Meanwhile, some housekeeping…
It’s obvious to anyone that Twitter is at the very least becoming unstable and unreliable, and quite possibly on its way to uselessness and/or implosion. I can see that a fair amount of traffic comes to this site directly from Twitter, so it’s clearly time to make contingency plans. I’d like to imagine that most of you who come here via Twitter would probably just check in regularly anyway, but let’s assume that’s not the case or that there’s a convenience issue for you.
That’s why this post exists: to invite comments from you, YES YOU, on the alternatives.
You can find the same links on Hive, where I’m @ifdestroyed, and on my Mastodon account https://mas.to/@ifdestroyed.
But… I don’t honestly think either of those platforms is going to replace Twitter (or that they could cope with the infrastructure and moderation demands if they did), and I don’t know how much use any of you are likely to make of them. And if you’re going to check in on them once a week to see what I’ve posted there… well, you might as well just come here in the first place.
I have also have accounts as @ifdestroyed on Post.News and Cohost which are currently dormant. If there’s a lot of you out there who’d actually find it helpful for me to post links on those platforms then let me know.
The other option is Substack. Using that just to send out alerts of a new post seems a bit clunky, but I could do a weekly round-up, maybe with a bit of extra material thrown in. Or I could go the whole hog and have every post on Substack as well as on here.
Thoughts?
I mostly use the RSS feed to get here when there’s a post, honestly.
I’m not going to be trying Hive, besides the app-only nature and security concerns, the owners are apparently very much on the Musk-Trump end of the spectrum, so the platform seems untrustworthy (not least in light of what’s happened to Twitter).
[I am on mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@sanityormadness but I don’t see myself posting much there – the thing about the-Twitter-that-was is largely the ecosystem formed on the platform rather than the platform itself, and that’s going to take a good while to replicate no matter where everything ultimately falls.]
I did not even know that there was Twitter content related to this site. I just check here very often.
So I guess any way ahead is fine by me.
Having the columns come through email (e.g. through substack or similar) would be my preference, partly because I already read other people’s stuff that way but also because that makes it easy to not miss anything. The only possible concern is volume – not sure whether everyone would be as keen on getting several emails a week.
It’s looking more and more likely that Twitter will become useless before long, but I wouldn’t count on the current link ban lasting more than a few days.
I check here regularly, as would most people commenting here. It’s the less active and new readers who will potentially miss out.
I’m on Mastodon at @si_fuller@aus.social, where I already follow Paul. One thing I will say is that automated cross-posting isn’t a good idea. The formats don’t match, and they end up looking like clumsy spam, which our brains are trained to ignore. And some Mastodon users are quite bitter at Twitter and will hate you for doing it.
I follow the RRS feed, too, using Feedly.
Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever come via Twitter and if I had, it was just a reminder to check the site
I didn’t even know you have a Twitter, I’ve been coming here since long before it existed.
X-Axis 4 life!
I come straight to this site, every day or so, so Twitter doesn’t factor into it for me.
Another Feedly follower here.
Had no idea this site was being linked on Twitter. I just come back when I’m interested in recent comics takes (or takes on not-recent comics).
I’m already following you both on Mastodon and Hive, and I check in here on weekends regardless of any social media posts. So, um, I’m sorted.
FWIW, I just pop in a few times a week directly to the website in my browser. I don’t use Twitter, so I’m not really clear on what functionality it adds. Publicity, I guess.
i check the website regularly just out of habit. If a substack would be inspire more writing, I would support that for sure.
I have been coming to read this site a few times per week for years. Returning directly. Didn’t even know that you were on Twitter. The advantage I presume is that it has the reach for new people to discover. I discovered Paul’s writing as being one of top returns for “X-men Podcast” on a Google search. Thank you Paul for decades of stimulating reviews and analysis. Thanks also to Al Kennedy for reading out loud all of Paul’s posts directly into my brain for me to hear Paul’s words in Al’s voice. I don’t this service has been made available to others, but I am grateful.
I do follow you both on twitter, so I probably click through links on there occasionally when you’ve got a new post, but I also check the site once a week or so to check out whats new. I like the idea of more X Axis, but I already have too much email so wouldn’t be a fan of Substack.
