5typos.net
Tweet This🖕
Juvenile, I know. But feels as an appropriate response to Twitter blocking access to Twitterrific (inventor of the tweet), Tweetbot and many other 3rd party clients.
From Tweetie to Tweetbot, I’ve spent hundreds of hours wasting time and interacting with my tribe. Learning and linking. Hanging virtually around cool people. I know that’s not everyone’s experience on Twitter, but it was mine.
If Twitter was the pulse of the planet, then these apps were the custom headphones to listen to it. Sure, most people just used the free ones. But for some of us, the way to consume the feed was as important as the feed itself.
This may sound like hyperbole, but the next few days are going to be a natural experiment — at least in my geeky bubble.
For weeks my Twitter use has slowly declined, and now it will reach almost zero. Why? The default Twitter app experience is terrible. So terrible in fact, that when in the past I’ve taken a Twitter break, it’s the only app I leave installed. Also, Mastodon will soon have it’s own Tapbots app: Ivory. Which is now the first app I reach for when I wake up.
Twitter will still be there for Shakira gossip, just like Facebook was there for keeping up with others. But the geeky place to engage with is mastodon, through whichever of the dozen apps you choose to use.