In memoriam of Twitter

The quokka is shameless social media clickbait

I have mixed feelings about the downfall of Twitter. After all, it’s just another social networking site. It’s not an important part of my life. I’m certainly not a fan of its new owner. So why do I feel kind of sad about the possibility of its death?

Twitter is currently the best social media platform for writers. Its primarily text-based method of communication feels kind of rare on the internet at the moment! Instagram is photo-based and TikTok and YouTube are video-based and these days I really only use Facebook for connecting with friends or in closed-off writers groups. 

I have no photos which can visually represent Twitter so here’s a quokka instead.

Twitter is one of the few places where I can talk about my writing or post a link and not have to show my face all the time. The best way to get new eyeballs on my writing is to make it as easy as possible to find.

To my ongoing annoyance, Instagram still doesn’t let you include a clickable link in a post description – so I can either post a link in my stories that has much less reach, or pray that a post can lead someone to a link in my stories or my bio. 

Not only is Twitter just better for sharing words online, I’ve also found it better for making writing connections. I’ve gotten writing gigs off Twitter! It sounds so silly but it’s true.

I’m sure something will emerge to replace Twitter. That’s just the natural way of things on the internet. I did see someone suggest a dating app-style app for writers and publishers to match – absolutely not, no thank you. Hopefully something will eventually pop up. Maybe I’ll start using Tumblr again.

But in the meantime, I’m going to take a moment to grieve Twitter and the writing opportunities it’s given me.