In this Canadian summer of choking forest fire smoke and unnaturally violent storms, it should come as no surprise that apocalyptic cries about the end of Twitter as a viable platform for discourse about healthcare and medicine should once again be heard loudly.
Since Twitter was purchased by Elon Musk last fall there have been repeated dire predictions about how the platform is no longer useful or trustworthy for physicans, patients or anyone wanting a reliable source of healthcare information and/or the learned exchange of views.
In a blog posted at the end of last year, I detailed all the turmoil being experienced by Twitter at the time and noted that “it is clear the uncertainty and confusion around Twitter will continue and probably for some time.” Such has been the case.
The past weekend saw Musk both limit the number of tweets that could be viewed by unaccredited users and an announcement that the invaluable free Twitter management tool, Tweet deck was both being reconfigured (badly in the eyes of many users) and will soon be restricted to paid subscribers only.
Over the spring, it has been clear some Canadian physicians have stopped using Twitter to keep themselves informed about healthcare news and also to inform others about medical developments or their views on healthcare issues. Live tweeting of medical conferences and events has become very much a hit and miss venture with some meetings still seeing strong participation while others are supported by just a single live Tweeter (I know as I have been that person). In addition, many report that a changed Twitter paradigm has made it harder to get one’s tweets seen or to see the tweets of those you are interested in.
The decline in the value of Twitter has been paralleled by a growing interest in other social media platforms that could take its place. Mastadon saw an explosive growth in membership in the immediate wake of the Musk purchase which appeared to taper off rapidly in the spring as users found the platform did not mimic the Twitter experience. In the wake of the rate limiting announcement by Musk, Mastadon once again seems to be coming to life. It was also announced this week that Meta will launch Threads, a “text-based conversation app” linked to Instagram to rival Twitter. This is ironic given that at the same time Meta has said it will restrict access to Canadian news sources on Facebook and Instagram to protest recent Canadian legislation.
But to many physicians it seems Twitter still matters. A study of US physician Twitter use finds that the profession continues to rely on the platform. An analysis reported by Greg Mathews, CEO of HealthQuant showed that the numbers using Twitter remained about the same between the third quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2023. “For now, at least, twitter continues to be THE platform where doctors are engaging,” he said.
As someone who follows what physicians are doing and saying and tries to curate information for the profession and their patients the message is clear. Until Twitter goes totally dark – in a real or a metaphorical sense – I will still be there too.
Days of Past Futures 