For research communications professionals and academics, X can feel a little like being the band on the Titanic, defiantly playing on as the once great ship slides under the water. As a number of academic and civil society organisations question their presence on the platform, Andy Tattersall assesses why research organisations might stay on the platform and where they have left for.

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Anyone working within academia and active on X (formerly Twitter), will have noticed how much their timeline has changed since Musk bought the platform. Even prior to October 2022 many had exited the platform for a variety of reasons largely due to its inability to deal with trolls and bots, a situation Musk promised to fix. Instead, fake news and divisive accounts have been greeted back onto the platform accelerating a wider exodus.

These changes have to be understood in a wider context. X continues to be one of the largest social media platforms for the discussion of research, albeit as Micha Kidambi highlights, one that has been sinking since a covid peak in mid-2021 and Musk’s purchase. In short, and as predicted, the platform has become more divisive and as Sally McLaren neatly summarises, one where algorithms suppress credible content, make it harder to avoid harmful trends and posts receive diminishing visibility and interaction.

In short, and as predicted, the platform has become more divisive

Many individuals have jumped ship to smaller platforms such as Mastodon, Threads and Bluesky. In contrast, many research organisations remain on deck, playing to a diminishing audience. Until recently, I was one of them and before you read this as one of those melodramatic ‘I quit’ notices, this post is about what happens to these organisations.

Everyone has their own reasons for leaving or staying on X and it would be unhelpful to pressure individuals to leave or stay on the platform. These kinds of moral decisions are common in research communication, where there are reasons to engage with platforms you might otherwise avoid. I respect those who remain to preserve voices of reason on the platform and to stand up against injustice, but you can only do so much when the algorithmic currents are this strong.

However, before I mothball my account, I want it to be an archive and signpost. So, I decided to investigate the academic organisational accounts remaining on deck. A place to keep track of those organisations still playing to a diminishing audience as the ship starts to lurch as an academic platform and those who have hedged their bets on other social media sites.

I have collated a spreadsheet of over 250 academic organisational accounts on social media. These include publishers, funders, learned societies, public engagement and research festivals, professional bodies and media platforms, among others. Anyone can access the spreadsheet via this link.

Pretty much all of the over 250 accounts remain active on X

Pretty much all of the over 250 accounts remain active on X and some will have no doubt had conversations internally involving communications leads, managers and academics as to their own exit strategies. Just as this article was finished, Jisc and then the Association for Learning Technology announced they would no longer use the platform, no doubt others will come to that decision in time. The question as to whether universities should leave X has also been raised in a recent piece by Sophie Hogan in Research Professional News. What might have been a whisper is slowly turning into something loud enough that organisations will have to act. Unlike individuals who were able to make quick decisions based on ethics and strategy, most organisations remain bogged down there. Others like UKRIO, The British Ecological Society, The Royal Astronomical Society, Wonkhe, Information is Beautiful, ORCiD, Wikimedia UK and the DORA Assessment have ventured onto every alternative platform available.

Of the 264 accounts currently on the list, approximately 39 are on Bluesky, 57 on Threads and 33 on Mastodon. Due to the siloed nature of the Mastodon Fediverse, it is significantly harder to track down accounts than on other platforms, so that number is likely to be higher. There are also 183 accounts on LinkedIn, most set up as a company profile and some as official groups, many of which will have existed for some time.

What is most striking from the accounts that have appeared away from X since Musk’s takeover, is that the majority are inactive. In many cases, they have simply not posted after creating an account. This is not without its merits, having an exit strategy and securing the same usernames and handles is a sensible precaution, as long as any new organisational profiles make that clear and point visitors to active online presences. Organisations have invested great effort building up communities and audiences, but now it is time to seriously start discussing relocating, there is an iceberg and it is toxic. This is particularly hard as these collective accounts are often a voice for multiple individuals and a source of knowledge for others. Any decisions as to whether you stay or go has to have them in mind.

What is most striking from the accounts that have appeared away from X since Musk’s takeover, is that the majority are inactive.

Social media is not dead by a very long way, it is a useful way to engage and reflect with itself and with others. X’s engagement will likely continue to decrease for research and education organisations and unless they are willing to spend money to promote content, then ultimately conversations around where to invest time and energy on social media will get louder. Whilst the thought of building a new online presence feels daunting for these organisations, it is better to start now whilst people remain on X or establish themselves elsewhere. There are tools that help these transitions, such as the Chrome web app, Sky Follower Bridge that identifies Bluesky users who you are connected with on X.

I hope you will add to the spreadsheet I have created to contribute any missing notable accounts and where else they may exist on social media. I have created a very short Form which people can submit suggestions and amendments to. At present this does not include universities given the additional amount of work required to collate them. It also does not include other social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. If this spreadsheet proves useful then such information may be included in a later version. The optimist in me would hope these esteemed organisations join together and sign an open letter to Musk to tackle these problems. The realist in me knows this is unlikely to work. That alone sums up why organisations need to consider preparing their lifeboat now and being ready to leave X before it sinks any further.

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