2023 Twitterversary Canceled - Twitter Bird Killed by Its Owner

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RIP Twitter Bird (2010 - 2023)

History: The first Twitter logo with a bird was in 2010. The most recent Twitter bird was used from 2012 – 2023

Starting in 2010, I would annually announce/celebrate my Twitterversary at the beginning of October with a tweet, and on some years, a Twitterversary blog post. This year, with the owner of Twitter deciding to kill off the Twitter bird, and my being barred from using Twitter in any productive way, my Twitterversary is canceled for 2023. For me, the Twitter that I had known and found useful is now gone.

I am publishing this blog post about the end of Twitter on this, the last day of October 2023, as my way to:

• Thank those who commented about my departure publicly on what used to be Twitter

• Acknowledge the change (mourn the loss)

• Celebrate the past

 

 

Thankful for Reactions From Online Friends

On June 24, 2023, I received an email saying I was suspended for "evading suspension" -- this does not make any sense, but that is what Twitter has become, I guess. My account is "permanently in read-only mode," which means I "can't Tweet, Retweet, or Like content." I have lost the 4,000+ people/organizations I used to follow, and now can only see what the new owner of the former Twitter wants me to see.

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Please click on following images to read what my online friends wrote about me after learning about my suspension. I want to thank all those who inquired about me -- I am very grateful for their concern. I also want to thank Tom Kunsman (@tkunsman.bsky.social on Bluesky social media) for sending a reply on my behalf to those asking about me on Twitter. I have included what he posted for me in the images.

Please Click on Images to Enlarge and Read Tweets
         

(The first tweet mentions my heart surgery, which was very successful.
You can learn about my April 27, 2023, surgery in my three Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy blog posts.)

Tweet and three images that Tom Kunsman sent on my behalf on July 29, 2023

         

 

Replies to Tom Kunsman
    

 

    

I put all these tweets as images in this blog post due to the uncertainty of Twitter's future. If you are interested in seeing the original tweets, I have put them in an attached html file (click here to open 5KB file in a new browser window) that has the Twitter Javascript to make them appear correctly as long as this feature continues to be supported by the new owner of Twitter.

If you are still on what used to be Twitter and mention my Twitter name of @sos_jr, I can still see your tweets and can add them to this blog post in the future.

 

 

Acknowledge the Change (Mourn the Loss)

Preparing for Twitter's Uncertain Future! . . . -- my blog posts have always been an extension of my sos_jr Twitter feed. . . . I decided not to go into detail about how Twitter might be destroyed by its new owner -- an owner who aligns himself with people who are also working to destroy our country -- but I am getting prepared . . . I truly hope Twitter does not die, since I read interesting articles daily, and learn about fun events through the tweets of the people/organizations I follow. . . .

Earlier this year, back on March 8, 2023, I was already writing the text above in my sosAssociates.com Blogiversary: Eleven blog post. As you can see, I was prepared for Twitter being destroyed. Being prepared is not the same as being happy with the situation, so I want to acknowledge my loss in this section of this blog post.

I had over 4,0000 people/organizations that I followed and that followed me on Twitter. They were great resources for learning about current events and fun things to do in our community. My social calendar was filled with many great activities that I learned about via Twitter, and there were always interesting items to read.

In my very first blog post on Thursday, March 8, 2012, I wrote ". . . this new rendition of my website is an extension of my sos_jr Twitter interests. My goal is to extend the main points of my twitter feed beyond the 140 characters." Twitter was the starting point from which I wrote my blog posts from the very beginning:

• Blog Date: March 8, 2012 - Hello, World! My First Blog Post!

The next day, March 9, 2012, I published my second blog post about attending a NASA TweetUp. NASA had invited local bloggers, including me, to a function where live tweeting was a big part of the event. I even appeared on NASA TV when I was called upon to ask the panel of astronauts a question.

• Blog Date: March 9, 2012 - Cleveland NASA Tweetup

I went on to publish eight more TweetUp blog posts between 2012 and 2015. I really miss being able to attend these TweetUps, since that offered me the opportunity to meet in person interesting people that I followed online on Twitter. Plus, these gatherings of online friends often took place at exciting and fun locations -- learn more by seeing all of my TweetUps blog posts.

