Twitter is Dead, Long Live Twitter…
After two years writing political analysis for my beloved Palmer Report, I am taking a break. Between finishing my fourth Louise Moscow novel, my newsletter, knitting, reading, and of course my day job as CFO of one of the world’s largest independent inflight entertainment companies, which is picking up again as the airlines move on from COVID, I don’t feel I can commit to a 500-word weekly Palmer Report piece.
But you can’t get rid of me that easily! Here I am on Substack, one of the best things to come out of the mass exodus from Twitter.
Speaking of Twitter, Elon Musk can’t get rid of us so easily. It seems every attempt he makes to destroy the forum just makes it stronger. Many have left to join alternatives Tribel, Post, and Spoutible, myself included. Threads seems the most promising, provided they finally introduce a web browser version, so I can check in while I’m working almost 24-7 on the computer.
Many have opined on the rebranding of Twitter, (which I refuse to call it X, the URL is still www.twitter.com for fuck’s sake!) The Daily Beast and the lalochezia-prone Jeff Tiedrich both point out the tasteless rebranding was Musk’s obsession with naming everything X, including his failed attempt to rename Paypal (shot down by right-wing tech billionaire Peter Thiel), his own children, and his rocket company, SpaceX.
Musk’s willful destruction of the iconic global information-sharing brand may just be another attempt by the right to control the narrative, but that too shall fail. Another example, the propaganda film masquerading as an anti-child trafficking documentary, “Sound of Freedom,” was making impressive box office numbers (by dishonestly paying people to go in droves), only to be scuttled by two brilliant “woke” films, the fact-based “Oppenheimer,” and the phantasmic, “Barbie.”
Musk’s attempt to hijack the narrative by acquiring another well-established tech company, Twitter, that he had no part in creating, is pathetic. Like The Grinch, no matter how hard Musk tries to destroy Christmas in Twitterville, the proverbial Who’s in Whoville just keep on singing.
Of course, Musk’s heart didn’t grow ten times bigger. It grew greedier. He sees a long-term opportunity for profit, by creating his own “Metaverse” where everyone will come to do business, including trading in Crypto. But like blockchain, which gets stronger with its users’ efforts, the Twitter community only makes the platform stronger. Unlike MAGA, it evolves and takes on a life of its own. And we’re still there.
Personally, seeing that creepy X with a blood-red splotch in my browser tab makes me nauseous. If Musk really wants to keep the X logo, I have a simple solution. The color Baker-Miller pink has been proven to reduce hostile, violent behavior, and is even used in prisons and drunk tanks. Simply change the color of the X to Barbie pink! You’re welcome.
KNITTING WITH BACKSTORY SERIAL!
