The blue exodus: How to prepare for life after Twitter

By BRIAN X CHEN

Sheer chaos has surrounded Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter over the last few weeks. More than half of Twitter’s employees have been fired or have resigned. The verification system no longer means much. And some users have reported problems with security features. So if you have an account on the social network, what do you do? Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. But this continuing spectacle presents an opportunity for us to learn how to have healthier relationships with social platforms so we are not dependent on any one of them.

First, it is important to understand what is happening at Twitter. Threat experts told me they were concerned that the turmoil at Twitter, including the sudden lack of cybersecurity leaders and many community moderators, would cause parts of the site to stop working and, at worst, that security holes might lead to compromised accounts. But deactivating a Twitter account also poses risks because an impersonator could then more easily manipulate a person’s followers.

What’s more, those who have already left Twitter quickly realised there was no real alternative. Apps such as Mastodon, the open-source site that involves posting on a social feed similar to Twitter’s timeline, are tricky for most people to set up. Reddit is more siloed by topics. LinkedIn is work-focused, Pinterest is centered on hobbies, TikTok is video-centric and Meta’s Facebook — well, let’s just say it has its own problems.

“Usually when we have an exodus, we’re going from one place to another,” said Zizi Papacharissi, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois-Chicago. “Here, the problem is, what is the other?” Yet there is a silver lining. This tumultuous situation with Twitter, according to social media consultants and security experts I interviewed, can serve as a template with valuable lessons for everyone, including casual tweeters and celebrities, on how to safely navigate any social network.

The first lesson is to always have an exit strategy — a plan for what to do with your data and contacts — in case things go awry. Lesson two is to avoid overinvesting time and energy on any one social media site; hedge your bets by posting on multiple platforms that serve your needs. And finally, remember that there was life before any of these social media apps, including Twitter. That will make it easier to forge a path forward.

With any tech service, I always advise having a plan for pulling out your data, including your old photos and musings, in case something changes that makes you unhappy.

For Twitter, follow the steps listed on its site to download a copy of your account data. You could then take actions like deleting sensitive information, such as direct messages. Bear in mind that if you delete a direct message, it will disappear only on your end; the other people in the conversation also need to delete it. Once all parties involved have deleted the conversation, Twitter is expected to purge it from its servers within about 10 days, according to a person familiar with the product, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution.

Whatever you do, though, resist deactivating your Twitter account, several security experts said. In the past, Twitter gave public figures a blue check mark once they had shown the company proof of their identities. But the new system allows anyone to pay $8 a month to get a check mark, making impersonation easier.

Chen is a journalist with NYT©2022

The New York Times