[Air-L] Will Academic Twitter Exist Under Elon Musk?

Fri Oct 28 09:31:27 PDT 2022

Hi,

Some have started using Tribel as an alternative... Any thoughts/experience
using the platform?

Warm Regards,
Supriti

On Fri, 28 Oct 2022, 20:43 Eugenia Siapera via Air-L, <
air-l at listserv.aoir.org> wrote:

> Super interested in this Aram and all!
>
> Btw you may know about this already but a few years ago there was an effort
> to buy Twitter on behalf of its users and turn it into a cooperative. There
> is now a movement to see if there is scope to imagine an alternative
> platform - see here
> <
> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEhpgWBcg5v-pw2jgNQeBioABJaO5l-hl_lhDh88CYfzi8sw/viewform?link_id=0&can_id=ef7bc98d850063290e9a252158eab395&source=email-test-10880&email_referrer=email_1719107&email_subject=twitter-users-lets-imagine-a-platform-where
> >
> for more details. Disclaimer: I am not involved in running this initiative
> but I plan to participate.
>
> All the best, Eugenia
>
> On Mon, Oct 24, 2022 at 6:32 PM Aram Sinnreich via Air-L <
> air-l at listserv.aoir.org> wrote:
>
> > I’ve been thinking that AoIR should launch its own Mastodon instance,
> open
> > to all members. Something like aoir[dot]social.
> >
> > Glad to discuss in Dublin.
> >
> > > On Oct 23, 2022, at 4:42 PM, Richard Forno via Air-L <
> > air-l at listserv.aoir.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > External Email: Use caution with links and attachments.
> > >
> > > Hi Stu -
> > >
> > > Like many, I'm hoping for the best, but expecting the worst for
> Twitter.
> > > I find Twitter a fantastic tool for staying in-touch and updated on
> > > colleagues' research/ideas/musings, sharing ideas of my own and perhaps
> > > soliciting feedback/contributions, following conference hashtags (hello
> > > #AOIR2022!), some current events and socialization...and the odd dog or
> > > nature photo  I'd hate quit it, but I've not ruled it out ... but I
> > > could live w/o Twitter, even after 13 years.
> > >
> > > Without getting too deeply into politics here (which can be hard given
> > > the broader issues raised) -- as to your last paragraph Stu, I'm with
> > > you.  Since 2001 I've been increasingly concerned about the future of
> > > America's lttle-d democracy, view 2016 as a populist
> > > accident/experiment, saw 2020--1/6 as a test run. feel 2022 will be a
> > > good indicator of where things are heading having learned from 2020,
> and
> > > firmly believe that 2024 likely will be *the* pivotal point for our
> > > country one way or the other.   (Though politically, I think this
> > > political decline started in the mid-90s when one party decided to
> treat
> > > the other as the 'enemy' and embraced a scorched-earth brand of
> politics
> > > that considered compromise akin to treason, which got cranked to 11
> > > thanks to silo'd cable news and SM platforms in ensuing years.)  And
> > > that's all I will prognosticate about here politically -- other than to
> > > conclude by saying I'm worried not just about now, but that we will not
> > > be able to fix things and get "back on track for the future" anytime
> > > soon.  :/.
> > >
> > > I do admit that despite being an old-school geek/hacker, in recent
> years
> > > I've wrestled with the warm-and-fuzzy nostalgic notion from the '90s
> > > that "information wants to be free". In some ways, it's been great for
> > > individuals and society -- in other ways, as Borat might say, "not so
> > > much."  Of course, that change in thinking also could be a function of
> > > midlife as well as current events.   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
> > >
> > > But one of the world's dominant modern comms mediums transitioning into
> > > an unaccountable private entity run by a person .... however you view
> > > Musk .... definitely is concerning on *many* levels.[1]. By contrast,
> at
> > > least FB is a regulated public company and has the appearance of some
> > > 'objective' review of controversial things via its Oversight Board.
> > >
> > > As for aca-Twitter?  As I said, I'm still in wait-and-see, but it
> > > wouldn't surprise me to see many tweeps both from academia and
> elsewhere
> > > posting their final tweets either due to protest or for professional
> > > reasons / protection by year-end or early next year, depending on what
> > > 'innovations' are introduced to the platform post-acquisition.
> > >
> > > Stay tuned, I guess...
> > >
> > > -- rick
> > >
