Users urged to archive tweets amid rumors of Twitter implosion

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Users urged to archive tweets amid rumors of Twitter implosion

People are wondering what parts of their online selves, loved ones and favorite celebrities to save in case the bird goes belly-up

Kari Paul
Fri 18 Nov 2022 01.00 EST
Last modified on Fri 18 Nov 2022 01.02 EST

Amid ongoing fallout from Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, speculation of the platform’s imminent collapse is swirling – leaving users wondering what parts of their online selves they’ll get to keep.

After Musk laid off thousands of workers, many users have reported signs the platform is falling apart in real time – from glitching home pages to log-in failures – and researchers are desperately urging users to download their tweets in case Twitter implodes completely.

“If there’s something you care about on Twitter, now’s the time to become like a temporary expert in digital archiving measures,” said Caroline Sinders, an artificial intelligence researcher and fellow with the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office.

Digital archiving – the process of preserving online content for future use – has expanded steadily since the launch of the internet, but still exists in a patchwork, decentralized framework.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/17/twitter-archive-tweets-company-shuts

[yankee87]

1. Twitter's implosion

I’ll admit, not a tech geek, but what you are saying is bad. Good luck to all dealing with this disaster.

[Tetrachloride]

2. Sooner or later, regional competition will appear.

Then mergers.

[blogslug]

3. omg they said it

...But in the meantime, if you want to save tweets – whether jokes from a favorite celebrity or the last thoughts of a loved one who has passed – he suggests a more analog solution.

“Print out their tweets, and put them in a box,” he said. “They will last longer in every way.”