Bonum Certa Men Certa

How Twitter (Quite Likely Both the Company and the Platform) Died in June/July 2023

Over a week ago: Twitter Has Just Been Unofficially Killed by Elon Musk (Date of Death: June 30 2023)

Twitter is walled garden
Akin to "paywalls" everywhere (some people called them paywalls, but they're walled gardens)



Summary: Nothing has been the same since Twitter put everything behind walled gardens; it gave people a strong nudge in another direction and they took the hint

THE pundits ask aloud if Facebook can swallow Twitter [1], seeing that Bluesky is barely talked about anymore [2] (it's where Jack Dorsey went, but they suffered a slow start with relatively disappointing adoption numbers). Remember Mastodon? It has problems of its own and some people wrongly believe Facebook can help. Facebook can actually do a lot of harm, in methods that are akin to "embrace and extend". The only thing we condone is abandoning all social control media.

"Facebook can actually do a lot of harm, in methods that are akin to "embrace and extend"."At the moment the media focuses on just two options [3-4], even in the spamfarm known as CNET [5-6]. There are already signs of censorship opportunism [7] and Engadget is trying to capitalise on the sudden interest [8-10]. A lot of the discussion focuses on the wrong things, e.g. boredom [11]. The latest Twitter scandals [12] are lost in the mist of deathmatch-like framings. Not many people paid attention to the privacy red flags [13]. When someone threatens to sue a company it grabs a lot more headlines. In many ways, Twitter shot its own foot [14] and we heralded its death over a week ago when walled gardens were erected (after they had allegedly found themlselves compelled to do this; it was likely a fat lie).

"Issues accessing the tweets (hence the ads), without prior warning, meant many people began marking Twitter as "dead". They felt anxious to move somewhere else."Instagram Threads sort of launched (maybe even rushed and released prematurely) at the almost perfect timing, stealing Bluesky's thunder [15-16] within only a few days. Advertisers (the main source of income) were talking away [17], trying to relocate where eyeballs were moving. Issues accessing the tweets (hence the ads), without prior warning [18], meant many people began marking Twitter as "dead". They felt anxious to move somewhere else.

To name some issues from a week ago, see "Twitter's API Keeps Breaking, Even for Developers Paying $42,000" [19] and TweetDeck problems [20-21]. Yaccarino is just some person on a sinking boat [22]. There's nothing she can do now to reverse course. One day we might look back at all this and recall the rapid death of Twitter. Cynicism has become common [23] as users moaned about access issues for about a week [24-28]. For Facebook it was a double-whammy because a lot of scandals and negative publicity (e.g. [29-35] were quickly buried by this barrage of shallow crap, X versus Y, false dichotomies, and even cheering for Mark Zuckerberg [36-63].

RIP, blue bird.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. 2023-07-07 [Older] Is Threads a Threat to Twitter? | Future Tech
  2. 2023-07-07 [Older] Don’t Count Bluesky Out Yet
  3. 2023-07-07 [Older] For the moment, it's all Threads with Twitter now a pariah
  4. 2023-07-07 [Older] Threads: new Twitter rival looks like a shrewd move but Meta lacks credibility
  5. 2023-07-07 [Older] Threads Faces Legal Threat From Twitter, Report Says - CNET


  6. 2023-07-07 [Older] Twitter Reportedly Threatens to Sue Meta Over Threads App - CNET


  7. 2023-07-07 [Older] Meta restores Instagram and Threads account that tracked Elon Musk's private jet


  8. 2023-07-07 [Older] All the questions we still have about Threads, Meta’s Twitter killer


  9. 2023-07-07 [Older] Engadget Podcast: Diving into Threads and Twitter's latest mess
  10. 2023-07-07 [Older] The Morning After: Twitter says Meta stole trade secrets to build Threads


  11. 2023-07-07 [Older] Threads won’t kill Twitter if it’s boring


  12. 2023-07-06 [Older] Emergency office criticized for sending people to Twitter for Storm Poly updates


  13. 2023-07-05 [Older] Meta's Twitter rival Threads won't initially launch in the EU


  14. 2023-07-05 [Older] Twitter quietly backtracks on requiring users to log in to see tweets


  15. 2023-07-04 [Older] Bluesky experiences record-high traffic after Twitter implements reading limits
  16. 2023-07-04 [Older] Bluesky Sees "Record" Web Traffic After Elon's Latest Dumb Twitter Decision


  17. 2023-07-04 [Older] Dutch advertisers: Twitter "certainly not more attractive" after Musk's latest step


  18. 2023-07-04 [Older] Twitter says it couldn't tell people about rate limiting in advance


  19. 2023-07-03 [Older] Mashable: ‘Twitter’s API Keeps Breaking, Even for Developers Paying $42,000’


  20. 2023-07-03 [Older] TweetDeck Falters as Elon Musk Wrecks Twitter


  21. 2023-07-04 [Older] Twitter launches 'new' Tweetdeck as the old version breaks down
  22. 2023-07-03 [Older] CEO Linda Yaccarino’s Vision for Twitter 2.0: Sound-On Video Ads