> > > [1] WaPo reported Friday that DOD/DOJ 'might' be investigating the
> > > Twitter deal and SpaceX-DOD contracts due to national security concerns
> > > with Musk's public views and his foreign investors.  Could be something
> > > there, could be a flash of desperation to block the sale ... but again,
> > > the question of accountability comes up.
> > >
> > >
> > > On 21 Oct 2022, at 7:43, Shulman, Stu via Air-L wrote:
> > >
> > >> Will academic Twitter exist under Elon Musk? Will there be more or
> > >> less
> > >> data? More or less urgent issues to study? Will the "Fail Whale" show
> > >> up
> > >> again after 75% of the staff is gone? Who will do content moderation?
> > >> Is
> > >> this a FastTrack to the next violent uprising in the US?
> > >>
> > >> I am curious what people on this particular list think is about to
> > >> happen.
> > >> After 12 years featuring the formal study of Twitter data I am
> > >> completely
> > >> burned out. Not on the challenges, nor the art and science of the
> > >> tasks. I
> > >> still love talking to students and faculty who have chosen Twitter as
> > >> the
> > >> object of their research. The data has never been more widely
> > >> available and
> > >> the positive uses of it can be inspiring.
> > >>
> > >> It's the voluminous amounts of hate I see in my own research. Also the
> > >> systemic weaponization of Twitter against democratic systems of
> > >> government
> > >> globally. As an original Board Member and the Treasurer of a 501
> > >> (c)(6)
> > >> called "The Big Boulder Initiative" I was working as a liaison to
> > >> academia
> > >> with a group of industry people on the "long term preservation of the
> > >> social data industry." The industry survived, but the ideals aspired
> > >> to
> > >> have not. We offered this 2-minute Lawrence Lessig-inspired vision of
> > >> the
> > >> challenges about 7 years ago:
> > >>
> > >> "Why Texifter Joined the Big Boulder Initiative"
> > >>
> >
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://vimeo.com/129423037__;!!IaT_gp1N!0Ghlkf1rWCTGT5MfqPFpLm-cdX_SBpmFHVzAbi7e_nr3KCSBblNWocRhIbpOHQGFDd5ZOBbVTyp2WHk_ow$
> > >>
> > >> Lessig was right. On the Internet, architecture is the most powerful
> > >> regulator. The architecture of Twitter, with corporate ads featured on
> > >> insurrectionist and other problematic timelines, is now a persistent
> > >> threat
> > >> to democratic systems of government without a single day of Musk
> > >> governance. The insurrection January 6, 2021 was planned in the open
> > >> on
> > >> Twitter. There were advertisements from familiar brands in every
> > >> seditious
> > >> timeline. Evolving tactics using Twitter trains (tagging 30
> > >> like-minded
> > >> users), notification-rich replies, the ReTweet functionality,
> > >> gamification,
> > >> domestic and foreign meme warfare, the idolatry of influence via
> > >> misinformation, bots and trolls, as well as paid amplifiers of all
> > >> manner
> > >> and variety. The "digital soldiers" we found in the Canadian election
> > >> of
> > >> 2019 (fake Americans who hated Trudeau but liked RT, Russia Today and
> > >> Southfront) were openly planning a QAnon-inspired "storm" which
> > >> ultimately
> > >> was the first coup attempt in two centuries of American democracy. I
> > >> briefed the US/UK Intelligence Community (staff from the Joint Chiefs,
> > >> JSOC, etc.) February 12, 2020 via the Strategic Multilayer Assessment
> > >> using
> > >> open source information from Twitter. Things have since gotten much
> > >> worse,
> > >> not better, since that briefing. These were the slides in early
> > >> February
> > >> 2020:
> > >>
> > >>
> >
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tinyurl.com/huntingbotsandtrolls__;!!IaT_gp1N!0Ghlkf1rWCTGT5MfqPFpLm-cdX_SBpmFHVzAbi7e_nr3KCSBblNWocRhIbpOHQGFDd5ZOBbVTyq6oRe2Xw$
> > >>
> > >> Looking at the current threat-relevant data, I have a
> > >> sick-to-my-stomach
> > >> feeling about the next 60 days in U.S. history. We may be late to
> > >> notice
> > >> the end of small "d" democracy is imminent or inevitable because of
> > >> the
> > >> Internet effects we cannot fully see, capture, measure, or control.
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> Dr. Stuart W. Shulman
> > >> Founder and CEO, Texifter
> > >> Editor Emeritus, *Journal of Information Technology & Politics*
> > >> _______________________________________________
> > >> The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
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