What Makes X (Twitter) Great – And Not So Great
The difference in the timelines since xAI took over is night and day. X has become dramatically better. Someone once quipped that San Francisco is Twitter in person, offline. The reverse is equally true: Twitter is San Francisco online. You get founders, startup team members, engineers, and thinkers sharing thoughts in real time. It’s a vibrant, always-on conversation.The StrengthsText-first is a feature, not a bug. In a world drowning in short videos and polished visuals, X rewards raw ideas. You get the thoughts directly—no production overhead, no filler. If you’re someone who values substance over spectacle, this is refreshing.
Permissionless networking. You can tweet directly at anyone. No emails, no scheduling calls, no gatekeepers. This creates intense, high-signal interactions that would otherwise never happen. It’s networking at the speed of thought.
Infinite niche personalization. Curate your feed well, and X starts to feel tailor-made. Love books? Over time, it becomes a platform for book lovers. The same applies to almost any niche or sub-niche—tech, finance, science, philosophy, or obscure hobbies. Your X becomes what you make it.
Real-time brainstorming. X feels like one giant, endless permissionless brainstorming session. You dive in, react, build on ideas, and move on. There’s no waiting for the next tech blog post or newsletter. If something feels hot, a quick search delivers the pulse of the moment. For deeper context, I often follow up with a Grok query.
It pairs beautifully with YouTube. Twitter gives the instant reaction and conversation; YouTube delivers the long-form talks where founders speak at length, conveying tone, emotion, and nuance that text alone can’t capture.
And yes—AI has done wonders. The improved timelines, reduced noise, and overall experience feel markedly better.The FrustrationsNot everything is perfect.
The war on links is the biggest head-scratcher. X seems to punish posts with external links, limiting their reach. This feels like old AOL thinking—trying to keep users fenced inside the platform rather than letting them roam freely. It comes across as monopolistic and user-hostile. I still share links as I always have, but it’s clear the algorithm doesn’t love them. If I really want reach, I mention specific handles directly. My personal blogs still deliver far wider distribution.
Long-form has trade-offs. Longer posts are welcome, but they lack the permanence and structure of a traditional blog. There’s no proper archive, easy searchability, or media richness. I love that my own blog can be visually rich with images, embeds, and formatting. X still feels like a stream—great for the moment, weaker for lasting reference.
Many of the features I wish X had are probably better built as additional layers by third parties anyway. Not every platform needs to do everything.
Politics and bubbles. In my own feed, I see surprisingly little right-wing or left-wing tribal shouting. It’s possible to curate a high-quality, low-drama experience. Threads, by contrast, remains a goldmine if you want to watch Democrats creatively complain about Trump and his administration—hugely entertaining, if that’s your thing.My Personal UsageFor me, X has become primarily a consumption and discovery platform. It’s where I catch the real-time pulse, find interesting people, and spot emerging ideas. When I want broader reach or deeper presentation, I turn to my blogs. The two work together rather than compete.The Bottom LineX is at its best when it stays true to what made it special: fast, text-heavy, permissionless conversation among interesting people. It shines as a global, real-time thinking network—especially now.
It would be even stronger if it stopped punishing links and allowed content to flow more freely to the open web. Platforms win when they become part of the internet’s circulatory system, not by trying to become the entire body.
Bring the links back. Keep the thoughts flowing. The rest is working better than ever.
The difference in the timelines since xAI took over is night and day. X has become dramatically better. Someone once quipped that San Francisco is Twitter in person, offline. The reverse is equally true: Twitter is San Francisco online. You get founders, startup team members, engineers, and thinkers sharing thoughts in real time. It’s a vibrant, always-on conversation.The StrengthsText-first is a feature, not a bug. In a world drowning in short videos and polished visuals, X rewards raw ideas. You get the thoughts directly—no production overhead, no filler. If you’re someone who values substance over spectacle, this is refreshing.
Permissionless networking. You can tweet directly at anyone. No emails, no scheduling calls, no gatekeepers. This creates intense, high-signal interactions that would otherwise never happen. It’s networking at the speed of thought.
Infinite niche personalization. Curate your feed well, and X starts to feel tailor-made. Love books? Over time, it becomes a platform for book lovers. The same applies to almost any niche or sub-niche—tech, finance, science, philosophy, or obscure hobbies. Your X becomes what you make it.
Real-time brainstorming. X feels like one giant, endless permissionless brainstorming session. You dive in, react, build on ideas, and move on. There’s no waiting for the next tech blog post or newsletter. If something feels hot, a quick search delivers the pulse of the moment. For deeper context, I often follow up with a Grok query.
It pairs beautifully with YouTube. Twitter gives the instant reaction and conversation; YouTube delivers the long-form talks where founders speak at length, conveying tone, emotion, and nuance that text alone can’t capture.
And yes—AI has done wonders. The improved timelines, reduced noise, and overall experience feel markedly better.The FrustrationsNot everything is perfect.
The war on links is the biggest head-scratcher. X seems to punish posts with external links, limiting their reach. This feels like old AOL thinking—trying to keep users fenced inside the platform rather than letting them roam freely. It comes across as monopolistic and user-hostile. I still share links as I always have, but it’s clear the algorithm doesn’t love them. If I really want reach, I mention specific handles directly. My personal blogs still deliver far wider distribution.
Long-form has trade-offs. Longer posts are welcome, but they lack the permanence and structure of a traditional blog. There’s no proper archive, easy searchability, or media richness. I love that my own blog can be visually rich with images, embeds, and formatting. X still feels like a stream—great for the moment, weaker for lasting reference.
Many of the features I wish X had are probably better built as additional layers by third parties anyway. Not every platform needs to do everything.
Politics and bubbles. In my own feed, I see surprisingly little right-wing or left-wing tribal shouting. It’s possible to curate a high-quality, low-drama experience. Threads, by contrast, remains a goldmine if you want to watch Democrats creatively complain about Trump and his administration—hugely entertaining, if that’s your thing.My Personal UsageFor me, X has become primarily a consumption and discovery platform. It’s where I catch the real-time pulse, find interesting people, and spot emerging ideas. When I want broader reach or deeper presentation, I turn to my blogs. The two work together rather than compete.The Bottom LineX is at its best when it stays true to what made it special: fast, text-heavy, permissionless conversation among interesting people. It shines as a global, real-time thinking network—especially now.
It would be even stronger if it stopped punishing links and allowed content to flow more freely to the open web. Platforms win when they become part of the internet’s circulatory system, not by trying to become the entire body.
Bring the links back. Keep the thoughts flowing. The rest is working better than ever.
X And The War On Links https://t.co/kozFgpeDAG @Scobleizer @elonmusk @chamath @jason
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) May 29, 2026
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