I’m not sure why now, but in the last couple of weeks I’ve had many conversations about social media (more specifically Instagram). You’ve heard it a few times on Fashion Friends and it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve brought it up here on CCF, but because ‘gramming gets so much attention, I’d like to focus on my OG friend, Twitter.
Earlier this week, Lauren Sherman wrote about the death of fashion Twitter (mostly with regards to both DKNY and Oscar de la Renta’s PR girls peacing out, as discussed here). Unfortunately I totally agree with her (I have some strong ties to tweeting which I will get to in a minute) but I’m not ready to put Twitter to rest just yet.
If you’ve ever read an interview with me or it might even be on my about page which I should probably update as I haven’t done that in a while…I started on Twitter before I ever had a website. I made a Twitter account probably in 2009 to stalk celebrities (which T Magazine made a very helpful directory in that same year) and after I saw the fashion presence of designers, stores, magazines, etc. I was all in (and stopped caring what Ashton Kutcher had to say in 140 characters). It felt like getting exclusive access to these things you could only get once a month in the magazines. It was so exciting, especially when the highest fashion I could get my hands on at the time was either Gilt sales at noon or Zac Posen x Target (where I still had to drive 30 minutes to even get to a Target). That was college life in Oxford, Ohio. Fast forward, I’m out of college, living in Chicago where I knew I’d be. Still loving Twitter more than ever…as it was really my only other way to communicate with readers. I created ChiCityFashion.com at the end of 2009 after growing a bit of a following on Twitter (I tweeted style tips, interesting stories I found online, etc.) and at the time, that was the only social media I used. This was before Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. There was Facebook, but I only used it personally. Twitter was my jam, and it still is.
Lauren pointed out in her story that people used to really communicate on Twitter. Does anyone remember when Twitter chats were all the rage? I feel like I know so many people I do today because we “met” on Twitter (then met in real life either here in Chicago or during fashion week in New York). I realize people now meet through Instagram but it’s different because you know what they look like, as they post 10 selfies a day. Twitter was a bit more of a mystery — who exactly was behind those 140 characters? And you know what? I miss that.
Really the only other person I’ve spoken to recently who still even likes Twitter (let alone loves it as much as I do) is Fashion Friend Maura Brannigan. I wonder if it has something to do with our fascination with fashion news (as Twitter is a fantastic way to know about what’s happening). I still check my daily websites (Fashionista, Style.com…soon RIP, WWD, etc.) but I still feel like I find out so much from Twitter. I still remember I felt like I was the first person to know when Whitney Houston died (well, one of the first). It’s all just so immediate. Yes, major events are documented on Instagram as well…except that may require editing a photo for an hour in order to make your content legit.
Although I love Twitter, I don’t use it the same as I used to. I used to communicate much more with the “Twitterverse” but considering most people have moved their conversations to Instagram, I use Twitter now as more of a promotional tool for ChiCityFashion. I still live tweet some red carpets every once in a while…but that’s about the extent of it. When I ask people why they don’t like Twitter, most respond that they don’t have anything to say. Really? Nothing? I find it more impressive to come up with valuable written content in under 140 characters rather than using a bunch of editing apps to come up with the perfect Instagram grid (which by the way I just learned the importance of this like last week…and sort of discovered my grid kind of sucks…oops). I never really felt pressured from social media until very recently (again, thanks to Instagram). When it was just Twitter…everything seemed so much easier. Ah, those were the days.
Now I know this one blog post isn’t going to change anything (unless we can get #SaveTwitter / #BringBackFashionTwitter trending). I do think Twitter needs some sort of Eva-Chen-Head-Of-Fashion-Partnerships-At-Instagram sort of thing in order to revive this category. I hope the social platform never completely dies because 1) I will never know what’s going on in the world…but mostly with fashion, because that’s really what I care about and 2) I don’t know if I would be where I am today without Twitter. If I never started Tweeting when I did, would I have ever made this website? And it become my full-time job? This is why I’m quite attached to Twitter and it makes me a little sad to know no one cares about the words anymore — it’s all about the filters and the likes.
Friends, I’d love to get your thoughts about this. Maybe I’m just being a bitter old woman about it like people probably were about Myspace circa 2009. Feel free to share your love and / or hate for any social media platform in the comments below. All rants welcome 🙂
Images via T Magazine, Elle & Pinterest
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