Over the weekend Twitter rolled out a new policy–it will no longer allow links to other social media platforms or link aggregators (like linkertree) in tweets, in your bio/website space, or in your handle. Interestingly, when I looked at the help page to get you an image this morning, it was not found. So even if Twitter reversed it’s decision, which considering Elon’s past behavior, is quite possible, at this point, it’s proven itself to be an unreliable platform.
This is what many of us have been talking about when we say, don’t build your business on someone else’s platform. The truth is, Twitter has proven that the social media platforms can change the rules at any time for any reason. In fact, at this point, Twitter seems to be run at the whims of its new owner and many of the changes he makes seems to be at the whim of his moods. Too upset at all the people promoting other social media alternatives, especially Mastodon? Block those links. It’s his prerogative, and a very good reminder that none of us have any control over social media.
Though it appears this time Twitter has reversed the policy, considering that many of the journalists suspended earlier this week (for sharing publicly available information) still don’t have their account back, it’s just another reminder that if you cross one of the sudden and changeable “rules” made on Twitter, it’s also possible to lose your account and not regain it.
Looking for a Twitter alternative? Check out the EponaAuthor.Social mastodon instance. We’re author friendly, especially for LGBTQIA+ authors and those who write fiction featuring LGBTQIA+ themes and romances. And we’d love to have you. We also have help documents in our support portal, so you’re not on your own as you are with some of the other instances.
