If Twitter Collapses, Writers Will Be Lost
Thoughts on the possible collapse of the digital commons
Yesterday, I was chatting briefly with Amber Sparks (
) on Twitter about what it would mean to lose Twitter as a non-famous writer (short answer: everything!) and I realized I should finish this newsletter I’d started weeks ago before Twitter disappears into the ether along with Beanie Babies, MySpace playlists, & Skype dates.Ever since Elon Musk tweeted about acquiring Twitter to his Twitter fanboys, I’ve felt incredibly nervous about it. It doesn’t help that this dude’s a First Amendment absolutist, which I’m absolutely not and which I find absolutely terrifying. Don’t get me wrong, I support free speech, free assembly, and a thriving marketplace of ideas, but all within limits, which is how I feel about the other constitutional amendments too. I support them steadfastly, but I don’t think any of them should be absolute, except maybe the ones added during Reconstruction.
There’s still plenty of time yet to kill this bird with its broken wing. Weezer will have to write another song I’m afraid.
From the beginning of this hellscape that Musk was both the observer and then the catalyst of, I worried that he would unleash the 1A kraken on the world if he bought Twitter based on his politics of white male grievance, insatiable class entitlement, & megalomania. This hasn’t happened YET, thankfully, but there’s still plenty of time yet to kill this bird with its broken wing. Weezer will have to write another song I’m afraid. I’m worried now that Musk will either strip this company for parts like a tech chop shop or intentionally destroy the company through eventual bankruptcy. It looks like he already has.
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