Well, Twitter, it was fun while it lasted

Remember when it was just a fun "micro-blogging" site?

I’m not really sure where this post is gonna go.

Originally I was gonna write something smart, analytical about the game between the Dallas Stars and the Florida Panthers. The Panthers inability to handle an odd-man rush likely would have been the lead.

But then Scott Wedgewood got hurt, had to be stretchered off the ice, and it was downright scary.

(It was later updated that Wedgewood was not taken to the hospital and was being evaluated at the rink.)

And all of a sudden you don’t feel like breaking down blown 2-on-1 coverage. I’ll do that tomorrow morning in a “Why did that go in?” post (all 10 goals, I promise). But tonight, it just felt unimportant, and I can’t justify writing something where my focus has waned.

At the same time, Twitter seems to be on the verge of collapsing. I shouldn’t feel sentimental about a social media site, but I do. It’s been a big part of my life, it’s a space that helped shape my career, and frankly without Twitter, I never would have had the opportunities or built the network that I have.

Twitter’s beauty was that it leveled the playing field. It created a space where you didn’t have to work for a major outlet to have a voice. I was able to create a following as a freelance hockey writer, share my work to a larger audience, and somehow grow a career from my own site, Wrong Side of The Red Line.

(If you remember the WSOTRL days, love you, and thanks for following.)

If/when Twitter implodes, my potential audience will shrink.

That should be a terrifying thought for a writer, especially for one who is trying to re-invent himself after close to five years with a major publication. Somehow it isn’t.

I’m having fun again. I’m writing things I enjoy. The potential readership is smaller, but the fact anyone is reading is an honor, and if you’ve followed my work to this space, that’s pretty damn cool.

If/when it goes I’ll try to fill the Twitter void with other platforms. I’ve got a Facebook page I reactivated, tried setting up one of those mastodon things, and I’m trying to be more active on reddit (username is sshap36). But it’s hard to see anything replicating what Twitter was, even if it continues to exist.

All that being said, back to serious (and not so serious) hockey coverage tomorrow. I’ll have a “Why did that go in?” piece that covers both the Stars-Panthers game and the Detroit Red Wings later night affair with the San Jose Sharks.

Sometimes you need to ramble. Thanks for listening.