S6 Ep. 43: X Marks the Spot: Robin Sloan on Social Media After Twitter

Bestselling novelist and former Twitter employee Robin Sloan joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about how Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter and the rise of new platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Meta’s Threads are shaping a new ecosystem of social media. The co-hosts and Sloan grapple with the unruliness of Twitter over time, political polarization on different platforms and the risks of disinformation, and what the end of Twitter—now rebranded as X—might look like. Sloan reflects on the role social media plays (or doesn’t) in authors’ careers, as well as his own decision to leave Twitter. Finally, he reads from his 2012 novel Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Amanda Trout and Anne Kniggendorf. Robin Sloan Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore Sourdough “Conspiracy Museum” (The Atlantic) Others: “Robin Sloan leaves Twitter's Media Partnerships team,” The Next Web, November 11, 2011 “Bay Area author Robin Sloan dishes on 'Sourdough,' Twitter and books,” San Jose Mercury-News, May 18, 2019 “How to Write Science Fiction That Isn't 'Useful,'” Robin Sloan interviewed by Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, May 15, 2020 “The Age of Social Media Is Ending,” by Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, Nov. 10, 2022 “Threads users looking for 'genuine connection' as Twitter-like social media platform goes back to basics,” ABC News (Australia), July 14, 2023. “Social Media Is Dead,” by Edward Ongweso Jr., Vice, Nov. 8, 2022. “Social Media Died When It Stopped Being Social and Became About Making Money,” by Enrique Dans, Forbes, May 13, 2019 “With the rise of AI, social media platforms could face perfect storm of misinformation in 2024,” CNN Business, July 17, 2023 “Threads, Twitter, and the Future of Social Media,” by Sriram Krishnan, The New York Times (Opinion), July 15, 2023 “Zombie Twitter Has Arrived,” by Ian Bogost and Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, July 6, 2023 “The Weaponization of Social Media and Real World Consequences,” by Dave Davies, National Public Radio, October 9, 2018 “Conservative social networks like Gettr and Parler keep making the same mistake,” by Casey Newton, The Verge, Jul 6, 2021 “Tucker Carlson's show on Twitter makes ad deal with anti-ESG shopping app” by Brian Schwartz, CNBC, July 16, 2023 “Taylor Swift Gets Political On Social Media As Nashville Elections Start,” by Aimée Lutkin, Elle, July 15, 2023 “Despite cries of censorship, conservatives dominate social media,” by Mark Scott, POLITICO, Oct. 26, 2020 “Robin Sloan's 'Sourdough' Is a Fascinating Riddle” by Andy Newman, The Atlantic, Dec. 5, 2017 “Book Armageddon is a Myth: Interview with Robin Sloan” by Lex Berko, Vice, April 10, 2013 “More than eight-in-ten Americans get news from digital devices” Jan. 2021 Study by Elisa Shearer, Pew Research Center, Jan. 12, 2021 “Conservative Social Media— A New Norm?” by Kayla Morrison, Brown Political Review, Dec. 3, 2022 “Robin Sloan: Describing the emotions of life online,” by Josh Kramer, New Public, Mar. 13, 2022 “Computer Stories: A.I. Is Beginning to Assist Novelists—Robin Sloan” by David Streitfeld, The New York Times, Oct. 18, 2018 “The Infinite Deaths of Social Media” by Jason Parham, WIRED, May 4, 2022 “Social media is doomed to die” by Ellis Hamburger, The Verge, April 18, 2023 “The Future of Social Media Is a Lot Less Social” by Brian X. Chen, The New York Times, April 19, 2023 “Delhi Man Creates Device Which Allows You To Order Pizza With Your Mind,” by Anoushka Sharma, NDTV, July 21, 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices