“When did Noah build the Ark? Before the rain.”

Robert Redford as Nathan Muir in Spy Game

Those of you who are Billy Joel fans will recognize the reference in the title of this post. And for those of us who are diehard Twitter fans, we’ll be singing the chorus from this song before too long.

My day job centres around helping leaders lead high performing teams. What’s happening at Twitter right now is a classic example of what not to do as a leader. People are the most valuable asset of any company. A good leader treats their people with dignity and respect, and should make everyone they lead feel valued for their contribution to the company. When a leader shows total disregard for the people they lead, that for me, is a signal of the beginning of the end of a cohesive, high performing team.

I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed hoping things will settle down at Twitter so we can get on with enjoying the platform we love. But after Musk’s decision to issue an ultimatum to his employees on last Thursday, I seriously doubt the company can survive.

Here’s where we are:

• 1,200 Twitter Employees Resign, Company Closes All Offices
• Elon Musk summons Twitter engineers amid mass resignations and puts up poll on Trump ban
• Twitter Employees Left Meeting As Elon Musk Continued Speaking: Report
• Twitter staff quit in droves after Elon Musk’s ‘hardcore’ work ultimatum leaves only 7% backing him
• Elon Musk abruptly shut down Twitter’s offices as workers resigned en masse
• Hundreds of employees say no to being part of Elon Musk’s ‘extremely hardcore’ Twitter
• Elon Musk locks Twitter staff out of offices as hundreds of people quit their jobs
• Twitter-Musk News Timeline: Musk Summons Engineers as Worries of Twitter Crash Grow

I’ve been on Twitter since May 2007. I have a lot of time and content invested in the platform. I probably should have done this sooner, but better late than never. Today, I’ve initiated the download sequence to get my Twitter archive. Hopefully it’s not too late. Hopefully the team that handles the archives haven’t all left Twitter. I’ll let you know in 24 hours, which is how long Twitter says the process could take.

If you haven’t downloaded your archive, I recommend you do and here’s how to do it.

How to download your Twitter archive

When you download your Twitter archive, you take a snapshot of all your Twitter information, starting with your very first tweet.

Click on the More icon in the navigation bar right above the blue draft new Tweet icon. Select “Settings and Support” from the menu options. Click “Settings and privacy.” Select “Your account” from the menu options.

2. Click “Download an archive of your data.” You’ll be asked to enter your password, do so and click “Confirm.”
3. Next you’ll have to verify your identity. Click “Send code” to your email and/or your phone number. You’ll be redirected to the “Account information” page where you’ll be able to enter the code that was sent to your email or phone.
4. Once your identity is verified, click “Request archive.”
5. When your download is finished, Twitter will send you an email where you can download a .zip file of your Twitter archive.
6. If you have the app downloaded, you’ll get a push notification letting you know your Twitter archive has finished downloading. Navigate back to “Settings” on the app where you can click the “Download data” button under the Download data section.

Note: This may take a while. Twitter says “it can take 24 hours or longer for your data to be ready.”

That’s it!