Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...
HAVE YOU LOOKED AT TWITTER ALTERNATIVES AFTER IT CHANGED HANDS? ARE YOU USING ANY?
First off, please bear with me while I use a few "mutated" characters in this post - I don't want to attract a ton of spam by mentioning certain things if I can...
OK, so, in the wake of El0n Mu$k's takeover, I would like to leave Twitter behind. Especially when I see him pulling stunts like switching the bird icon for the D0gec0in one for a few days and managing to make more money thanks to that move 👿. (It's ironic that, before his era, I lost my old account courtesy of a hacker who used it to promote bitc0ins using Mu$k's very face...). The fact is, while on paper there are a number of alternatives, from what I've heard they don't work as smoothly as one would like - or not enough Twitter users have migrated to them so far. Also, Twitter is traditionally the place to be in order to connect with authors and publishers, and a Twitter account is still required when you request a book on NetGalley, Edelweiss and the like. Last but not least, I don't have the time or patience for investigating yet another social media right now. So, basically, I'm open to change, but I'll admit that I'm lost and I don't feel like doing the legwork (so to speak), at least until my home situation doesn't improve. Are you in the same boat as me about wanting to leave but not knowing where to go?
Well, that's it for now. Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to participate in the meme on a regular or semi-regular basis, and get emailed the prompt list? Just head over here and fill in Jen's form! (Of course, you can jump in anytime you like - you are under no obligation to actually do all the posts, or even most of them, just because you signed up, and you can remove yourself from the list at any time). And if you're interested in participating in a more casual manner, or only in commenting, here is the TMST prompt list for the rest of May:
- May 9th: Do you prefer to read a series as the books come out? Or do you prefer to wait until the series is finished?
- May 16th: Which book/series would make a great movie/tv series?
- May 23rd: Which tropes do you enjoy the most?
- May 30th: Which books are you looking forward to reading this Summer? (June-August)
I'll be back for the meme on May 30th, since the month is already a bit packed for me, and I'm behind on reads/reviews...yeah, what's new 😅 😱.
Now tell me something...have you braved any Twitter alternatives? would you recommend any?
I'm not currently looking for alternatives as I feel uncomfy giving my info to another social media platform that may be newer or I am more unfamiliar with. However, I do appreciate the amount of celebrities taking a stand against buying a subscription for their verified checkmark. If an alternative does come out that becomes very popular and well credited, then I will switch!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the blue check is a disgrace. And I hear you about the info thing...
DeleteI thoguht about Mastodon briefly but it... seemed complicated, and at this point I don't know if I want to take on more social media. I mean, I'm on Twitter but don't tweet often anymore, it's just there for DM'ing at this point lol. I thought briefly about doing a Tumblr, or even getting on TikTok, but... ?
ReplyDeleteSo long story short... yeah I concur. :)
Tumblr is a strange animal - half social, half blogging platform...and from what I see, it wouldn't work as a Twitter substitute. Tik Tok is a wholly different thing altogether...also, it's got a very young demographic, so I don't know if they would want our old faces on there LOL.
DeleteYeah my daughter seemed displeased when I mentioned doing a TikTok lol. But then another (older) blogger said go for it. I don't think it's my thing though... Tumblr yeah. In a way it appeals to me but I also not sure I understand it? Like, people post something, and there's a bunch of notes afterwards? lol
DeleteI just did a re- read of Radio Silence with Karen and Tumblr played a role in the story, so it got me thinking how would that actually work as a semi- blogging platform for me? But I probably won't test those waters. My blog alone keeps me busy ]
"Yeah my daughter seemed displeased when I mentioned doing a TikTok lol."
Delete🤣
"Like, people post something, and there's a bunch of notes afterwards? lol"
Exactly LOL. The amount of interaction seems minimal from the outside. But in case you decide to "test those waters", I can put you in contact with my friend Carrie, and she can show you around!
No I haven't. If Twitter goes belly up for whatever reasons I'm not starting over with another social media site.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope Twitter doesn't die then! I like to be able to check on you on there 🙂.
DeleteI don't really spend enough time on social media to care, to be honest.
ReplyDeleteI used not to have a social media presence until I realised it was a way to connect with authors and publishers and spread the news of their books/let the world know I reviewed them. Then it grew on me...
DeleteI'm done with starting new followings and all that. If there was one that really took hold and seemed of value - maybe - but I'm not jumping aboard until it's proven.
ReplyDeleteWe're all waiting on the sidelines LOL.
DeleteI haven't left Twitter but it's sad how many people have. Starting over somewhere else just seems daunting so I probably won't.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying. I hate how we're all hostages to Twitter though...
DeleteI don't use Twitter, so I haven't thought about doing it. But I am worried that as a published author one day I will need a Twitter (for marketing) or for some other reason, and will have to deal with the incredibly toxic spaces on it.
ReplyDelete-Quinley
I guess even if we found a replacement, things wouldn't change in that respect - every public space has the same issues. But having a circle of trusted friends who support you on there does help.
DeleteI don't really use Twitter to begin with. I have an account, but I'm never on it. I mostly use Instagram (bookstagram) to connect with people. Twitter is always a mystery to me lol
ReplyDeleteI guess Instagram is a good alternative if you want to connect with authors/draw attention to your posts/write mini reviews for the books you take pics of. But it requires photography skills that some of us don't have LOL 🙋♀️.
DeleteI do like Mastodon and several authors in the romance genre have moved there. But most of the peeps I used to chat with seemed to have disappeared - and not just when this take over happened, but well before that. I think the US election in 2016 turned so many people off.
ReplyDeleteSo early? Ugh. To thing that 2016 was the year I originally joined LOL.
DeleteMastodon sounds confusing...can you have more than one circle (if that's even the right word)? I'm dumbfounded.
Yeah, every alternative has really big drawbacks that make it even worse than Twitter for me. And if there aren't going be a lot of people there, if I'm just going to shout into the void anyway, might as well do it on Twitter where I'm comfortable lol.
ReplyDeleteHaha, good point.
Delete