I finally left Twitter

I'm not going to smile nervously at Elon's party anymore.

I’ve stopped using Midjourney for the newsletter. But decided to give it a whirl this time because its warped sense of perspective seemed like a great brush to use to paint Elon. So here is Elon Musk at a high school party full of bros.

Elon Musk has turned Twitter into the online version of the mean rich kid’s house party. If you’re seen at the party, you might get noticed later in the halls at school. And so maybe you go. Because it’s hard to not be seen.

But after a few minutes you realize that being at the party is miserable and a little scary. Every room is dominated by posturing bros. You can’t find your friends. There’s someone puking in the kitchen. The rich kid is surveying the red solo cups and pineapple-topped pizza like he’s some kind of lord of the manor. And when he passes you and grabs your ass, he thinks he’s being beneficent.

When I was younger, I smiled nervously in that kind of environment before quickly finding a way home, where I cried. As I got older, I learned I didn’t want to be recognized by people who had fun in those rooms. And when someone grabbed my ass, I raked my nails across their face.

I’m so angry at Musk and every man like him. The ones funding reproductive healthcare restrictions while putting up statues of little girlpower for PR. The ones committing address fraud to get elected while expelling Black men from their rightfully-elected positions. (We know about that because of excellent reporting from

Judd Legum

) The ones strip-mining our lives for data while pretending their meager offering of digital influence is payment enough.

I’m so angry I can’t walk out of all their little shitty parties. But I can’t. Because they’ve used codes and courts to invade my house, my work, my country, my entire life. But I can leave Musk’s. And I finally am. I’m not sure what’s finally pushing me out the door.

Was it the way Twitter banned Substack posts last week? I loved this from

Casey Newton

about Elon’s war on Substack. Or maybe my exit started when I was personally shadowbanned on Twitter a few months ago? Was it when the Twitter algorithm was coded to downrank posts about the war against Ukraine?

Maybe leaving has to do with the decreased functionality of the app. I never see the people I follow. And I can’t discover anyone or anything new on there anymore. Twitter was once a place where I could find voices and ideas that are often silenced by gatekeepers. But now I’m served far-right nonsense and, lately, weirdly hostile anti-newsletter posts from strangers.

Or maybe it’s the way troll and bot swarms have been activated against the most vulnerable users on Twitter?

Or maybe it’s the fact that as of yesterday, NPR will no longer post on Twitter. Elon Musk labeled the news organization “state-affiliated media.” This is the label Twitter has always used for state-run media from authoritarian countries like Russia. NPR is a non-profit with complete editorial freedom. Musk may not like their viewpoint, but that doesn’t make them state-run.

He later changed the label to “government-funded media.” NPR receives “receives less than 1 percent of its $300 million annual budget from the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.” If NPR is government-funded, then every single tech company that’s received government funding/contracts for R+D is too. (So most huge big companies.) And at far higher percentages than NPR’s measly less than one percent.

But weirdly, Musk’s company, SpaceX, does not have a government-funded label on its Twitter account, even though The Information reports that

“SpaceX was awarded $2.2 billion and $2.8 billion in federal contracts in 2021 and 2022, respectively, the majority of which came from NASA, according to public records. Those figures also include its deals with the SDA contracts, but exclude any classified contracts.”

Musk has also failed to label Twitter’s account to reflect its state-funding. Only the state isn’t the United States, it’s Saudi Arabia. In October,

“Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that he’d made good on his $1.9 billion commitment, making him the social media company’s second largest shareholder after Musk.”

When NPR announced they were leaving Twitter, its CEO John Lansing said, “"I would never have our content go anywhere that would risk our credibility." And I respect that. But I’m mostly leaving because I don’t want to smile nervously at Elon Musk’s party anymore.

Elon alone with the dishes, after a party where no one had a good time. Courtesy of Midjourney

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A Note-worthy launch

I don’t think what Twitter once was can ever be replaced. But a girl’s got to make a living ahem, keep posting. So I’m taking my micro blogging talents (such as they are. ahem.) to Substack Notes.

