete ass of himself online and in the government (unless you live outside the United States and if you do, I envy you), and is responsible for making twitter an even bigger shithole that it was when it run under Jack Dorthey. That seems like a good reason to not post to twitter and yet so many artists still do! Like how do you guys put up with all of that bullshit?

Please I'd like to know

Edit: My intention of this was not to attack others for still using twitter. I dont hold it againt anyone who still uses it, I just wanna know why

[kyupol]

Never used it since day 1. But I'm considering using it. I'm debating

[AmysGames]

"It's full of toxic people" Every website is.

"It's run by bad people" Again, every website is.

You kinda just have to decide for yourself how much nonsense you're willing to tolerate for any social media you use. Filter your feed, block people, leave social media altogether if that's your thing. Where I draw the line is shaming other people for their choices, because that's their decision, not yours.

That said, I imagine the main reason a lot of people still use Twitter is because the alternatives really aren't that much better. Like Bluesky is alright, but there's no audience there.

[VibrantFox]

the only reason i havent completely migrated to other sites is because i at least still get engagement over there and not every person i follow or who follows me has left. theres also the fact that i was there before any of those assholes were, so on principal i refuse to go entirely as well and kind of wish other folks would have some backbone about standing up to them for those reasons

like yeah no there's tons and tons and tons of reasons to leave but its basically that "lets all go to blif let go to meep" meme. running and running doesnt do anything when theyll go to those places too. bots are already showing up on bluesky as has the far right managerie and the ai shills and every other bit of rot that made its way across twitter so its the same thing in a different skin and the people in charge also kind of suck (go figure)

edit: amy got it before i could but literally that especially since i was there for all the mass harassment communities close to me got even before half of this platform changing nonsense so it really doesnt matter where we go 🤷🏾

[KennethLopezJr921]

Im not bashing on anyone who still uses twitter. Im genuinely curious as to why artists are still using it given how bad its gotten. My OP post may have been a bit hyperbolic but I really dont like Twitter as a platform.

Yes there are platforms that a run by bad people and which are toxic but at least on Instagram, I wont have to worry about its algorithm pushing a post of a guy supporting bs eugenic theories or other borderline bigoted stuff that would get anyone banned from any platform. Except twitter, under the guise of "free speech". As for Elon Musk, he is not the only crappy billionaire out there but has been so public and open when it comes to the horrible shit he's doing. You wont see Zuckerberg sieg- I mean waving at a politcal rally speech is all I'll say. If people still want to use twitter in spite of all of this, thats totally fine. I dont know if I wanna put myself out there, espeically with how bad its gotten, but like I said, I wanna know why so many artists havent jumped ship like I and others did.

That said, I imagine the main reason a lot of people still use Twitter is because the alternatives really aren't that much better. Like Bluesky is alright, but there's no audience there.

I have heard people say similar things and its honestly sad if Im being honest

[KevinReijnders]

The idea that you still have an audience on twitter is pretty laughable imo. Your account gets throttled to death if you use even basic things like posting a link.

And yeah, every social media platform sucks, but you don't have to stick with the absolute worst one out there.

[wolflu66]

There are still many users on Twitter, which helps with promoting work. And for me, it's very easy to find more amazing artists there.

For me, the worst social media platforms have always been Meta's products.

[kyupol]

The worst is TikTok imo... because the app won't let me upload it forces me to selfie... deleted it lol

Youtube... is OK but too much censorship. Run by authoritarians. Ruined it for me. Why I'm on bitchute. Even though bitchute doesn't have a good algorithm and your content easily gets buried.

FB, instagram, threads... too many bots and ai slop

Deviantart, reddit... OK but your posts easily get buried.

There. My "reviews" of social media sites...

[KennethLopezJr921]

The ironic thing about DeviantArt for me at least is that Ive managed to carve out a niche there and my account has the most followers out of all of my social media accounts. And its just from me posting! XD

The worst is TikTok imo... because the app won't let me upload it forces me to selfie... deleted it lol

Also I second this. There is a special place in hell for tik tok and twitter for me personally. Because at least with twitter, I was able to gain some traction. Tik Tok is not worth it

[VibrantFox]

