I’m honored to share that last week I was included in this newsletter highlighting why Twitter is no longer a good platform for artists. I share my insights and experience (alongside Sir Elton John no less)!
Here’s the TLDR: We all know that social media is constantly changing, but there’s one platform that seems to be experiencing a tumultuous descent: Twitter, or rather, X. A space that was once the pinnacle of conversation and witty banter is now marred by hate speech, disinformation, and a mass exodus of users and advertisers. Take NPR; they left six months ago and have reported almost zero decline in traffic.
With this, it’s worth asking: why are you (or your artists) still there?
Disinformation running rampant
In recent weeks, we’ve seen disinformation, fake news, and a troubling surge in hate speech on Twitter/X. A European company began an investigation that threatens serious fines as high as 6 percent of total company revenue. Of coures, this led to reports that X may abandon Europe, and its 9 percent of X users. In response, Twitter made changes to further weaken enforcement against violent, on-platform speech. Not a good look.
Fans are abandoning the platform
When asked about this, I was quoted as saying “Fans are not really there anymore,” and this is something I truly believe. While I was an early advocate for Twitter, “In recent years its been a dead zone.” As anyone who has been hanging around Cyber PR long enough can tell you, we’ve done our fair share of research and even advocating for Twitter over the years, which you can see In our musician’s guides to figuring out just about everything, and our guidance for artists using Twitter over the years. So this revelation doesn’t come easily.
Even Elton John is speaking up
You know it’s bad when Elton John steps in. Overwhelmingly, we are seeing what an unsafe space Twitter / X has become for the LGBTQ community — quoting it as “toxic.”
All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.
I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.— Elton John (@eltonofficial) December 9, 2022
Consider moving to Threads or another platform
The newsletter ends by asking users and artists to consider leaving Twitter, for ethical reasons as well as for the pure fact that their fans simply aren’t there like they used to be. It draws parallels to the decline of other major brands on X, and urges a collective exit before it eventually implodes. As the newsletter puts it, “Take a stand, while there is still ethical time and space to not be the last person left at a really embarrassing party.”
Want more key advice on social media trends? Check out our Social Media Tuneup for all the tools you need to improve your social media presence.