I’m not posting anything outside of the main response, but fwiw, I’m also a frequent Twitter user, but I generally come to this site on my own pretty regularly to catch up.
I use the RSS feed, so as long as that doesn’t go away I’ll be happy.
I’ve been coming directly to this website for many years, before Twitter and it’s like existed.
Not a fan of getting more emails from substack or elsewhere.
I’ve been using Twitter as a shortcut ; while I do browse the website by itself fairly regularly, it’s been nice to have announcements of when new posts come out and what they’re covering “in advance”.
So basically, any traffic “from twitter” on my part is just a substitute for me coming to the site about daily anyway.
I have visited every week since thexaxis.com existed. Not about to stop any time soon!
I’d probably subscribe to a paid set of posts on Substack, but I tend to come here via the podcast mostly
I hated Twitter before it was cool (never had an account) and I have no plans to investigate any of the Twitter alternatives. I just check here directly for new posts occasionally, which has always worked fine for me.
Inoreader RSS user here, also previously visited X-Axis for years (and subscribed to whatever mailing list we were on before that).
This poll has a methodological problem. All of the respondents are already here, and many of us have been coming here since the days of the X-Axis.
Twitter’s utility is reaching new people, and this is lost on this group.
I visit the website to check for new content, and I don’t want any more newsletters in my inbox.
Regardless of whether this poll is meaningful or not, I wanted to participate in the disintegration of Twitter even if just a little bit.
I wanted to participate in the disintegration of Twitter even if just a little bit.
Respect.
Another former X-axis follower. Can’t get rid of us so easily!
I think the collapse of Twitter is a bit overblown and it’ll still be used for some time. But you do want to promote the site, so maybe some cross posting will help. Or more guest hosting, like with X-plain the X-Men!
I’m old-fashioned, I just read the blog. Didn’t know there was a twitter. Bring back usenet, that’s what I say!
If one wanted to max out the number of “new people” reached, one would have rebranded this blog “House of X Explainer” back in 2019.
You’re not really doing social media unless you’re becoming something you’re not.
Count me in as someone who has been reading since the X-axis days. Am barely on Twitter as it is, so basically just check out the site a few times a week on my own.
Pop on the site every Sunday, muscle memory from the x-axis days, never used Twitter or any other social media outlets. Also, used to be my routine to have a beer after Christmas, sit in front of my giant monitor with a tiny screen and read the 3 part end of year reviews. Great days, if you have the stamina, bring them back guys!
I know what Twitter is, never used it, but have no idea what those other things are. RSS feed? Greek to me.
As for reaching new people, I don’t use it, but I hear there are a lot of folks on Reddit (whatever that is).
Same response as plenty of others: I check in regularly, especially on Wednesday/Thursday to check for X-Men reviews. The better option could be substack, if it was a means of putting more content out there. Otherwise, I’m not sure there’s much more you can do -though if it’s a question of drawing in new publics, having guests on the podcast might help.
I’m moving to mastodon. I wasn’t following you on twitter, but will be on mastodon, so thanks for the link!
I’m another who comes directly to the website.
Possibly my third comment ever, despite being around since the X-Axis days…
I don’t have twitter so it really doesn’t bother me. I just check the site once a week to see if there is a podcast.
Also – safety note: do not listen to House to Astonish podcasts whilst on the treadmill. You cannot run/walk fast and laugh at the same time!
Like so many aging, bitter, cynical people who remember how things used to work in the good old days when we thought calling comics “decompressed” was worth doing, I just bookmarked the site and check it regularly.
But Nu-D’s point about nothing easily replacing Twitter as a way to advertise the site in the short term is well taken. Just have to see how things develop in that respect, I think — Evilgus may well be correct that Twitter will not be as quick to die as people right now are thinking and hoping.
(Twitter’s reach was never all that great, in fact, and the numbers wouldn’t deserve the “world’s town square” blather, at least to me. It has an outsize profile because so many journalists use it so much.)
