Participation is power

Lately some prominent guys in the tech universe have been loudly proclaiming they’re returning to X, after leaving the platform in semi-protest following the Elon Musk takeover of Twitter. Their explanations range from: I can’t make my indie business work without it. All of the AI conversations are there. X is cheerful and inclusive, and has no politics anymore. (!?!?) These are definitely…reasons? Let’s be clear: X is bad and that has not changed. But I’m not here to argue with people making their own personal choices. We live in the reign of oligarch capitalism, and everybody has to make whatever ethical compromises they’re willing to stomach within that system. (Some of y’all have some really questionable stomachs, but I digress.) I am here to argue that your social media participation has value, and chickening out on this issue is just cowardice wrapped up in excuses. As a mere consumer of a product or service, you’re normally pretty powerless against it. Your only source of power…