By most measures, Twitter is not the most popular social networking site. The measurements often have Twitter to follow with significant margins other social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. That said, Twitter has become an integral platform in the gaming industry, as both individual game developers and companies use the platform extensively to promote their work, their games, or to share any thoughts they deem appropriate for tweets. “Twitter is generally a great networking tool for developers – trending hashtags, asking for tips, retweeting a job or portfolio, and simply replying to tweets have helped many people connect,” says Victoria Tran Community Director for Inner Sloth. , the developers of Among Us. Twitter is easily accessible to developers and connects them directly to their players, content creators and reporters, says Tran. And for companies, there are advantages to Twitter that do not exist on competing platforms. “Twitter is also relatively low in terms of content production – it focuses on words, while other platforms like Instagram and TikTok require more work with images or videos,” adds Tran. “It’s a faster way to connect and unlike Facebook, you do not necessarily have to ask people for friendship to chat with them”, although the latter part of course has its own problems. But for the most part, game developers from India to AAA find value in Twitter’s approach to social media. Two AAA game developers currently working in large studios who wished to remain anonymous said they got some of their first big work in the gaming industry via Twitter However, the news of Musk’s takeover of Twitter sparked a flurry of reactions from Twitter’s most prominent users, including those working in the video game industry. Musk, better known as the founder of the electric car company Tesla, is himself a prominent Twitter user who posts on his account thoughts about his many businesses, unsolicited public transport tips and sometimes memes. Can this person change Twitter and if so, what will happen? “Twitter is also relatively low in terms of content production – it focuses on words, while other platforms like Instagram and TikTok require more work with images or videos.” “ Musk describes himself as an “absolute speaker of free speech” and has posted on Twitter ideas for what he would like to change on Twitter in the past. Musk has repeatedly advocated the virtues of “freedom of speech” and has called Twitter a “digital city square,” in a post-acquisition statement. One area that Musk could extend to this idea is loosening the rules about what users are and are not allowed to Tweet. With no illegal content, Musk recently told a TED conference that he would allow “gray zone” tweets to be allowed to harass and troll. This is the most worrying possibility after the acquisition of Musk for professionals who manage Twitter accounts for some of the largest video game companies. A social media professional at an AAA studio in North America told IGN: “We can already see a very careful response from the Twitter user base, especially among those who are victims or witnesses of harassment and abuse on the platform.” The employee, who wished to remain anonymous, as their company has not yet issued an official statement, adds that from a professional point of view, any relaxation of the standards could lead to a loss of audience. We have spent months and years cultivating our audience on this platform, we are very worried that they will choose to leave it behind, fearing even greater abuse with the excuse of “freedom of speech”. The same is true for branding, as it is not yet clear what some of these functions will mean for content monitoring and reporting, which is already an issue today. Musk’s rhetoric has frightened social media professionals who are already experiencing changes in algorithms and changing trends on a daily basis. Although Twitter is not perfect, the acquisition of Musk threatens to put people who work daily with social media in unknown waters. “Twitter has been a popular platform for video game developers and publishers for a long time, and ease of use and accessible audience have made this platform important for you to rely on,” says Colin Cummings, who runs Social Media and Community. for Evolve PR. . “If something upsets or makes it worse, then my role as community and social media manager has become more important.” To be clear, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has not yet been finalized and it is not clear exactly what changes are coming to the service. So far, Musk has only promised to improve Twitter with new features, such as the creation of an open source algorithm, the fight against spam and the “authentication of all people”. “We have spent months and years cultivating our audience on this platform. We are very concerned that they may choose to leave it behind, fearing even greater abuse under the pretext of ‘freedom of speech.’” “ But for professionals who use Twitter for work, the concern is that there are simply no viable alternatives to Twitter currently available. “There is no perfect replacement for Twitter and we have to work very hard to build our audience, build a community and build our core communications, such as blog posts or newsletters,” says Cummings. The concern is that “the gambling community that has gathered on Twitter will break up and spread to a dozen different places.” “He bought Twitter for a lot of money and I feel it is naive to say that nothing is going to change. We just have to hope that it will be for the better or just a side move. “ For others, social media is such a chaotic field, at first, that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter is just the latest change at sea that is affecting a vital job that the uninitiated believe is being done by practitioners. “Social media sites come and go,” says Tran. “Facebook was the perfect place, now its organic reach is almost gone. TikTok is the hot new thing. The vineyard is dead. Just another billion-dollar company — or the individual in this case — sinks it while everyone else is thrown into the waves. Another Monday. “ Matt TM Kim is the IGN News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