  23. 2023-07-03 [Older] Everything Continues to Be Going Just Great at Twitter


  24. 2023-07-03 [Older] The Morning After: Twitter limits unverified users to seeing 600 posts a day
  25. 2023-07-03 [Older] Twitter's apps are breaking following Elon Musk's decision to cap tweet rates
  26. 2023-07-02 [Older] Viewing Twitter posts without a login is blocked under temporary restrictions
  27. 2023-07-01 [Older] Elon Musk claims Twitter’s new login requirement is a ‘temporary’ response to data scrapers
  28. 2023-07-01 [Older] Twitter puts strict cap on how many tweets users can read each day


  29. 2023-07-06 [Older] Biden Appeals Judge's Ban on Government Asking for Social Media Takedowns
  30. 2023-07-06 [Older] Top EU court invalidates Facebook basis for targeted advertising
  31. 2023-07-05 [Older] Quebecor to pull ads from Facebook, Instagram after news access halted
  32. 2023-07-05 [Older] Federal government has suspended its advertising on Facebook, Instagram
  33. 2023-07-04 [Older] CJEU declares Meta/Facebook's GDPR approach largely illegal
  34. 2023-07-04 [Older] Facebook will need permission to show personalized ads in the EU
  35. 2023-07-03 [Older] Why is Facebook Marketplace getting so much negative reviews?


  36. 2023-07-07 [Older] Twitter Is Threatening to Sue Meta Over Threads, Meta Executives Threaten to Piss Their Pants Laughing
  37. 2023-07-07 [Older] 'Clone' or Competitor? Users and Lawyers Compare Twitter and Threads
  38. 2023-07-07 [Older] Twitter May Face Difficulties Showing Meta Stole Trade Secrets


  39. 2023-07-06 [Older] Threads Hands-On: Instagram's New App Might Just Be Dull Enough to Beat Twitter
  40. 2023-07-06 [Older] Twitter Hits Meta With Lawsuit Threat Over Stolen 'Trade Secrets'
  41. 2023-07-06 [Older] Zuckerberg launches Threads to lock horns with ailing Twitter


  42. 2023-07-06 [Older] Meta's Twitter rival Threads is here. Can it survive the company's woes?
  43. 2023-07-06 [Older] Why You May Not Want to Sign Up for Threads, Meta's New Twitter Competitor - CNET
  44. 2023-07-06 [Older] Instagram Threads: Meta sets sights on Twitter supremacy
  45. 2023-07-06 [Older] Twitter to sue Meta over new Threads app
  46. 2023-07-06 [Older] Meta’s Threads app is here to challenge Twitter
  47. 2023-07-06 [Older] The Morning After: Meta’s Twitter rival, Threads, is finally here
  48. 2023-07-06 [Older] Twitter threatens to sue Meta over the new Threads app
  49. 2023-07-06 [Older] Meta Takes Aim at Twitter With the Launch of Rival App Threads
  50. 2023-07-06 [Older] Twitter Threatens Legal Action Against Meta Over Threads: Report
  51. 2023-07-06 [Older] What you need to know about Threads, Instagram’s new Twitter killer app
  52. 2023-07-05 [Older] Everything We Know About Threads, Instagram's Twitter Killer App
  53. 2023-07-05 [Older] Threads, Meta's Twitter-Killer, Is Now Available
  54. 2023-07-05 [Older] Instagram Threads: Meta sets sights on Twitter supremacy


  55. 2023-07-05 [Older] Musk has more to worry about than cage fight with Zuckerberg
  56. 2023-07-06 [Older] Meta Takes Aim at Twitter With the Launch of Rival App Threads
  57. 2023-07-04 [Older] Meta Introduces ‘Threads’ Because It Wants In on the Twitter Exodus
  58. 2023-07-04 [Older] Meta set to launch Twitter rival Threads this week


  59. 2023-07-04 [Older] Instagram’s Threads App Was Briefly Listed on Google Play Over the Weekend
  60. 2023-07-04 [Older] Meta appears poised to compete with Twitter with new app Threads
  61. 2023-07-04 [Older] Meta's Instagram-linked Twitter rival 'Threads' could arrive on July 6th
  62. 2023-07-04 [Older] The Morning After: Meta's Instagram-linked Twitter rival could arrive this week
  63. 2023-07-03 [Older] Where the Hell Is Instagram’s Twitter Clone?




