A Feral DavidJul 2, 2023
Celeste Pewter

Something I keep thinking about:

The excessive heat warnings across the country today, and the people relying on Twitter to get information cooling centers, free water, etc.

If you run a social media account for an elected/agency, please bring up to your bosses that now is the time to start building up your platforms outside of Twitter too.

Jul 1, 2023 at 9:43pmWeb
Show threadCeleste PewterJul 1, 2023

I've had those hard conversations too, and have been repeatedly told, "psh, Twitter isn't going anywhere."

Don't give up. Take the news articles about today as a data point, and build up your case for:

1. Expanding to a place like Mastodon/expanding your Instagram presence,

2. But also building in priority reminders in your website/GovDelivery messaging /content calendars on how people can find information, especially during emergencies.

Show threadCeleste PewterJul 1, 2023

A lot of the people we answer to (especially in the case of electeds) might be older, and might not pay enough attention to the shift that's happening right now.

It's our job to define it and explain it to them, especially for those of us in constituent-service adjacent jobs.

Show threadCeleste PewterJul 1, 2023

Also: for those of you who aren't in digital jobs, you can help here too.

If you see information that you can share on other platforms when it comes to something like today's heat warnings, please do. Whether it's NextDoor, your local Facebook groups...

It's going to take awhile for everyone to readapt to Twitter not being the go-to, but we can all help w/ this transition.

Show threadCeleste PewterJul 2, 2023
And here’s a quick carousel I wrote on this. https://www.instagram.com/p/CuNLIg6PfZk/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Celeste Pewter on Instagram: "I've been debating on whether I should write this carousel. But between the heat warnings happening throughout many states AND the mass shooting in Baltimore last night, it's increasingly clear that: 1. Twitter can no longer be our go-to for disseminating urgent information, especially as Elon isn’t likely to fix the hell site anytime soon, 2. And we need to push our elected officials to think of alternative solutions quickly - especially as we head into hurricane season, experience potential summer heat domes, etc. 
 And yes, offices should have thought of this before now. But the cogs of government turn very slowly, especially without external pressure. So any pressure we can add right now, will be super helpful."

Celeste Pewter (@celestepewter) on Instagram: "I've been debating on whether I should write this carousel. But between the heat warnings happeni..."

Instagram
Show threadaztecladyJul 1, 2023
@Celeste_pewter Also, twitter may not be 'going anywhere' but many of its users are going, or already gone.
Show threadSevtap Savas, PhDJul 1, 2023
@Celeste_pewter 👍​
Show threadChad BriggsJul 1, 2023
@Celeste_pewter this is definitely an issue for emergency and disaster management
Show threadCeleste PewterJul 1, 2023

@chadmbriggs Yep. I coordinated closely with emergency services while working in local government, and this is going to a huge issue in getting accurate information out.

It's good apps like PulsePoint exist, but they don't do what Twitter does.

Show threadeyajpngJul 1, 2023

@Celeste_pewter I found safety during a severe weather event (2013/14 polar vortex ice storm) in large part via Twitter; this hits hard. And in fact, the reason I needed to use Twitter is because the state website mistakenly omitted the info for the emergency warning shelter for the town I was stranded in. I also managed to get in touch with the state agency and get their website updated by contacting them…through Twitter.

Fuck.

Show threadAlbert CardonaJul 2, 2023

@jepyang @Celeste_pewter

Twitter had become infrastructure many relied on. Time to push state agencies into the #fediverse and make the latter realise its potential as distributed, resilient infrastructure.

Show threadCelebrate Billionaire PainJul 1, 2023
@Celeste_pewter it's shitty that this is happening, but hopefully this will send a clear message to everyone that Twitter is not a dependable, reliable, or trustworthy source. In the short term this will require some scary changes as people migrate to other platforms which might not fit well, but we gain increased public wariness of a nazi-infested cesspit. Long term that cesspit goes away and Musk is publicly humiliated, his brain proven donkey-like in every way. This is good.
Show threadSifr MojaJul 1, 2023
@Celeste_pewter I am expecting mastodon.gov to happen.
Show threadElizabeth Wrigley-FieldJul 2, 2023
@sifrmoja @Celeste_pewter Who would run it?
Show threadsoaprootJul 2, 2023
@wrigleyfield @sifrmoja @Celeste_pewter If it is just for US Federal agencies, presumably the GSA. Other governments may run their own (for example @EU_Commission is on a server run by the EU, isn't it?)
Show threadSyntropiaJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter
The Twitter apocalypse is blocking news about the climate apocalypse. It's time we had a match-up between Musk and himself in a water-less cage...
Show threadCeleste PewterJul 2, 2023
@Utah I'm still hoping Zuckerberg takes him out.
Show threadSyntropiaJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter A corollary to "don't feed the troll" is "don't fight the troll," especially when he is doing a superb job already at consistently punching himself in the face.
Show threadStone Cold PillarJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter Fire Twitter is moving off-platform to the Watch Duty app
Show threadCeleste PewterJul 2, 2023
@StoneColdPillar Thank you for this! Very good to know.
Show threadlaurakinsaleJul 2, 2023
@StoneColdPillar @Celeste_pewter What’s the Watch Duty app? The fragmentation is the issue. I need another app?? 🤦🏻‍♀️
Show threadMarleeJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter will do.
Show threadbiknmusicmamaJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter my city has a signup where I get text messages and emails about this stuff. Important to send out actual humans to get more people connected directly in this way.
Show threadMelinda from AtlantaJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter I just emailed my city council representative about this - city officials and city agencies need to develop a presence somewhere more reliable that will be accessible to everyone.
Show threadCeleste PewterJul 2, 2023
@MelindaATL I love this! I was going to suggest this yesterday, but figured everyone would probably be a little social media-ed out.
Show threadMelinda from AtlantaJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter I had been meaning to do this for a couple of months, but recent events make it so clear that public officials and agencies should *not* be using #Twitter. (To be clear, it actually should have been clear previously but not everyone is paying as much attention as they should be.)
Show threadjtbJul 2, 2023
@MelindaATL @Celeste_pewter They shouldn't be using facebook or whatsapp either I think.
Show threadJack VanceJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter Excellent suggestion! And I would not suggest Facebook/Instagram since many of us won't use any service associated with Zuckerberg either.
Show threadCeleste PewterJul 2, 2023
@vjack oh, hard same on my end. But a lot of older constituents are strictly Facebook-based, so it’s unfortunately a necessity.
Show threadAdrian MoralesJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter Absolutely! This should have been done ages ago. It's not about the change in Leadership, either. It's about having decrentralised systems and platforms in case one of them doesn't operate anymore.
Show threadDisciple of DiogenesJul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter before I got laid off I was trying to advocate for my former employer to expand beyond FB/IG/Twitter. They instead went ahead with a massive contract with a PR/social media company to re-do their social media presence ONLY on those 3 platforms. I can't help but laugh a little knowing they wasted money on their profile that's on a dying platform while ignoring then laying off people who warned them... 🤣
Show threadPedestrianError  Jul 2, 2023
@Celeste_pewter Yes! Anyone getting paid to be a social media/communications/outreach specialist should have been on this months ago, but clearly a lot haven’t (or bosses have blocked their efforts) even as more and more of their constituents have lost access to or left Twitter (including those without Twitter accounts who would previously search Twitter for updates during an emergency and lost the ability to do that without being logged in a long time ago).