Twitter’s plan to delete inactive accounts and make them available for new users make no strategic fundamental sense, over the long-term, and every user should see those calls as weak: “Twitter CEO Elon Musk has announced the platform will begin purging accounts that have been inactive for years, adding a warning that follower counts could drop”. Yes, if you are a global town square, you must be open to archive history, and part of doing that is making sure that the past can live in the present.
Twitter should kill the idea, period. They archived official tweets of the Obama Presidency. Yes, that account is also inactive. Would you delete it just because it is not tweeting? What of those who had gone to touch the face of heaven?
Elon Musk should pause this latest development for the health of Twitter, an innocent blue bird, that seems stressed these days.
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Twitter CEO Elon Musk has announced the platform will begin purging accounts that have been inactive for years, adding a warning that follower counts could drop, TechCrunch writes. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that the company was considering auctioning them off to increase revenue, as some accounts may include coveted names newer users would like to use. Currently, Twitter’s policy requires users to sign in every 30 days to maintain their handles, but this latest development raises questions about what will happen to accounts held by people who have passed away. Musk had previously tweeted that Twitter could free up to 1.5 billion usernames.
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Comment 1: Indeed Elon should reflect on the importance of not deleting data….
“Data is a precious thing and will last longer than the systems themselves.” – Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web.
“Deleting data is like burning bridges behind you, it may feel good at the moment but it will limit your options in the future.” – Unknown
“Data is the new oil. It’s valuable, but if unrefined it cannot really be used.” – Clive Humby, British mathematician and entrepreneur.
“The price of light is less than the cost of darkness.” – Arthur C. Nielsen, founder of ACNielsen Corporation.
“To be data-rich and insight-poor is worse than being data-poor and insight-poor.” – Doug Laney, data expert and author.
We’re purging accounts that have had no activity at all for several years, so you will probably see follower count drop
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 8, 2023
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The thinking was perhaps coming from ‘inactive accounts’ of those who signed up to Twitter but no longer use the platform, it did not think through all the diverse possibilities that could lead to inactive accounts, the idea of auctioning them is even weider. The tweets of those who are no longer here can still be preserved, when you delete everything, it’s like losing part of the digital footprint and history.