My X Experiment Progress
As I wrote a few months back, I've become active on Twitter, now called "X," as an experiment in personal branding and marketing. I originally joined Twitter in 2009 but rarely posted or commented on anything. It's normally not me. To some degree, my plunge into writing changed everything, but that's a different topic.
If there is one theme in my life, it's endless curiosity about how things work. I'm particularly fascinated by modern anthropology and how our world is evolving. I've never had the desire to run other people's lives or try to change minds about anything. It's often a pointless exercise. Instead, I love to share what I discover, and if it's helpful, great; if not, well, no big deal.
For the last fourteen years or so, I've heard about Twitter as a sewer. It's where people post to end their careers, and if you're planning to go anywhere with your career, it's best not to comment about anything. When I interview a job candidate and they have no opinion, I'm doubtful they are right for the job. It's not who I like to work with every day. We don't have to agree, but I'd like to know there is someone inside that meat mask.
I have to admit, I was a little trepidatious when I began to tweet my opinions post-Musk acquisition. I didn't know how they would be received. I had fewer than 100 followers anyway.
There were a few surprises as I’ve continued this experiment. For one, people were a lot more civil than I was expecting, even when they disagreed. The truly nasty posts are from people who hide their identity. There have only been about two dozen that I've interacted with who fit that category, and they are easy to ignore or block. Get rid of that noise, and it becomes a great social square of debate, just as it should be. I've been pleasantly surprised that even people who disagree with me, for the most part, have been very nice. I love seeing them and their posts, and some are very thought-provoking.
I consider it part of my civic responsibility to take part in elections and to get involved in the debate. It makes for a better society. As I write this, just by being civil and participating, I'm over 600 followers and growing. What's most interesting is that you don't gain followers by just liking something or saying what the world is saying. You have to actually step up and speak up, even when it may not be popular to do so. It's like everything else in life. You can't stand out if your choice is to be like everyone else.
I get why some are so outrageous. It gets them followers. It was never my goal. I just wanted to participate in the debate, and I'm glad I'm there. I'm having a lot more fun participating than I was expecting and the experiment continues. The people are interesting too. You never know where your life will take you when you step out a little. Come in, join the fun! Participate! Get mad! Laugh! Participate!