We Need To Talk About Twitter w/ Musa Okwonga and Justin Salhani (E138)

After some 12 years on the site, I've finally deleted my Twitter account. Its takeover by a profoundly narcissistic, mediocre and insecure bigot gave me that extra excuse I'd been looking for all these years. But why does any of that matter? After all, isn't it 'just a website'? Yes. And no. Whether you are an activist or a scholar or a journalist or a policy-maker, Twitter has had an undeniable influence over your life - even if you've never been on it. I was a very active user of that site. I gathered some 34,000 followers, had my tweets featured in mainstream media dozens of times, and made a lot of friends. Twitter is also how a lot of my work got published, and how so many people even heard about me in the first place. For that, I'll be forever grateful. But still, I quit it, and I ain't going back. I've reached this conclusion after many years of deliberation. Weighing the pros (exposure, networking, connections etc) and cons (addiction, restlessness, a huge waste of time etc). I don't know whether this is the right decision for everyone (although at this rate the site might become irrelevant soon enough anyway) and in many ways this conversation isn't even about that. I invited returning guests Musa Okwonga and Justin Salhani to talk about the impacts of social media on our world, with a focus on Twitter.Support: You can support my work with⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Ko-fiMasterclass on Modern Lebanon:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Registration is now open⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: Subscribe to⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Hauntologies⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Social Media: I’m on⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact: To collaborate, reach out on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fire These TimesSocial Media: TFTT is on⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Transcription: You can help⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ transcribe TFTT episodes⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: All episodes are archived ⁠⁠⁠⁠on the website⁠⁠⁠⁠From The PeripheryTFTT is a proud member of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From The Periphery Media Collective⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which you can support⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow on⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠.Check out other project wherever you get your podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Politically Depressed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠From The Periphery Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Mutual Aid Podcast⁠⁠⁠MentionsCenter for Countering Digital Hate: Twitter fails to act on 99% of Twitter Blue accounts tweeting hateThe ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok by Cory Doctorow Wilder Winds by Bel OlidThe Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula Le GuinThe Lonely City by Olivia LaingEntangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake