So long, and thanks for all the Tweets
#Goodbye
I have decided to leave Twitter / X.com, in large part due to the tweet(s) & behaviour of its current owner.
It’s was a hard decision, but ultimately I believe the right one, and here’s why.
I have been a huge fan of Twitter (now X.com) for years. I have found clients, employees, and real-life friends through the network. I have been exposed to new ideas, concepts, and community within that network.
As I built my social media network I focused primarily on Twitter - for both myself and the organizations I lead, most notably rTraction.
Twitter became an amazing platform that we collectively leveraged to conduct fundraisers, change community discussions, and gather folks to do some amazing things - from advocating for LGTB2Q+ stories to be told to taking local kids out to movies.
Unfortunately, times change. I was somewhat neutral on Elon Musk taking over ownership of the platform. While I had some concerns, I was willing to allow that there would be some good changes as well as some bad ones.
I would say these expectations were met and exceeded on both sides of the equation.
During the recent US election, I checked X for updates (some may refer to this as “doomscrolling” and they would not be wrong). And the top of my timeline showed this tweet from Elon Musk:
One of the changes I’ve made in my life is to try to give folks the most beneficial interpretation of what they are trying to say and to not automatically assume the worst. In this case, I tried to find a non-misogynistic take on his tweet, but I could not find one. A fair question a colleague asked is “What was at stake?”
What is at stake? The economy? Immigration and border control? Financial stability? Loss of status? Having a woman as president?
Even if you argued that it was the policies and approach of the Democratic candidate (and not other gender-based politics), the implication is that men are uniquely situated to understand that outcome.
My other interpretations of what could be communicated in the tweet are far worse.
Perhaps I have missed an interpretation of this quote and I’m open to hearing those interpretations in the comments, so leave them below if you have any.
I have spent significant time and energy in both my professional and volunteer time to do work on gender equality and attempt to improve the balance between what women deserve in the workplace and what they experience.
The question that sometimes faces us as business owners is whether or not the ends of the activities justifies the means of our activities. In this case - there is no question that I benefit from being on Twitter, as does my organization. However, my participation also benefits a platform where its leader can take an openly misogynistic view of women in the community.
As such I can’t in good conscience support either my involvement or my organization’s involvement in Twitter/X.com going forward. I would rather see a decline in business opportunities than support an organization whose leadership appears to be openly misogynistic.
I will acknowledge that this is a privileged position to be in and not everyone can make this choice, but it is a choice that I am making.
For alternative ways to connect, you can follow me (David) on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dbillson
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbillson/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dbillson/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@dbillson
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/shumal.bsky.social
You can follow rTraction on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rtraction
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rtraction/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@rtraction
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rtraction
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rtractioncanada
And for information directly to your inbox, rTraction also has a swanky newsletter: https://rtraction.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=72c9fce403b38a2f71e849657&id=89845148ba
Last, but not least, to the Twitter community of old - so long, and thanks for all the Tweets.