Thanks Chris. Many of us have stayed on X and playfully call it "Occupy Twitter" or just "Twitter". I and others made well considered and thoughtful decisions as to why we stay - and what we do there - and how we conduct ourselves there. We are trying to create an "occupation" of this social media (Twitter) as a place in the public sphere which we occupy for our own conversations and purposes. Another reason I continue to stay is the outreach it has to international health agencies (eg WHO, UN agencies), many of whom have not set up Bluesky accounts. Some of these agencies have LinkedIn accounts but the engagement on LinkedIn is limited as it has a reputation as an "academic brag book" rather than a commons and public space where we can discuss, agree and disagree in civil ways, keeping the conversation going even on very difficult topics.
So some of us who are interested in using social media as a public sphere (or public forum) have stayed as occupiers of Twitter, and have stayed with strategy in mind, with caution but with determination that we need several "commons" to create (and we do that, not X) and demonstrate the spaces being developed for difficult but very important global discourse.
Solidarity and kindness
Dr Ann Lawless, Australian health activist
HIFA profile: Ann Lawless is a sociologist and patient representative, currently based in Australia. She has worked in a community health centre as a health worker, has taught health issues at university level including Indigenous health; and has an active and long term interest in health advocacy.