Recent Techrights' Posts

European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Czech Mate: EPO Kingmaker or Merely a Pawn in the Game?
recent "missions" of the EPO President
SLAPP Censorship - Part 131 Out of 200: A Big Win for the Media in the United Kingdom (UK) Today
In a democratic society the Right to Know, which is closely connected to freedom of the press (or what one might label "blogging" or "blag"), comes above all else, except where there are lives being put at risk
IBM's Fedora Plans to Integrate Slop Into "Fedora Workstation as a Default Feature."
IBM does not care whether the community wants this or not
The Media Talks a Lot About XBox Layoffs, a Closer Look at the Data Shows Microsoft 'Bloodbath'
'Bloodbath' is the term insiders use
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 07, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Microsoft Cuts Doom "id Software" and Turkey Detains Journalists
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Old Computer Challenge (OCC) and Hardware Tests
Links for the day
A Break From the Routine
What matters is what whistleblowers keep feeding information to us
SLAPP Censorship - Part 132 Out of 200: When You Cannot Pay a Million Pounds (1,335,520.00 United States Dollar) to Lawyers But Have a Strong Community
Techrights compensates for its fiscal poverty with a wealth of community spirit
Fame is Not the Goal
"Fame" kills
Mental Health in Free Software Communities
clearly there is a subject that merits debate and it ought not be a taboo anymore
The Era of Sponsored Spam
There is no "era of AI", there is era of BRIBES to PRETEND there is an "era of AI"
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Cleaning, Old Computer, and More
Links for the day
Links 07/07/2026: Le Monde Combats LLM Slop Plagiarism, "ACLU Launches Largest Ever Midterm Electoral Program"
Links for the day
Extremism in the Free Software World is Mostly a Myth
Only the firm belief that justice applies to all will produce a just society
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 06, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, July 06, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Kernelized Secure Operating System (KSOS) and "Exploiting Thoughtcrime in LLMs"
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 130 Out of 200: Jealousy, Envy, Hubris
This site is primarily about Free software
Gemini Links 06/07/2026: Still Mostly Dry, GoToSocial, and More
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Effective Dispute Resolution… But Not For EPO Staff
Slovenia fielded one of the few Administrative Council delegations which managed to maintain its own independent line against the tyrannical EPOnian "Sun King"
Community Sites Need Genuine Collaboration and True Autonomy
People who want to communicate, federate and organise for effective change need to evolve
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Covers Quibble, Free Software for Secure Communications, in the FSF Summer Bulletin
The Georgia Tech folks are bringing Free software education and contributions to one of the better known Computer Science hubs in the US
Microsoft Layoffs Include Windows, Bing, Slop (CoPilot etc.) and There Will More More Rounds (or Waves) to Come
"43% of Xbox laid off"
Obscene Contradiction in Microsoft's Layoffs Tally ("Official" Numbers Do Not Add Up)
Notice how they treat "LinkedIn" as separate
Preserving Comments About the Real IBM Before They Get Deleted
IBM in the 1980s is not what it is right now
Cybershow on "Escaping Prisons For Your Mind"
"THE CYBER SHOW: Stealing technofascism's boots, and stomping on its own face with them."
Links 06/07/2026: At Least 20% Staff Reduction in XBox (Microsoft), Taiwan Sees Uptick in Chinese Aggression/Provocation, Senator Rodante Marcoleta Arrested
Links for the day
Confirmed: Microsoft Layoffs Come in Two Waves, Just Like Last Summer
To us, what stands out is the admission from Microsoft that there are two (or more) waves
In Praise of the UK's Stance on Free Speech (but Some Reservations)
At the moment there is a healthy discussion going on with the objective of disrupting attacks on British press
Exposing Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO), a Call for More Whistleblowers
We predict that, provided enough whistleblowers speak out, António "the unready" won't even finish his current term
Leaving Our Pets for Several Days
This week our pets will be worried that "mommy and daddy" are away
Dating Trees and Dating 'Apps'
several high-profile stories in the news about scandals in "dating apps"
DW Documentary About Julian Assange Turns 2
It was released just days after Assange had turned 53 and about two weeks after he had left the UK
Independent Media is the Only Form of Legitimate Media
Independent media is, indeed, what we need to demand more of
The Story of the European Patent Office (EPO) Wagging the Dog (EU)
The aim of the series is to properly inform the world - not just Europeans - how Europe's second-largest institution is run [...] How did a corporate hub of monopolies become so detached from the Rule of Law?
GNU/Linux Up to New High in Libya, Windows Down to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux touches 5% there, based on statCounter
Links 06/07/2026: Artists Reject Slop (or Even de Facto Bribes to Market/Endorse Slop)
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 129 Out of 200: Iranian Tactics
Hunger for revenge compels people to do overzealous, irrational things
Quiet Week
Many in the US are still enjoying an extended weekend
The Media Needs to Speak of Slop as a Climate Issue Like It Did With Bitcoin
But the slop industry keeps paying the media to play along with the hype
IBM's Fall
IBM's fate is closely connected to that of the Free software movement because of the salaries
Social Dialogue at the European Patent Office (EPO) is Dead, the Strikes and Work Stoppage-Like Actions Carry on
What next for the EPO?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 05, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, July 05, 2026
Links 05/07/2026: Shadows of the Upper Peninsula and 2026 Old Computer Challenge
Links for the day