The following month, Musk laid off thousands of employees, leaving many essential departments and teams gutted.

The site has now twice delayed the rollout of its new USD$8 a month blue check verification service citing account impersonation concerns.

Former United States of America president Donald Trump's account was reinstated following a Twitter poll. This act conflicted with claims from Musk that such decisions would be left up to a content moderation council.

So, what's the lesson here?

Putting aside political sentiments and whatever one may think of Musk, the situation calls for real introspection. This is introspection on:
  • the purpose of social media
  • the importance of online communities, and
  • the kind of online spaces brands and consumers congregate within.

All this uncertainty puts the importance of a diversified online ecosystem into focus. Instead of walled social media gardens, we need options, options that cater to our:
  • content
  • communication, and
  • information preferences.

The value of integrity and moderation

As much as Musk reports that Twitter is hitting new records, there can be no denying the level of brand damage that both it and other brands have suffered since the acquisition.

Users and advertisers feel alienated, unsure of how the site will remain not just popular but also how it sustains its 'stable' state of being.

Granted, it's still early days. Musk could ultimately move Twitter's business and operating model away from being dependent on advertiser revenue. But the damage is still being inflicted in real-time.

Just recently, following another Twitter user poll, Musk announced the site would offer 'general amnesty' to suspended accounts, a move that has set off alarm bells.

With curatorship comes responsibility

Marketing professor and entrepreneur Scott Galloway notes a correlation between company growth and shareholder value, and additional moderation, going so far as to declare Twitter is successful because of moderation and not despite it.

All this points to a platform that scrutinises user-posted content as being preferable. And let's be very clear: Regardless of what people may argue, moderation and censorship are not the same things.

One app to rule them all

We must not underestimate the power of social media and how it's integrated into our daily lives. The medium has evolved beyond being useful for instant messaging friends and family.

Case in point, TikTok is now a search engine, with young people using the app's algorithm to source information, a development that forms part of a greater trend in digital transformation.

These platforms are important to people for varying purposes, but they also draw specific people and demographics that help manifest their unique:
  • communities
  • forums, and
  • groups.

Reddit is a very different animal from Twitter in terms of moderation and engagement mechanism, so other people are drawn to it for various reasons. The same goes for TikTok and Facebook and everything else.

Multiple and diverse platforms can also encourage innovation, leading to new products and services that capture the imagination of their users.

By relegating themselves to just one platform, brands miss out on new communities and interaction methods. They disregard opportunities to expand their digital footprint.

The social media experience is far from perfect for anyone. Still, as a practical source of communication, news and entertainment — not to mention a critical tool for journalists and activists worldwide — it's a resource we must be grateful for and take care of.

Like and subscribe for the future

Musk has inadvertently kickstarted a race to discover the next big and trendy online hangout. Open-source networking service Mastodon got a head start when it experienced a dramatic surge in user signups following the Twitter acquisition.

Recently, the little-known app Hive shot into the top 20 list on the United States of America App Store. It's too early to tell if Twitter has permanently damaged its reputation to the point of abandonment. After weeks of watching people declare or imply their imminent departure from the site, we have yet to see any major exodus.

Twitter will not vanish overnight. Musk paid way too much for it for that to happen. Twitter and what's happening to it in terms of its user base is also not indicative of any world-changing social or cultural trend.

As of Q2 2022, Twitter's number of monetisable daily active users reached 238 million. Closer to home, South Africa had only 2.85 million users in early 2022. That means there are many humans and entities across South Africa and the rest of the world that are not on this site.

But whatever happens, brands and users alike need to keep an open mind regarding the platforms they use. Not just what they want platforms to do or how they regulate themselves but what they want from them and the people they want to connect with. Whatever comes next, we will always have options in that regard.

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