My use of Twitter also used to open doors to other opportunities. I will miss being invited as a special guest to live tweet at many great venues, such as:

I originally started my blog to capture all the tech meetings I promoted on Twitter every week. My weekly tech promo tweets were compiled into weekly blog posts listing the tech meetings. My first Blogiversary! post listed 120 tech, social media, entrepreneur, and other meetings for creatives in both Cleveland and Akron. By my sosAssociates.com Blogiversary: Four!, the list grew to 164. While I plan to continue to promote on other social media platforms interesting events in the Cleveland and Akron area, I can't imagine the reach being the same as I used to have on Twitter -- what a loss! I started promoting local tech meetings on Twitter as an outgrowth of the Web Development SIG (Special Interest Group) that I ran for 10 years.

Learn more about my SIG in these two blog posts:

• Blog Date: November 19, 2016 - Web Development SIG: So Long, and Thanks for all the Free Web Development Training!

  Thank you to those who have made presentations during my tenure -- January 21, 2006 to March 9, 2016 -- and to those who worked with my predecessors. I truly will miss learning from you. . . . The Web Development SIG has been providing FREE web development training since the late 1990's. . . . I believe it is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, SIGs (Special Interests Groups) in Greater Cleveland.


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• Blog Date: September 11, 2012 - WebSigCleveland.org Featured in CBC Magazine

  Cleveland Business Connects Magazine’s (CBCmagazine.com - @CBCmagazine) September 2012 issue has the overall theme of information technology and social media in Cleveland. I was honored that CBC Editor Thomas Skernivitz approached me about an article featuring WebSigCleveland.org (follow Twitter hash tag: #WebSigCLE) and its partner organizations, the Greater Cleveland PC Users Group (GCPCUG.org - @GCPCUG) and the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group (CDPUG.org - @CDPUG).

Here are images (desktop and mobile views) of my current home page of my sosAssociates.com website -- I wanted to capture these mages in this blog post to remind me of my past use of Twitter for my blog posts.

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Celebrate the Past

Stuart O. Smith Jr. joined Twitter in 2009 as a way to promote all the tech, social media, and arts and culture organizations in Northeast Ohio. He has since joined a community of locals who are #HappyinCLE and not afraid to boast about the city via Twitter and other social media.

In this section, I want to celebrate my past use of Twitter by sharing an article about my use of Twitter, and two public speaking engagements where I talked about using Twitter:

 

On November 29, 2016, I was extremely honored to be invited to speak at a special, first-time-ever PechaKucha Night Cleveland Past Presenters Happy Hour. I gave a PechaKucha talk to past PechaKucha presenters, where I included what I had shared on Twitter about them:

• Blog Date: December 15, 2016 - A PechaKucha Talk by Stuart O. Smith, Jr., about PechaKucha Night Cleveland

 

 

I had always enjoyed reading Janet Cho's #SocialMedia Tips articles on Cleveland.com, so I was honored when she contacted me to be featured in her column on September 18, 2015:

• Blog Date: December 29, 2015 - Smarter #SocialMedia Tips

  In the article, I recommended following the many local arts/theatre/parks/museum organizations, and supporters of cultural events such as University Circle, Inc. (@InTheCircle), The Cleveland Foundation (@CleveFoundation), and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (@CuyArtsC). By following these organizations, you can learn about great Cleveland area activities. If you read my sosAssociates.com blog posts, or see the Cleveland events I mention on Twitter as @sos_jr, you will see that my family benefits directly by following these organizations.

This blog post by Dan Yurman originally appeared on the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group website on February 6, 2012, before I republished it on my blog website. Be sure to see all Twitter Talk: Connecting The Dots With sos_jr slides as an attached PDF file in the blog post:

• Blog Date: October 31, 2013 - Stuart Smith on Twitter

 

 

Related Blog Posts

I always like to end my blog posts with a list of related blog posts. However, I have already included all of the related blog posts in the text above. Instead, here are the related blog tags:

• Twitterversary

• Twitter

• Social Media

• TweetUp

• Blogiversary

• Blogging and Bloggers

There is one related blog post that I want to mention again, since it talks about social media platforms that are replacing Twitter. Please see the "Preparing for Twitter's Uncertain Future!" section and the 09/01/2023 "Twitter is gone! . . ." comment in my sosAssociates.com Blogiversary: Eleven to learn about what new types of social media accounts I have set up starting on March 8, 2023.