Twitter 3.0

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Twitter is no more of a social ill than the printing press is a social ill.

Exactly.

[JWags85]

Twitter is no more of a social ill than the printing press is a social ill.

Yep.  I feel like 90% of the people who deem Twitter toxic/trash/social ill have not found a productive use for it.  Absolutely there is a ton of trash and horrible stuff on it, but I will steadfastly declare there is no better place for breaking news.  And its actually a great customer service tool.  If you @ a brand, you get a response very quick more often than not.

Example, I flew home from Brussels last Thursday.  There was a planeful of passengers headed to Cameroon who had their plane turned around for a mechanical issue.  As they couldn't get a replacement plane and they didn't have proper visas, they were stranded in the airport.  So they blocked the entrance into the main Schengen terminal at BRU and prevented anyone from getting in.  Backing up hundreds of people.  Airport staff said nothing, there were no updates, nobody knew anything.  I went on Twitter, found some tweets about it, including a news story, and also found out that they were bussing people to the other side of the terminal.  Otherwise I would have been clueless or needing to ask random mostly uninformed strangers.

Thats worth it to me to offset DragginNutz69420 trolling accounts

[MUBurrow]

Twitter is no more of a social ill than the printing press is a social ill.

I would push back on that.  Twitter's use of algorithms, immediacy, and uniformity of presentation for all posters makes it a different animal. Those factors are common to all social media, but I don't think its as simple as "dissemination of information and opinion is dissemination of information and opinion."

[mu_hilltopper]

Twitter is no more of a social ill than the printing press is a social ill.

I would push back on that.  Twitter's use of algorithms, immediacy, and uniformity of presentation for all posters makes it a different animal. Those factors are common to all social media, but I don't think its as simple as "dissemination of information and opinion is dissemination of information and opinion."

Agree with MUBurrow.  The printing press, from 100 years ago or 10, is not free, and is open only to those who have the money to print.

Not only is Twitter free to publish upon, but so are their distribution mechanisms.   This adds a frictionless ability for the rabble to rouse, extremely, and voluminously to all four corners of the earth, instantly.

To compare it to a printing press (and distribution network) on steroids (to the 99th power) is not even close .. it's an entirely different animal.

[Babybluejeans]

Because it is a discussion thread about Twitter?

The point is that if people are getting their reportage *about* Twitter on Twitter, then it suggests it’s too central to the news/discourse to dismiss as finished.

[Pakuni]

Agree with MUBurrow.  The printing press, from 100 years ago or 10, is not free, and is open only to those who have the money to print.

Not only is Twitter free to publish upon, but so are their distribution mechanisms.   This adds a frictionless ability for the rabble to rouse, extremely, and voluminously to all four corners of the earth, instantly.

To compare it to a printing press (and distribution network) on steroids (to the 99th power) is not even close .. it's an entirely different animal.

You misunderstand.
I'm not saying Twitter and the printing press are the same thing.
I'm saying any "social ill" produced and distributed via Twitter or the printing press is the result of the  producer's intents, not the medium itself.
Twitter, like the printing press, is merely a tool for communication. In and of itself, it is neither good or bad.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

You misunderstand.
I'm not saying Twitter and the printing press are the same thing.
I'm saying any "social ill" produced and distributed via Twitter or the printing press is the result of the  producer's intents, not the medium itself.
Twitter, like the printing press, is merely a tool for communication. In and of itself, it is neither good or bad.

And there were people who thought the printing press was evil too.

[Spotcheck Billy]

And there were people who thought the printing press was evil too.

 damn those peasants that wanted to read the Bible in their own language

[JWags85]

And there were people who thought the printing press was evil too.

I don't trust any writing that hasn't been scripted with a human hand.  The devils work that is

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

You misunderstand.
I'm not saying Twitter and the printing press are the same thing.
I'm saying any "social ill" produced and distributed via Twitter or the printing press is the result of the  producer's intents, not the medium itself.
Twitter, like the printing press, is merely a tool for communication. In and of itself, it is neither good or bad.

Sure but I kind of think this is similar to the "guns don't kill people, people kill people" argument. The capabilities of the tool matter. The printing press is a musket. Social media is a gatling gun.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that social media needs to be regulated in the same way that weapons of war do. Just arguing that the conversation isn't as simple as saying the tool is neither good nor bad.

[Pakuni]

Sure but I kind of think this is similar to the "guns don't kill people, people kill people" argument. The capabilities of the tool matter. The printing press is a musket. Social media is a gatling gun.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that social media needs to be regulated in the same way that weapons of war do. Just arguing that the conversation isn't as simple as saying the tool is neither good nor bad.

I figured someone would make this analogy.
Here's where I think it fails: The purpose of a gun is to harm and, most often, kill. Hunting, self-defense, law enforcement, war, whatever ... guns exist to injure and kill. When you shoot a human or an animal with a gun, you're using it as it exactly as it was designed and intended.

Not so with Twitter. Twitter wasn't created as a means to distribute child porn, or to harass women, or spread hate. Jack Dorsey didn't wake up one morning and say, "How can we most efficiently spread hate and conspiracy theories." It absolutely can be used to do that, but that's not its purpose or why it was founded.

