Why Twitter Still Works for Me
Twitter has become a central part of my online routine, and given how much of my work happens online, that matters. Recent events around the platform's ownership have prompted fresh conversations about its future, but I’ve been thinking about my own usage habits for a while now. Like any tool, its value depends entirely on how you choose to use it.
The platform’s core strength remains its character limit. Brevity forces clarity, and small posts are quick to skim, so I don’t sink much time into a feed with little to offer. Threads weaken that constraint somewhat, but the format still discourages the kind of sprawling, unfocused writing that dominates other platforms.
That brevity also keeps me out of trouble. Small posts don’t lend themselves to meaningful conversation, which suits me fine. Decades of experience with 90s newsgroups taught me that online arguments are rarely productive; they attract the same toxic behavior we see today for the same structural reasons. Twitter makes it easy to sidestep that entirely: I simply don’t read or post replies. I’m aware that this comes from a position of privilege — I’m not a target of online harassment, and the platform’s long-standing failure to build adequate anti-harassment tools is its biggest shortcoming. Many good people avoid these spaces altogether because of that fear, and I don’t underestimate how that colors their experience.
Curating a Feed That Earns Attention
Where Twitter shines for me is in its precision. I can follow specific accounts that consistently post things I want to see, and I’m selective about that list. If someone posts great content too frequently, I skip them — anything truly worthwhile will get retweeted by someone I do follow. What I value most are pointers to interesting articles, which I save to Instapaper for later reading. Short threads can be useful, but they’re harder to archive and easily spiral out of control.
That curation approach proved especially valuable during the pandemic, when a well-chosen set of reliable accounts gave me a clearer picture of what was happening. I’ve done the same recently to stay informed on events in Ukraine, and I’ve made a couple of those lists public for anyone who might find them useful.
On the writing side, I mostly post links — either to my own articles or to pieces I think my followers will appreciate. I avoid arguments and largely succeed, though I do find myself tempted by catchy soundbites now and then. A quick tally of my last 50 tweets over 48 days breaks down as 36 pointers to articles or threads, 6 announcements of events I’m involved in, and 8 attempts at a witty observation. In that same window I made 28 replies, none of which were actual conversations.
Lists Over Algorithms
If I could ask Twitter’s product team for one improvement, it would be a serious investment in lists. They’re genuinely handy: I can group people who tweet mostly about a particular topic and read through that list when I’m in the mood for that subject. I scan my main follow feed during the day, but save a few topic-specific lists for evening reading. The feature works well enough, but it has irritating gaps. Lists don’t collapse threads the way the main feed does, and there are almost no tools for managing them. I’d love to move all my follows into lists automatically, and to set up lists that automatically follow anyone added to them.
My main feed is always in chronological order. I used to have to manually reset Twitter’s algorithm every few weeks, though it has finally stopped interfering for many months now. I never open the Explore tab, rarely look at hashtags, and avoid DMs in favor of email, where I can track conversations more reliably. I stick with the default web interface on my desktop and the official app on my phone; no third-party client has yet offered enough to justify switching.
Watching and Waiting
I’m not fond of Elon Musk’s public behavior, and his comments suggest a naive understanding of the realities of online content moderation. That said, it’s too early to judge what the takeover will actually mean for the platform. I listen to Arbiters of Truth regularly, which has given me a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of content management and the limits of free-speech absolutism; Evelyn Douek’s recent Atlantic article on the topic is a good starting point for anyone new to it.
For now, I’ll keep using Twitter as I have been and see how things develop. As always, I’m relieved that I have my own domain to fall back on.
