SOCIAL MEDIA

Black Twitter is Irreplaceable. Did We Wait Too Late to Say That?

If this is the final stand, you should know about Black Twitter

A Black man smiles with skateboard | Photo by Philip Boakye via Pexels

One day, when millennials like myself are sitting around the fireplace as elders, we may tell our grandchildren the story of Black Twitter, a network of Black people who came together to rejoice, mourn, share news, hot takes, and epic memes that helped to shape the very fabric of American society. And how Black Twitter’s kryptonite is that it lives within an even larger digital community, one that Twitter’s new CEO Elon Musk’s poor and hasty management strategies have placed in jeopardy. As Jason Parham wrote in Wired, “there is no replacement for Black Twitter,” although some have suggested alternatives.

In true Black Twitter form, some users have already started making funeral arrangements, planning which outfit to wear, and sharing personal stories, pictures, and videos. There’s a “last day of summer camp” type of vibe going on, where folks keep asking, “where can I find you if Twitter dies.” However, on the positive side, some people have shared how much the platform means to them, how it influenced them, helped them get jobs, make romantic connections, and gave neurodivergent and other marginalized groups a space. The preemptive trauma of losing those connections has brought about a level of honesty and camaraderie in the digital air, and it’s refreshing but also shocking.

Since Elon Musk sent employees a letter with an ultimatum, the latest move in the “dramatic saga that’s unfolded since Musk announced his takeover bid,” the platform’s been in disarray, causing speculation about when and if Twitter’s servers will crash now that thousands of employees who helped keep the platform afloat have left, following massive layoffs. So far, Musk has failed to work with his employees and instead has tried to rule over them, a recipe for disaster. If I could recommend reading “The Human Workplace: People-Centred Organizational Development” for Musk’s continued development, I would. One thing’s for sure. The poor management of Twitter since Musk’s takeover absolutely destroys the myth that billionaires are inherently good at running a business. Their wealth is the result of privilege and opportunity, not talent, as…