I turned to Twitter in 2010 when I yearned to connect with like-minded educators. Twitter was a teaching lifeline for me as I gained a professional learning network of educators and education enthusiasts worldwide. Those educators shared their ideas, efforts, tools, and vision freely via multiple online chats and exchanges. I learned about countless strategies, tools, books, and experts that significantly improved my ability to teach well. This is one reason why I became a Twitter enthusiast.
Twitter also allowed me to connect with all kinds of people from all kinds of places--people that I wouldn't ordinarily meet due to where I lived, how I lived, my gender, culture, economic status, and more. By connecting with a more diverse group of people, I learned a lot and found allies from multiple places and life ways around the world. This enriched my life significantly.
As Twitter experts have noted, Twitter also allowed me to navigate disasters that occurred. Via Twitter I heard the news early and was able to see that news from multiple first-hand reports. This helped me to know what to do and how to react. This was especially true for me during the Boston Bomber incident--Twitter was a main means of communication share at that time.
So how do I feel about what's happening with Twitter now?
First, I wonder about people like Elon Musk--people who use their power and money to destroy rather than build. Why is Musk so concerned with controlling Twitter in ways that limit and hinder positive, promising share? Why isn't he building upon Twitter's best aspects to make this social media Main Street a safe and productive place for honest idea share, news, and collaboration? I believe Musk, like Trump, is acting out of a too-big ego, too-little conscience and social awareness, and significant influence from errant individuals and groups worldwide. It seems that foreign investors are very interested in controlling the United States. I believe this is true because the USA has amazing resources including significant wonderful lands that offer good living. Countries facing dire environmental and political problems want what we have, and it seems that those countries are using their wealth and power to influence the Musks and Trumps of the world--men with too-big egos, too-little conscience, and weak, me-first, problematic vision.
I believe that the tech age has unleashed the power and wealth of conscience-less individuals like Trump, Putin, and Musk, and that has created havoc with regard to the kinds of laws, policies, investments, and good living possible for the world in general. As a people we can combat this by creating good laws that keep the wealth and power of individuals in check--no one deserves the financial power that Musk has. When errant individuals have too much power, we all suffer. Trump and Putin have proved that time and again.
How do we keep the power and wealth of errant individuals in check? We do that with good policies and laws. We have to update our policies and laws to protect what we have in the United States and contribute to good living the world over too. We can't let errant individuals buy up USA lands, resources, and media. Instead we have to counter that with good laws that restrict their control over who we are and what we have.
So at this point, I will respond to the Twitter problem by advocating for new age laws and policies that keep errant individuals like Musk in check. How can we do that? There are many who study media and its influences--these experts can help to inform good lawmakers about what can be done to solve this problem. Onward.