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As Twitter's workforce crumbles, users are tweeting their eulogies for the platform

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

As Twitter workers abandon the platform in droves, some are posting emotional goodbyes. And many Twitter users have joined the chorus, tweeting short eulogies for the platform in anticipation of changes they expect ahead.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

For more than a decade, the social media site has been a place where people have sought information, advocacy, entertainment, community. Donyale Padgett, a professor at Wayne State University, is honoring Black Twitter.

DONYALE PADGETT: I have relied on Black Twitter for so much. It has been a place of refuge. It has been a place of humor. It is a record of something profound that has happened. That is where you want to go to really follow and track the conversation. And I think that is at risk.

WENDI MUSE: My name is Wendi. I have MS, so I happen to be on what we call disability Twitter. A lot of people were having trouble accessing N95s on their limited pay. I had a huge stockpile. So I literally just said, if you need N95s, send me a DM. In total, it's going to be more than 12,000 masks that I've sent out. I'm a bit emotional about it, especially for people who are disabled who maybe don't have social networks in person right now.

AZUCENA RASILLA: My name is Azucena Rasilla, and I'm an arts and community reporter for The Oaklandside. I didn't come from a pipeline of, like, an Ivy League school or J-school. And in general, obviously for, like, brown reporters - right? - there aren't that many ways for us to, like, get our name out there. And I'll never forget writing about Prince's last concert. I tagged Prince, and then he retweeted. Oh, my God, this is, like, the best tool ever.

DAN SHEEHAN: My name is Dan Sheehan. I'm a writer living in Los Angeles. I started using Twitter when I was in high school. Tweeting out jokes got me some of my first job offers. None of that could have been done through traditional means. It's allowed so many people to basically be present in spaces that they wouldn't have been allowed to be present in otherwise.

SHAPIRO: That was Dan Sheehan, Azucena Rasilla, Wendi Muse and Donyale Padgett, four Twitter users talking about how the platform has changed their lives. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Lauren Hodges is an associate producer for All Things Considered. She joined the show in 2018 after seven years in the NPR newsroom as a producer and editor. She doesn't mind that you used her pens, she just likes them a certain way and asks that you put them back the way you found them, thanks. Despite years working on interviews with notable politicians, public figures, and celebrities for NPR, Hodges completely lost her cool when she heard RuPaul's voice and was told to sit quietly in a corner during the rest of the interview. She promises to do better next time.
Manuela López Restrepo
Manuela López Restrepo is a producer and writer at All Things Considered. She's been at NPR since graduating from The University of Maryland, and has worked at shows like Morning Edition and It's Been A Minute. She lives in Brooklyn with her cat Martin.
Christopher Intagliata is an editor at All Things Considered, where he writes news and edits interviews with politicians, musicians, restaurant owners, scientists and many of the other voices heard on the air.
Ari Shapiro has been one of the hosts of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine, since 2015. During his first two years on the program, listenership to All Things Considered grew at an unprecedented rate, with more people tuning in during a typical quarter-hour than any other program on the radio.
Mary Louise Kelly is a co-host of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine.

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