Dear Mr. Costolo,
I just got off the phone with my son, Ryan Sartor, and he is quite upset with Twitter.
After receiving a note from one man, telling him to “Shut up,” Ryan was sent yet another insulting message, calling him a “misogynist” because he likes a Kanye West CD.
What kind of business are you running? My son is an aspiring writer. Having these kinds of interactions with complete strangers is doing terrible things for his self-esteem.
I don’t believe in censoring people, and I know that this is a free country, but these two characters have never even met my son. They’re bullying him just because you have given them a platform to do so.
I tried to get on a computer and find the names of these two young men, but my son told me to “stay out of it!” in a really loud voice, which isn’t a great way to talk to your mother.
I am sorry to take up so much of your time. It’s just that Ryan has felt very encouraged lately. His aunt was nice enough to send him to this writers’ conference in New Haven, where he had a great time. You see, he’s on Twitter because he wants to sell this book that he’s been working on for a few years. I thought that Ryan might be done writing it by now, but every time that I ask him if I can read a few chapters, he folds his arms over his chest and stomps out of the house.
When he comes back home, he always says, “No one supports my writing.” And I always tell him, “I’m trying to support you, but you won’t even let me even read the thing!” Well, being a writer can also be tough financially. Maybe that’s what he means. But Ryan knows that if he’s ever having a hard time, I’m happy to lend him some money. (But not too much! Haha.)
Mr. Costolo: this is a longwinded way of saying that Ryan has been using your website for a while, trying to network, but he can’t really do that while these people are trying to upset him. He told me today, “I’ll never do Twitter again.”
So, if you could just make it so that when people yell at Ryan on Twitter, he doesn’t see it, I’d really appreciate your help. Also, do you have any interest in reading his book when he’s done? I was told that you sometimes publish Twitter Novels.
Thanks so much,
Ryan’s Mom
