Full article available here (£):
While Elon Musk’s tumultuous Twitter takeover has resulted in the mass sacking of thousands of staff, accusations of a rise in hate speech and a dubious rebrand, it is not yet known what the long-term impact will be on so-called “academic Twitter”.
Reports have suggested that Twitter – or X, as its new owner seemingly wants it to be called – has lost users since Mr Musk acquired it last year, while new rival Threads has soared in popularity, thanks to its reliance on Meta networks.
And though this is a great idea for general audiences, it is a poor fit for academics, according to Mark Carrigan, a lecturer in education at the University of Manchester.
Dr Carrigan said interactions with Instagram friends will be very different from those with Twitter followers – which academics tended to treat as a “professional network, albeit with porous boundaries”.
Mark Carrigan 