4 ms·

My rule for social media is the following: only go when you know exactly what you're looking for. The academic community on twitter is very active and the con

My rule for social media is the following: only go when you know exactly what you're looking for. The academic community on twitter is very active and the content is very good, so I go to twitter to keep up with the latest cogneuro trends. This having been said, I'm now clearly in a professional environment, so I think about what I'm writing. I walk through twitter in the same way I walk through the ghetto: mouth shut and head on a swivel. I'm not going to start disseminating my political opinions as if the average twit gave a damn.

drcongo 11y ago
Some of your political opinions just disseminated out right there.
- garrettgrimsley 11y ago
  This is not Twitter, and the poster is utilizing a pseudo-anonymous handle, perhaps unlike on Twitter. They don't care about disseminating their beliefs here because they won't be attributed to their "real" identity.
  - jschwartzi 11y ago
    Or maybe they're willing to disseminate some of their opinions because they trust HN to not hang, draw, and quarter them.
    - garrettgrimsley 11y ago
      HN is not a black hole, information can flow out of it just as easily as it flows in. If they are careful to not disseminate their personal views on one public internet forum they should be just as cautious about voicing them on another. I believe that the pseudo-anonymity is far more important than the platform.
- omginternets 11y ago
  Opining about twitter isn't the same as commenting on AIDS in Africa. It's a stretch to call the former "political".
  - ajryan 11y ago
    I think it's your opinion on the "ghetto," not twitter, that raises eyebrows.
    - omginternets 11y ago
      It's a stretch to call that political as well.
mafribe 11y ago
The academic community on twitter is very active and the content is very good, so I go to twitter to keep up with the latest cogneuro trends. My community (programming languages) is also active on twitter, but I decided completely to withdraw. There seems to be no benefit for me in hearing about the latest paper 5 minutes after it was put on arXiv. I felt that being active on Twitter gave me the illusion of understanding, but prevented me from deep understanding by infinite distraction. I wonder if I'm the only one ...
- phillc73 11y ago
  My community (horse racing) is also very active on Twitter. However, I find it highly beneficial to stay abreast of the latest news, and have a chuckle from time to time. Yesterday a certain horse was confirmed for a certain race (Smad Place in the King George chase at Kempton on December 26th). I picked up the information on Twitter and was able to place a bet immediately at 14/1. The price on Smad Place in this race is now 10/1, 9/1 in places. It was quickly adjusted down by most bookmakers within 10 minutes of the announcement. Twitter really is a valuable medium to me. I want to hear about things 5 seconds after they've been announced!
  - kiiski 11y ago
    How does that work where you're located? At least here (Finland) it wouldn't matter what the odds are when you place the bet, since the payout is based on the odds at the moment the race starts (that is, if you bet 1 € when the odds are 14:1 and then the odds go down to 9:1 you win 9 €). Of course here the state has monopoly on gambling, so it might work very differently.
    - SlashmanX 11y ago
      Generally (in the UK and Ireland), the reverse is true. If the odds go down after you place your bet, you get your initial odds, if the odds go up (to say 18/1) before the race, you will get 18/1. Most reputable bookies do that these days.

drcongo 11y ago

Some of your political opinions just disseminated out right there.

garrettgrimsley 11y ago
This is not Twitter, and the poster is utilizing a pseudo-anonymous handle, perhaps unlike on Twitter. They don't care about disseminating their beliefs here because they won't be attributed to their "real" identity.
- jschwartzi 11y ago
  Or maybe they're willing to disseminate some of their opinions because they trust HN to not hang, draw, and quarter them.
  - garrettgrimsley 11y ago
    HN is not a black hole, information can flow out of it just as easily as it flows in. If they are careful to not disseminate their personal views on one public internet forum they should be just as cautious about voicing them on another. I believe that the pseudo-anonymity is far more important than the platform.
omginternets 11y ago
Opining about twitter isn't the same as commenting on AIDS in Africa. It's a stretch to call the former "political".
- ajryan 11y ago
  I think it's your opinion on the "ghetto," not twitter, that raises eyebrows.
  - omginternets 11y ago
    It's a stretch to call that political as well.

mafribe 11y ago

The academic community on twitter is very active and the content is very good, so I go to twitter to keep up with the latest cogneuro trends. My community (programming languages) is also active on twitter, but I decided completely to withdraw. There seems to be no benefit for me in hearing about the latest paper 5 minutes after it was put on arXiv. I felt that being active on Twitter gave me the illusion of understanding, but prevented me from deep understanding by infinite distraction. I wonder if I'm the only one ...

phillc73 11y ago
My community (horse racing) is also very active on Twitter. However, I find it highly beneficial to stay abreast of the latest news, and have a chuckle from time to time. Yesterday a certain horse was confirmed for a certain race (Smad Place in the King George chase at Kempton on December 26th). I picked up the information on Twitter and was able to place a bet immediately at 14/1. The price on Smad Place in this race is now 10/1, 9/1 in places. It was quickly adjusted down by most bookmakers within 10 minutes of the announcement. Twitter really is a valuable medium to me. I want to hear about things 5 seconds after they've been announced!
- kiiski 11y ago
  How does that work where you're located? At least here (Finland) it wouldn't matter what the odds are when you place the bet, since the payout is based on the odds at the moment the race starts (that is, if you bet 1 € when the odds are 14:1 and then the odds go down to 9:1 you win 9 €). Of course here the state has monopoly on gambling, so it might work very differently.
  - SlashmanX 11y ago
    Generally (in the UK and Ireland), the reverse is true. If the odds go down after you place your bet, you get your initial odds, if the odds go up (to say 18/1) before the race, you will get 18/1. Most reputable bookies do that these days.