With Wait, What? retiring, I suspect there will be a lot of people looking for a new comics podcast, and House to Astonish is very possibly the closest fit. I’ll certainly be recommending it for that purpose.
But Nu-D’s point about nothing easily replacing Twitter as a way to advertise the site in the short term is well taken.
I can’t accept credit for that point, but I largely agree. My point was that this group has a selection bias which makes us ill-suited to weigh in on the merits of Twitter or a substitute. Twitter is an outreach tool, not a portal. Return customers are not dependent on Twitter to find HtoA. And most of us in these comments have been lingering about for years. Anyone who depends on Twitter to remind them to check out the site or podcast probably isn’t posting here.
RSS feed? Greek to me.
RSS feeds are actually a relatively old method of subscribing to a variety of blogs and websites. Basically, you click the RSS button on any site that offers one and which you want to stay up to date. Then there’s a page in your browser where all your subscriptions are listed with a link to your each new post as it co es in.
It’s always been oddly underutilized. I think it just got drowned out by social media before it had a chance to catch on. I’ve hardly used it, but it’s always seemed like a simple and good idea.
Just chiming in my two cents, but I’d love a Substack/e-mail notification. I understand if thats a lot more work and youre disinclined o do it, but that would be my vote.
“Twitter’s utility is reaching new people, and this is lost on this group.”
If the Twitter account’s purpose is to attract new people to THIS SITE, then we should see such people speaking up on this thread, yes?
If the Twitter account’s purpose is to attract new people to THIS SITE, then we should see such people speaking up on this thread, yes?
No, because people who are first timers or new to the site are less likely to be commenting here.
Paul says a lot of traffic to this site is driven by Twitter. Yet, the comments on this column are 75% old-timers, and I see precisely zero who admit to coming here via Twitter. Based on this sample, I think my thesis is well supported.
The average Twitter user seems to be terrified of leaving any public comments where they’re not protected by their followers and likes and deletion tools.
I also just come here directly in most cases, but Substack would certainly work well.
I do think Post is promising, though it’s of course still very new. I’ve generally used it as I do Twitter, though I’ve heard other users describe it as more blogging than Tweeting — which I took to be a reference to the longer-form posts it allows, but perhaps I’m missing some additional nuance.
Just popping up to say that I follow both Paul and Al on Twitter and I visit here basically daily for the comments anyway.
I’ve only started commenting recently, but I’ve been reading Paul’s work since X-Axis. I’ve always accessed this site directly. I am clearly no help here, and this comment is pointless!
“people who are first timers or new to the site are less likely to be commenting here.”
Why would this be the case? Why haven’t we seen even one such person?
Why would this be the case? Why haven’t we seen even one such person?
Good question. What’s your hypothesis?
@Nu-D: Paul says a lot of traffic to this site is driven by Twitter. Yet, the comments on this column are 75% old-timers, and I see precisely zero who admit to coming here via Twitter. Based on this sample, I think my thesis is well supported.
Sorry, this is the point where I start nerding about statistical extrapolation. (I did a course once, you know.)
I feel like your ultimate conclusion (This comment thread is a bad sample because it doesn’t seem to include the people who are coming to the site via Twitter in the first place) is valid, but the idea of them being newbies is not, and kind of irrelevent for it.
You’re basically extrapolating from “Most of the people in this sample are X and not Y” to “Therefore, most people who are Y are not X”. This doesn’t follow, and doesn’t matter, when the relevant issue is that we need more thoughts from people who are Y, whether they’re X or not.
(FWIW, I consider myself an old-timer and I often come to the site via Twitter, because I stopped reading rec.arts.comics.marvel.universe years ago. But I haven’t chimed in because I don’t really have any suggestions as to what should replace it, although I personally am following Paul on the elephant app.)
In agreement with Daibhid C, but using different words:
X-Twitter is a robust community. I am not a part of that community, but see it mentioned and reflected on by the various X-men podcasts that I listen to. They would link Twitter to Paul’s site as the cited source in their discussions thereby generating traffic to his posts and his ideas. They would not show up in this comment section, because their discussion is by commenting on the dead bird site itself.