Notes is kind of like if Twitter and Instagram had a baby. But a baby without a creepy algorithm. Hmmm. Maybe this comparison is falling apart. Either way, I’m using Notes to post stuff like this:

Of course, long-form essays and paid subscriber community threads will continue to be hosted right here. The newsletter is my main focus, always. And I can never give up our paid subscriber community threads. We’ve developed such a personal connection there. I really feel like I can just be myself in that space. And that you can too. I hope someday Notes gives me the chance to create a private Note channel just for paid subscribers. (Hint, hint, Substack!)

I like Notes because it doesn’t depend on virality, algorithmic ad-serving or Musk’s whims. It depends on subscribers. Which means, it depends on people. It depends on you and me. Which is just…pretty cool.

Notes makes Substack a place where readers can share too. Because readers can post Notes, that means I can subscribe to you too. I like that a lot. You can share links, short posts, quotes, photos, and well…anything else. I plan to use it to share photos, quick ideas, questions and observations. And weird thoughts about cowbell watches:

And yes, I’ll also be posting my version of thirst traps there. A Meg thirst trap is me posing in front of a dirty mirror in a little boy’s shirt from Old Navy. Isn’t this how influencing empires are built?

In my DREAMS, I get to leave Instagram eventually because of a space like Notes. But that will only happen if Notes lives up to its potential.

It’s a new product and so it’s definitely got some growing up to do. I think it’s much better on the web than in the app right now. But I am sure the app will catch up. If you start using it now, you’ll be able to give feedback and help turn it into the kind of social experience you’d like to keep having.

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How to join

Head to substack.com/notes or find the “Notes” tab in the Substack app. As a subscriber to homeculture, you’ll automatically see my notes. Feel free to like, reply, or share them around!

You can also share notes of your own. I hope this becomes a space where every reader of homeculture can share thoughts, ideas, and interesting quotes from the things we're reading on Substack and pretty much everywhere else.

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I’ve got two critiques of Notes so far

Notes is not going to be what Twitter once was. It’s a totally different product. So I am really trying to judge it on its own merits. I am sure there will be more constructive criticism from me in the future. But for now, here are the first two things that occur to me.

The first is the most serious.

As

Saeed Jones

noted, during the writer-only Notes Beta phase it was "whitewhitewhitemayowhite." New social networks tend to have fewer protective features during their early phases, and so people who are more vulnerable to hate speech are well....more vulnerable. And so less likely to feel safe posting.

I think Notes has okay guardrails now - there is a block button and you can choose to only see posts from people you subscribe. I am sure more safety features are needed and will be added as it grows.

Notes has the potential to be a place where meaningful discussion and discovery occurs. But it will only reach that potential if it is a space where people of all races, genders, and orientations can speak safely.

Coding can help make that happen. But it’s also a matter of community engagement. You and I can help create norms that make Notes safe and inclusive. (And if that sometimes means mocking white supremacists WHO AM I TO DENY IT?)

The second issue is about notifications.

I don’t think Substack’s notification settings are super discoverable. I didn’t even know I could change how I received (or didn’t receive) notifications at first. So for awhile there, I was getting email and app notifications for EVERYTHING. It was too much! You can change your notifications by going to your profile, choosing settings and ticking (or unticking) any box that suits you. I like the smart notifications setting, personally. (And of course, I’ve ticked on for everything else, because I don’t want to miss one single Note from any of you!)

If you do end up using Notes, say hi! You can tag me in any Note and I’ll see it. (As you can see from my notifications settings.)

If you encounter any issues, you can always refer to the Notes FAQ for assistance. I’m figuring this all out right alongside you. Let’s see how it goes! Maybe it’ll end up being nothing. Maybe it’ll end up being something.

Either way.

Glad we’ll keep being here together. That’s something worth celebrating, right? Maybe with 20% off paid subscriptions to homeculture? Sure! Why not?