The funny thing is some other platforms imo are worse like i refuse to touch anything facebook/meta because even if you dont see zuck proudly parading bigoted views hes still another lousy billionare and most of their sites and apps are filled to the brim with ai slop. instagram in particular i left ages ago because even tho i had visibility for at least a little while, the flagging systems have gone to absolute crap and i barely even see the people i follow just whatever suggested posts they go shoving into my feeds so i dont care for it

tiktok even tho i dont post is at least tolerable because similar to twitter, tumblr and bluesky i can actually see posts from who i follow and my own fyp is consistently giving me the kind of content i already like and thankfully rarely puts extremist content or just generally racist bs on my timelines

plus when it comes to the "oh but the racists and etc" thing as a black person ive watched folks in my community hunted by racists even when they havent even bothered with people outside their circles (the cosplay community situation rn is a prime example along with fanart stuff) like theres no such thing as some perfect pure platform, people will drag their shit to your front door even when you block it out so its just a matter of curating the spaces you occupy and making your own stances clear and from there just do your thing

if anything is say the stronger piece of advice that needs to be viciously drilled into people heads is to stop engaging with that content and shoving it in everyone elses faces with quote posts and things like that. killing the "i saw this so now everyone has to" mindset and bringing back "dont feed the trolls" would do a world of good for the wider internet but people thrive on interaction and engagement so if bigoted bs gets it some will just swim in that kind of nonsense. which isn't too easy there aren't people like that but there's absolutely folks who give into taking the bait way too often and you can see those patterns of engagement if you pay attention. coz blocking and muting those folks is why my twitter feeds are honestly generally pleasant to browse.

like if anything aside from it's clown leader and all the toxic bigoted a-holes the biggest issue of Twitter is it's algorithms but the rest can be managed on your own just by curating your spaces

[Zhengo]

I personally disagree that staying on the site if it's being run by assholes is a form of standing up as staying on that site is pretty much giving money to said asshole ceo's pockets. That said, I'm aware every site is run by assholes it's just a matter of if they cross a threshold where I won't tolerate putting the money in their pocket.

I stopped posting on twitter and ig as both sites have basically let AI have free rein to openly train on whatever you post and don't have any form of opt out not even an illusion of one. Though for me ditching twitter wasn't that hard as I basically got 0 engagement on there.

[abigaillmartin]

Two reasons. A Houdini fan group and Laura Shigihara. Other than that nothing.

[AmysGames]

The idea that you still have an audience on twitter is pretty laughable imo. Your account gets throttled to death if you use even basic things like posting a link.

I mean this is true, lol. Apparently my account was flagged for "probable spam" a while back for some? reason??

That said, I don't get much traction on any social media, so at this point I'm kind of just screaming into the void and hoping something sticks.

[jhdale]

People on Bluesky are very nice in my experience, I don't see toxicity. There probably is some, but overall it's pretty good.

The underlying design of the site, in the sense of very short posts with a very dysfunctional threading model, inherently and inevitably mangles conversations. And everyone there is trying to sell something, whether it is an actual product or just their own ideas. So in that sense, it's a terrible platform for all the reasons Twitter was when Twitter first began.

But at least the people are nice about it.

[VibrantFox]

i get this point but i also do not spend a dime on any social media I'm on. i crosspost in all my social media (if i remember) but I've also hit a point where I'm just tired and using what i know works for me. so whether others are or aren't is entirely up to them and not something in gonna harp on anyone about

if anything it's why i hate the topic and why I've mostly burned out with social media or debates relating to it coz it all just gives the illusion of choice anyway

imo if it works it works and lots of people will have drastically different opinions and experiences across platforms so it feels more like shooting yourself in the foot limiting your options than anything and if I'm wrong idk 🤷🏾

[BoomerZ]

The algorithm gives you what you react to. Stop clicking on stuff and you won't get as much. I still have a facebook account but my feed is literally anime and art news as I don't click on current news or other stuff, so the site knows I won't interact with any of it. If you are worried about ads, download an ad-blocker. And if you think X or Facebook are bad at ethics, wait til you deal with real art companies like Marvel, Disney, Warner Bros, etc. Use them for what they can do for you. To block yourself off from support/fans/customers for your principles is very short sighted. Elon you might disagree with him, but he is not Hitler. Stop acting like he is.

[NickRowler]

The moment they removed blocking the bigger political accounts, was the moment I left.

Tho I still use Facebook, but I don't really post or interact with anyone.

I do still post stuff to DeviantArt which surprisingly still get likes/favs and such.

[KennethLopezJr921]

Every time I say 'not interested', I still end getting posts I don't wanna see. Its really fucking annoying and its not even a twitter issue. YouTube does it all the time as well, and I dont appreciate it when they do it as well

Elon you might disagree with him, but he is not Hitler. Stop acting like he is.

Also, I never said that. Stop putting words in my mouth. And that goes for everyone else who thought I was looking down on people who still use twitter. I never said I did again, please dont say I said something when I never said it

[KennethLopezJr921]

Did they actually remove the ability to block people? In that case, I guess I'll be cutting my twitter return short. I dont know why I never deleted my account

[VibrantFox]

block function still works that I've seen and if it makes it difficult because it's a promoted tweet the best workaround is an ad blocker. you may have to add certain custom filters but I've been able to find those easily between Tumblr and Reddit or other social media but there's ways to hide the slop it just requires some effort on the user end