[insert primal scream]

But also, some happy news

October 28, 2022

New Date. New Job. New Schedule. 

I’ll get to the Elon of it all later but let’s start with some positive updates. First, thank you for sharing your feedback on send date with me the other week. Looks like the Friday vibes are working for folks.

Second, I started a new role this week with Pinterest (hi, new coworkers who told me you subscribed 👋). I’m really excited to be joining their Creative Strategy team, helping brands develop the best creative ideas for their campaigns on Pinterest. Since I’m now working at one of the companies I sometimes cover in this newsletter, I want to be transparent with you all about how I’ll approach things going forward.

  1. I’ll continue including public information and news about Pinterest in the Platform Updates section of the newsletter. 

  2. I’ll refrain from adding any editorial comments about Pinterest-specific stories. 

  3. I may include my POV on Pinterest things if I’m discussing them in the context of a larger multi-platform trend. Again, I’ll only use public information about the company.

My goal is to continue making the news aggregation portion of this newsletter comprehensive and valuable while staying far away from any violation of my confidentiality obligations. I also want you to be able to weigh my opinions on these topics with the full context and knowledge that Pinterest is signing my checks. 

Finally, since I’m in new job mode, I’m gonna temporarily drop my frequency down to bi-weekly. I just want to give myself the time and headspace to focus on learning the new role. After a few weeks, I’ll feel better about establishing a new routine that lets me keep this project going too. 

If you’ve paid for this newsletter and don’t feel good about any of these changes for any reason, do not feel bad about canceling your subscription. If you’ve paid for an annual membership and would like a refund, just DM me, and I’ll be happy to refund you. No questions asked. No hard feelings. I’m truly so grateful for all of the support (financial and otherwise) y’all have shown me around this project, and happy to have you here with me in whatever capacity makes sense for you. 

Platform Updates

The Rest of Meta 

TikTok

Twitter

YouTube

Apple

LinkedIn 

Pinterest 

Snap 

Culture Movers 

AI

Music 

Creator Economy 

Gaming 

Well !@#$

It finally happened. Elon now owns Twitter. 

Most of you probably know that I’m a big Twitter user, and I have made no secret of my disdain for Apartheid Clyde. Even if he doesn’t follow through on his idea of cutting 75% of the staff, many folks at Twitter have already left, and morale there seems wretched from what I gather via friends working there. Power users are less active on the platform. Elon is trying to get ahead of advertisers' fears but ended up just reminding everyone that Twitter is already a hellsite. My own timeline feels like 2018 Tumblr, with everyone asking where we will all move next. It’s not looking good over there. 

The Tumblr porn ban (more the inconsistent way that policy was implemented) triggered the collapse of my social community there. The digital migration event had a big impact on me. Some of the people I communicated with every day didn’t make the move over to Twitter. We lost touch. The network of blogs I followed to help me discover new books, shows, and films disappeared from my media diet. I found a new network of queer friends and nerds to swap jokes and memes with on Twitter. I have access to ideas from some of the smartest activists and academics working on issues that matter to me. I’ve dealt with trolls and harassment. Watched many of my friends suffer through that mess too. I’ve become that person who knows what’s “happening on the internet” that my friends turn to when they need a meme explained. 

The combined distrust in Elon as a human-shaped-entity and clear signs that Twitter’s problems as a platform and company will only grow under his ownership feel like they could spark another digital migration event. I keep thinking about the end of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas when everyone sings about their plans for after the Chicken Range closes in “Hard Candy Christmas.” We had a good thing going on the hellsite. It wasn’t perfect, but for many communities, it worked. Gay Twitter has helped me make many digital and IRL friends. I want to stay in touch with these folks. We just aren’t sure where we’ll all go next. 

I’ll probably follow up when in a future newsletter with a breakdown of the migratory patterns I’m noticing. It feels too soon to say where we’ll all end up. I know we’ll all be just fine and dandy, so let’s just get through tomorrow. 

In Closing,

To celebrate our new Friday send date. I leave you with this song. 

Happy Halloween, and see you on November 11th!