Elon Musk’s decision to kill the Twitter bird and rebrand the platform under the X banner has touched off a fresh wave of debate over the company’s future.

But amid the furor over what is arguably the most controversial corporate shift in direction of the technology era, lessons in marketing best practice are being learned – and developers are emerging as key to it all. 

It’s no exaggeration to say the arrival of Meta’s newest social media app, Threads, is already upending the social media world order.

But like all new apps, initial hype and long-term success aren’t necessarily one and the same. Just because a whole lot of people download something doesn’t mean that they’ll then make it a consistent part of their daily routine.

Still, the fact remains that Threads is the fastest growing social media app of all time. And Meta has the pockets to stick with it for the long haul.

Let’s take a closer look at what this all might mean. 

When Ron DeSantis decided to forego a traditional rally to launch his presidential campaign, he could have hardly predicted that shaky Twitter infrastructure would overshadow his message.

Or could he?

By now, we should all be used to eye-popping headlines from Twitter.

Mass layoffs. Mass resignations. Botched releases. Skyrocketing misinformation and disinformation. Rampant and uncontrolled hate speech. Disappearing ad revenues.

But the latest shocking headline – a reported leak of part of Twitter’s source code – could be the worst of them all. 

If you’ve been noticing odd-looking error messages lately while using Twitter, you’re not alone.

You’re not just imagining it.

Perhaps you were trying to follow someone new, or simply trying to load the Twitter.com website or your Tweetdeck dashboard. Whatever the case, these aren’t random error messages, and they’re part of an ongoing trend. 

Social media exposure can be both good and bad for you. During times of crisis, it can be a worthwhile tool in accessing the right information and staying up to date with current news. However, it can also be a source of anxiety, since it's so easy to see posts from friends and acquaintances that are often fearful, misinformed or uninformed. If you are staying home during a pandemic lockdown, knowing how to use social media to your advantage is crucial if you don't want this useful tool to morph into a source of accelerating anxiety.

In this age of pandemics and lockdown, read on for tips on using social media a better way. 

1. Stick to verified and reliable sources

It's easy to get overwhelmed with information, from facts to opinions to everything in between, when your eyes are glued to social media all day. This information overload can get worse if your friends on Facebook and Twitter are posting and then sharing each other's posts. Streamline the information you consume by sticking to verified and reliable sources. Start with sites like CDC.gov, the WHO website, official national websites (think Canada.ca) and their Facebook or Twitter pages, and the social media output of scientists and doctors who are at the forefront of fighting and studying the virus that's causing the pandemic.