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With Elon Musk’s impending Twitter takeover, the social media network has been in the news on a seemingly daily basis. Of course, because this is a multibillion-dollar transaction, lawyers are being drawn into the fray not just to close the deal but to give expert commentary on how things will turn out in the end.
But do lawyers actually care about Twitter? In a recent Above the Law survey, more than 100 people from all areas of the profession — ranging from those working in law firms of all sizes to those working in-house to those working in government roles — gave us their thoughts on the matter. While some believe that Twitter can be useful for networking (hello, #LawTwitter) and newsgathering, others are much, much, much more pessimistic about it.
First things first: We know lawyers have a reputation for being slow to embrace new things — even social media — so we decided to start with the basics.
Are you on Twitter?
A majority of survey respondents are on Twitter, although only 42 percent said they are actively engaged.
Do you have a “burner” account?
Most respondents (69 percent) don’t have a burner account. Among those that do, however, many said that it is their only account.
Do you post tweets and comments or just lurk?
More than 40 percent of respondents actively post tweets and comments, while roughly a third (34 percent) simply lurk.
Do you aspire to be a “blue checkmark”?
Blue checkmark status is important to few of our survey respondents. Just 1 percent said they are actively pursuing it, while 3 percent said they have already attained it. A small number (13 percent) think it would be nice. But the vast majority (84 percent) of respondents just don’t care.
For which of the following do you most frequently use Twitter?
Multiple selections were allowed for this question. Most respondents seem to be passive rather than active Twitter users. A majority (61 percent) use it to follow breaking news. Other common uses include aimless scrolling and procrastination (41 percent), gawking at hot takes and others’ arguments (35 percent), and reading general news (27 percent).
Smaller subsets of respondents curate tweets through retweets and likes (13 percent) or post news they have gathered themselves (9 percent). Even fewer said they actively engage in arguments (6 percent) or post their own detailed commentary (2 percent). Just 1 percent admit to trolling and sowing chaos.
Other responses included different ways respondents use the platform — ranging from performing background checks to reading business and stock tweets — as well as some entertaining complaints about it:
- “I do not look at it.”
- “I ignore it — egotists and blowhards.”
- “I tried Twitter and found it to be a complete waste of my time. It is at best annoying, at worst an active block to good information.”
How do you rate Twitter’s potential as a positive influence on democracy?
When it comes to Twitter’s effect on democracy, few regard it as a positive influence. More than half (54 percent) said it has a low potential to influence democracy in a positive way, and 18 percent said it has no potential to do so. Just 16 percent of respondents said it has a high potential to have a positive influence on democracy.
How do you rate Twitter’s potential as a negative influence on democracy?
Far more respondents (75 percent) believe the platform has a high potential to serve as a negative influence on democracy.
How do you rate Twitter as an information gathering tool?
Views of Twitter as an information gathering tool are mixed. The largest group of respondents (37 percent) say it’s a good tool. The next-largest group (24 percent) considers it fair. Almost as many respondents (22 percent) find it poor. And then 17 percent believe it’s excellent.
How do you rate Twitter as a networking and business development tool?
Opinions are more consistent when it comes to Twitter’s value as a tool for networking and business development. No one rated it as excellent, and more than half (52 percent) consider it poor. Only 18 percent think it’s good, and 30 percent believe it’s fair.
Some of our respondents really wanted to give their full-throated thoughts on Twitter, and luckily, we didn’t have a 280-character limit. But, as you’ll see below, the Twitter hate was short, sweet, and plentiful.
“Frankly, I’d close it down.”
“I hope Elon Musk kills it and that it drags him down with it.”
“I hope Musk-daddy runs it into the ground and goes broke.”
“I could live a full and happy life if there was no Twitter. And I’d like to do so.”
“I tried it and found it to be a complete waste of my time. At best, it was both annoying and addictive. At worst, it was actively keeping me from getting good information.”
***
“My sense is that law Twitter is much more positive than Twitter overall.”
“I follow a number of prominent lawyers and politicians. I don’t really use it for news or in depth analysis. I also like to see the nonsense coming out of some Twitterlebrities and pols.”
“Laurence Tribe and others provide very thoughtful analysis on Twitter, which is amazing given the 280 character limit. These tweets are the highlight of the platform.”
“I had Twitter for over a decade, but left after doing enough work to see its privacy and PII danger. Further, in my work on utilizing social media for politics (2012), I saw its inherent power to make a lie ring true through repetition. SM has a potential to be a ‘town square,’ and with current levels of education and civility, it is a cesspool of the race to the bottom.”
And there you have it: based on our survey results, most lawyers don’t really seem to find many redeeming qualities in Twitter, and in fact, many of them seem to downright hate Twitter. At least it’s a fun way to procrastinate….
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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