Twitter was absolutely special when it came out. It was the first (or at the very least first successful) social media designed for mobile use. It also had large effects on how people thought about and used social media, and had big impacts on the ways various companies and people interact on social media.

I've never particularly cared about twitter personally, I used it a handful of times here and there, and I agree that currently and for a while it's been a pretty shit slice of social media. But saying it was never special is a stretch at best.

Where do I go for hyperlocal updates from advocates in my area in subjects I'm engaged in? How do I get the word out about the projects I'm working on in those subjects? Calling me a fucking loser for staying somewhere that's the only place to do some things is not going to accomplish anything but make me think you don't know what you're talking about.

I used to use the excuse of using Twitter to get my news, but I gave up after the rebranding. Now I just go to the news organizations' websites.