4 ms·

I think this is a natural consequence of the twitter format. The short message motivates (some) users to win cheap points, offend or simply scream loudly in ord

by danieka 11y ago

I think this is a natural consequence of the twitter format. The short message motivates (some) users to win cheap points, offend or simply scream loudly in order to get attention. In my Luddite mind the political conversation is becoming Twitter-fied and now focuses more on short sound bites rather than a sound discourse.

rglullis 11y ago
Now? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death [Neil Postman] also repeatedly states that the eighteenth century, being the Age of Reason, was the pinnacle for rational argument. Only in the printed word, he states, could complicated truths be rationally conveyed. Postman gives a striking example: Many of the first fifteen U.S. presidents could probably have walked down the street without being recognized by the average citizen, yet all these men would have been quickly known by their written words. However, the reverse is true today. The names of presidents or even famous preachers, lawyers, and scientists call up visual images, typically television images, but few, if any, of their words come to mind. The few that do almost exclusively consist of carefully chosen soundbites.
- Semiapies 11y ago
  Soundbites created by speech writers other than themselves, for that matter.
- GnarfGnarf 11y ago
  Postman's is an excellent book. McLuhan said it: The Medium is the Message.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
Touche 11y ago
Not just the short format but also the stream makes tweets disappear quickly. Most tweets are never seen by anyone else. If you say something provocative it stands out and lives a little longer than the typical tweet. This gains you followers so your tweets will live a little longer. You say something else provocative and you wind up with a positive feedback loop.

4 ms·

I think this is a natural consequence of the twitter format. The short message motivates (some) users to win cheap points, offend or simply scream loudly in ord

by danieka 11y ago

rglullis 11y ago
Now? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death [Neil Postman] also repeatedly states that the eighteenth century, being the Age of Reason, was the pinnacle for rational argument. Only in the printed word, he states, could complicated truths be rationally conveyed. Postman gives a striking example: Many of the first fifteen U.S. presidents could probably have walked down the street without being recognized by the average citizen, yet all these men would have been quickly known by their written words. However, the reverse is true today. The names of presidents or even famous preachers, lawyers, and scientists call up visual images, typically television images, but few, if any, of their words come to mind. The few that do almost exclusively consist of carefully chosen soundbites.
- Semiapies 11y ago
  Soundbites created by speech writers other than themselves, for that matter.
- GnarfGnarf 11y ago
  Postman's is an excellent book. McLuhan said it: The Medium is the Message.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
Touche 11y ago
Not just the short format but also the stream makes tweets disappear quickly. Most tweets are never seen by anyone else. If you say something provocative it stands out and lives a little longer than the typical tweet. This gains you followers so your tweets will live a little longer. You say something else provocative and you wind up with a positive feedback loop.