I've been on Twitter since 2008, which might imply I've consistently enjoyed the experience. But the reality is that it's definitely been up and down.

Part of the issue is that the quality of conversations can be shifted by how Twitter has changed its product—and, most importantly, its algorithm. When you feel the app (or any app) is feeding you irrelevant or frustrating content, you're going to use it less.

But Twitter proved to be a very different place in 2020 than it has been in the other 11 years I've been on the platform. And the group of users loosely identified as "Ad Twitter" has changed as well.

On this week's episode of our weekly Adweek podcast, Yeah, That's Probably an Ad, we discuss a wide range of ways that brand marketers adapted their tone and tactics in 2020 as lockdowns redefined society and dramatically changed consumer habits.

You should check out the full podcast, but one tangential conversation that we had during the chat is how much more diverse, fascinating and rewarding the Ad Twitter community has become this year.

In all honesty, I have a hard time putting my finger on why the vibe changed so much.

But I'll say this: All those (mostly white, mostly male) thought leaders who defined influence in the ad world before 2020? They all seemed to just...go quiet this year. Not all of them, but enough to be noticeable.

Whether that's because they just had little to offer in a year that upended all the predictable systems of advertising, or because the algorithm just stopped giving them a visibility boost, I can't say.

What's risen in their place is a more eclectic, brutally honest and highly talented crew of rising, reinvigorated and reform-focused professionals who have made Ad Twitter a legitimately refreshing place to hang out.

I'll spare you a sprawling laundry list of accounts to follow, but a few I'd point you to out of the gate would be mental health advocate Brooke Strozdas (recently hired by Cameo as a creative strategist), Nigerian-born copywriter Dotun Bello, 600 & Rising co-founder Bennett D. Bennett, R/GA ecd Shannon Washington, We Are Rosie founder Stephanie Nadi Olson, and my incredibly community-minded Adweek colleague Julian Gamboa.

But who are your favorite follows in the creative and ad worlds these days? Let me know at the email below or at @Griner on Twitter.

David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
David.Griner@Adweek.com

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