On Twitter and Owning Your Stuff

Brent Simmons has written a great piece called After Twitter, and It’s worth reading.

I found Brent’s blog through his app NetNewsWire, which is my preferred RSS app. I like the design and the part of their mission where they actively encourage users to use RSS and reading apps. Any RSS and reading apps, not just their own, because they want the format to thrive.

With a similar spirit, Brent and the folks behind NNW encourage creators to write and build their stuff on a platform they control. On the now-inactive podcast Dialog, Federico Viticci, John Voorhees, and their guests talked about the importance of this a lot. I recommend this podcast, despite not having new episodes since 2019, because it is full of valuable ideas for creatives.

I have a Twitter account, although I’ve never really used it. Many of the creators I follow have gotten so much joy and connection from Twitter, not to mention lots of growth opportunities and valuable connections, and it’s unfortunate to see what is happening to the platform. I know it was never a safe space for so many, yet it seems to be going from not great to worse quickly.

I’m glad this site is something I control, and I’m thankful for RSS to help broadcast what I create. Don’t misunderstand; this can get lonely. I like collaborating with others and want to contribute my voice in other spaces if the right situation arises. Still, I like having a site and domain, and I encourage new creators to follow a similar path.

Maybe one positive from this shift will be a resurgence in blogs and websites with valuable and engaging content and ideas. Either way, I probably won’t be jumping on Twitter anytime soon.