The Difference Between a Posture and a Platform

Or "Why You Will Not Beat Me at Twitter"

I’ve been known to say (or boast, depending on who you ask) that you will not beat me at Twitter. I say it a lot. Because it’s true. You will not do it.

Sometimes, people ask me what it means to win at Twitter. I reply that I do not know. I don’t know what winning on Twitter looks like. But I am familiar with what losing on that platform looks like. And that’s one thing I’m not gon’ do.

There’s a Twitter adage that says “Each day on twitter there is one main character. The goal is to never be it.”

maple cocaine @maplecocaine

Each day on twitter there is one main character. The goal is to never be it

That’s what losing looks like. Losing looks like failing to read a room, moment, situation, or context SO badly that you swallow your whole foot (up to the kneecap!) and disgrace your whole family by going viral for the wrong reasons. It’s usually an exercise in self-destruction.

And that’s not gonna be me.

Because I am consistently grounded by an ethic that, by and large, prevents me from ending up in situations like this.

I move around Twitter with a posture that is equal parts humility (in matters where my expertise is limited or nonexistent) and curiosity. And, because that is how I operate in real life, I am not very much concerned about coming off any other way.

But I’ve noticed that some people have built platforms that emulate similar postures, and I am here to say… I don’t think that’s gon’ work out too well.

Trey Ferguson @PastorTrey05

Twice in the last month, I’ve seen people with sizable followings move in harmful ways. When their harm was pointed out, they struggled with accountability & left this platform. If you ain’t in a hurry to be accountable, that might be best. You cannot fake community.

Postures define communities. Platforms merely mimic them.