All of us have our regular morning routine. Habits and routines keep us grounded, make the day a bit more predictable, and help us prepare to face the rest of the day. However, if we want to keep moving forward, some habits need to get replaced with new ones.
In my case, some of the routines I have are great, some of them I know I need to change, most of them are neutral. My morning routine hasn't changed a lot over the years. Getting up, walking the dog (that's relatively new), making some food & coffee, reading the news, and then getting to work.
Twitter was a huge part of my life
I have recently realized that one of my biggest habits was scrolling and posting on Twitter. I have officially been a Twitter fan since August 2010. I never gave it much thought, but Twitter was my online journal where I was allowed to register incognito and express myself without the fear of being "discovered" or stigmatized by the people from my hometown. I was just another queer kid living in a tiny town.
Twitter was a platform that allowed me to have my voice and connect with others without any fear. They were much less pushy than Facebook who really wanted us to register with our full names. At the age of 18, I wasn't comfortable with sharing my thoughts with just about everyone who knew me.
Then, when I was at uni, Twitter became my diary and random thought collector. I was able to have short and witty conversations with other people who were looking for a fun way to use their breaks from everyday life. I have to admit, I even met a few dates on it. Everything revolved around discussions, and connecting with like-minded people.
Understanding Twitter as a platform
Until I started working, I never asked myself how Twitter worked. I didn't understand what their business model was, among other things. I never really cared, until I heard that saying - "If you're not paying for it, you're the goods." Ads were pushing revenue on Twitter. Honestly, I was completely ok with that, as long as they kept running.
I got to know more about their mission as a platform, and I honestly admired how they as a company influenced the WebDev space. They were doing amazing stuff, and their solutions were helpful to other developers across the globe.
Change of plans
When the rich kid took over.... I was appalled by his behaviour and the way he treated his workers. I was sure that someone would take him down since his actions are obviously hurting and damaging the company he paid 44B for.
As a Serbian citizen who has seen a decent pile of political 💩, I have to say that this has politics stench all over it. I'm pretty sure he's not doing this on a whim, but rather pushing someone else's agenda. Over the years, Twitter has been the place for many political activists to speak up. They were protected, and they were valued. Today, they are not.
Breaking the habit and moving to Mastodon
Today, I am grateful that Twitter allowed me to have a voice, but after all these new changes, I know that my voice needs to move to another place. I no longer want to be one of the people who would enable the entitled white guy to continue behaving the way he behaves and getting richer by exploiting and mistreating others.
Yes, freedom of speech is important, but so are human lives, and decent human values. I don't see those being present on the platform anymore.
Starting this week you can read my thoughts on stuff around tech and my dog on Mastodon. Let's connect there and let's make the future better by breaking bad habits. That's the only way for us as a society to grow and improve.