Twitter And Its Impact On Cities

Elon Musk buying Twitter, or as he calls it, the “facto public town square”, has been one of the biggest news stories of the last week. After forking out around $44bn, he has promised to make online speech freer, which is no small thing.

When Twitter first emerged in 2006, it attracted huge attention by being the most on-point, easy-to-read and relevant online channel, its 140-character limitation forcing new ways of being creative within those restraints. And while the rise of other social media platforms such as Instagram or the insane growth of Facebook over the years in terms of active users have made it look relatively small by comparison, it still boasts 229 million daily users and continues to be a hugely influential channel in many parts of the world.

Speaking about the then-offer to purchase Twitter in April, Musk told a TEDx audience that he doesn’t “care about the economics” of it. “This is just my strong, intuitive sense that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization.”

But despite Musk’s big promises, there are many concerns regarding his acquisition, such as the fact that it’ll now be owned by a private individual, and what this means in terms of true freedom of speech (and the challenges that come with it).

We all remember the likes of Donald Trump’s ban on the platform, wide misinformation and conspiracy theories around the pandemic, scandals around foreign interference in political campaigns, and so on. Musk announced that he’s considering publishing Twitter’s code and replacing permanent bans with time-outs. On the other hand, Musk is also one of the largest donors of the American Civil Liberties Unions. And in the past, Twitter has tightened content moderation for a purpose, making sure no rights are stepped over and ensuring a clean platform. But with Musk’s recent buy and claimed intentions, all this might change, and we could be seeing controversial voices coming back on.

Now, while media stories are focusing on other topics that derive from this piece of news, such as how much Musk will change the status quo of social media with his acquisition, there’s another point of view I’d like to put into the spotlight: how this promise of regulation of online free speech and Twitter use can impact the life of big cities.

Two years ago, Twitter was used as an analysis tool - intended to measure how smart city concepts and tech are viewed and used in Australian cities, through a systematic geo-analysis that contained descriptive, content, policy and spatial analyses. The results of this proved that the geo-Twitter analysis was relevant in investigating these topics and could provide information relevant to smart-city policymaking, with insights taken straight from the community.

At about the same time, in 2020, Amsterdam used Twitter to shape an alternative smart city discourse that put creative migrants in focus. The innovative methodology showcased that creative skilled migrants contributed to the smart city narrative by relating technology to the common good. It was also a smart move in demonstrating that social media analysis can inform urban planners on a more socially driven use of tech in smart cities.

With the above in mind, in 2022, we should look at the potential opportunities to give local communities the voice to get more involved in how cities are developed or improved. Quick research will show you that a lot of smart cities and various organisations are already using Twitter for micro-content to increase citizen engagement and participation. Just recently, the Smart Cities Marketplace (a Twitter channel created as an initiative of the European Commission to bring together EU Smart City stakeholders and experts), shared news and insights from the Smart Cities Marketplace Forum 2022, focusing on a just and clean urban transition - a good example of how the channel can be used as a relevant source of information that is far more direct than other platforms allow.

Now think about how you can reach citizens through it. I’ve often discussed how a significant part of the life of smart cities consists in involving and motivating the population to actively participate in these changes. We are already deep in the digital era, so why not use a direct channel for this type of conversation? Compared to other platforms, Twitter spares you the fluff from most newsfeeds, simplifying the process of delivering information and gaining attention. With specific hashtags, local administrations can invite entire communities to speak their minds when it comes to improvements, strategies, and other relevant areas of community life that directly concern and affect them - truly owning up to the promise of freedom of speech and democratising the implementation of smart city life.

Of course, true freedom should ensure that no one steps over other people’s liberties. And for this, at least a minimal set of guidelines and regulations should be in place in order to deliver on Musk’s promise in a functional and efficient way.

Combining Twitter’s analytics functions with its capability of amplifying the voice of the community, creating a healthy forum for debate, smart city officials can skip steps ahead in engaging citizens through a platform that is already a part of their digital life. It can also prove a mindset evolution for authorities through a flexible and adaptable approach to social media.

What happens next remains to be seen, but with the right mindset and thoughtful approach, which I would urge Musk to take on board, and protecting the platform from misuse from both individuals and large entities (such as avoiding political misappropriation), we have a huge opportunity at hand to make Twitter a real tool for democratisation with a positive impact on the life of smart communities.