Twitter is more like a hammer. You can use a hammer to hurt someone. But the hammer you pick up at Lowe's or Home Depot wasn't created or designed for that purpose, and if it is used to harm someone, it's a misuse of that tool.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I figured someone would make this analogy.
Here's where I think it fails: The purpose of a gun is to harm and, most often, kill. Hunting, self-defense, law enforcement, war, whatever ... guns exist to injure and kill. When you shoot a human or an animal with a gun, you're using it as it exactly as it was designed and intended.

Not so with Twitter. Twitter wasn't created as a means to distribute child porn, or to harass women, or spread hate. Jack Dorsey didn't wake up one morning and say, "How can we most efficiently spread hate and conspiracy theories." It absolutely can be used to do that, but that's not its purpose or why it was founded.

Twitter is more like a hammer. You can use a hammer to hurt someone. But the hammer you pick up at Lowe's or Home Depot wasn't created or designed for that purpose, and if it is used to harm someone, it's a misuse of that tool.

Again, I don't disagree but I'm not just talking about hate, conspiracy theories, and child porn (though I think there are a lot more people spreading hate on Twitter than people hurting people with hammers). I don't think the human brain, especially an adolescent's brain, is meant to be able to handle the constant bombardment of information that comes with social media. I think using social media as intended can lead to increased anxiety, depression and even things like suicidal ideation and addiction in extreme cases. In a way it's almost akin to drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol. Even using them as they are intended to be used can lead to negative outcomes especially when used in excess.

I think social media being a "social ill" is more a public health problem than a public safety problem. Unfortunately, there's no easy/good way to regulate it like there is with drugs and alcohol because it's too intertwined with free speech. I think parents and schools educating kids on healthy online behaviors is probably the best bet that's easier said than done. Lil TAMU is about to turn 3 and the Mrs. and I are already trying to figure out the best ways to have these future conversations.

[tower912]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/musk-shakes-twitters-legal-team-123811901.html

Stop paying rent and vendors.   

[Hards Alumni]

Yep.  I feel like 90% of the people who deem Twitter toxic/trash/social ill have not found a productive use for it. Absolutely there is a ton of trash and horrible stuff on it, but I will steadfastly declare there is no better place for breaking news.  And its actually a great customer service tool.  If you @ a brand, you get a response very quick more often than not.

Example, I flew home from Brussels last Thursday.  There was a planeful of passengers headed to Cameroon who had their plane turned around for a mechanical issue.  As they couldn't get a replacement plane and they didn't have proper visas, they were stranded in the airport.  So they blocked the entrance into the main Schengen terminal at BRU and prevented anyone from getting in.  Backing up hundreds of people.  Airport staff said nothing, there were no updates, nobody knew anything.  I went on Twitter, found some tweets about it, including a news story, and also found out that they were bussing people to the other side of the terminal.  Otherwise I would have been clueless or needing to ask random mostly uninformed strangers.

Thats worth it to me to offset DragginNutz69420 trolling accounts

It's this.  They see twitter news on TV broadcasts, or on news websites.  And as a result, they will only see a small partition of Twitter, and usually that portion is negative.

Twitter is a great tool for staying up to date with breaking news.  It just requires the end user to be a lot more media conscience than the average American is.

[forgetful]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/musk-shakes-twitters-legal-team-123811901.html

Stop paying rent and vendors.

Someone needs to do an exorcism or something on Musk. Dude is possessed to destroy things around him.

For the legal folks. Any legal recourse for investors in SpaceX given that Musk is raiding it for talent to send to his private company Twitter?

[Hards Alumni]

Someone needs to do an exorcism or something on Musk. Dude is possessed to destroy things around him.

For the legal folks. Any legal recourse for investors in SpaceX given that Musk is raiding it for talent to send to his private company Twitter?

Divest.

[JWags85]

Someone needs to do an exorcism or something on Musk. Dude is possessed to destroy things around him.

For the legal folks. Any legal recourse for investors in SpaceX given that Musk is raiding it for talent to send to his private company Twitter?

SpaceX is also private...

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Someone needs to do an exorcism or something on Musk. Dude is possessed to destroy things around him.

Judging by the Chappelle appearance, Musk has created such a bubble around himself of yes man and fanboys that he was absolutely stunned to learn that not everyone in the world agrees that his farts are both delectable and the universe's greatest aphrodisiac.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Judging by the Chappelle appearance, Musk has created such a bubble around himself of yes man and fanboys that he was absolutely stunned to learn that not everyone in the world agrees that his farts are both delectable and the universe's greatest aphrodisiac.

🐷🐷

[ZiggysFryBoy]

SpaceX is also private...

There oughta be a law!

[Hards Alumni]

🐷🐷

This gets more funny every time you do it.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Jack, Musk, and Cathie Wood (LOL) bizarrely pumping bitcoin, complete with "scan this QR code and change your life" messaging.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-vp8z0Klvk

This can only mean Musk has been accumulating bitcoin in order to pump and dump and try to recover some of his loses.

[Jockey]

This gets more funny every time you do it.

I prefer that than having him use actual words.

[Pakuni]

SpaceX is also private...

Doesn't mean there aren't investors.

[forgetful]

SpaceX is also private...

Thanks. I had thought I remembered seeing something on CNBC about its stock price a while back. My guess is I misremembered and they were talking about a valuation if it went public...my bad.

Even so, I would think that he has a fiduciary responsibility to the investors of SpaceX (re. Pakuni's followup) to act in the best interest of SpaceX, which he is not doing when he is pilfering it for top talent to save his other investment.