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Somewhat concerning statements on their own. > “I thought once everybody could speak freely and exchange information and ideas, the world is automatically goin
by IanCal 9y ago
Somewhat concerning statements on their own.
> “I thought once everybody could speak freely and exchange information and ideas, the world is automatically going to be a better place,” Williams told the Times. “I was wrong about that.”
I'd like to see a more detailed look at why Twitter might not have been a good idea. I don't think that free, easy communication is a bad thing and I think it's powered an enormous change for good. The sentiment expressed in the quotes sounds worryingly similar to proponents of censorship.
I just think that Twitter is a bad way of communicating anything vaguely complex.
- yorwba 9y ago> I don't think that free, easy communication is a bad thing It is neither good nor bad, just an amplifying medium for whatever someone chooses to use it for.
- duskwuff 9y agoI think the key word in that quote, which you've overlooked, is "automatically". Allowing free communication may be good... but it can't "automatically" make the world a better place on its own.
- fictioncircle 9y agoHonestly, I am more worried about the fact HN seems oblivious to the fact Twitter was being used as a targeted propaganda system by a foreign government than I am of censorship in the US.
- 3131s 9y agoA foreign government? Many governments place targeted propaganda on all sorts of platforms, the US primary among them. Both US political parties were no doubt doing astroturfing of their own this last election. And among US politicians, having corrupt foreign ties is hardly unique to Trump. Trump probably has some relationship with the Russian government, but IMO it is hardly significant in comparison to the full scope of corrupt, bad behavior exhibited by the US government.
- GuiA 9y ago> I'd like to see a more detailed look at why Twitter might not have been a good idea. You've got the answer right in your post: > I just think that Twitter is a bad way of communicating anything vaguely complex. The medium is the message. Build a social network where the main mode of communication encouraged is short, eminently shareable quips, and the voices that dominate will be the ones like Donald Trump's.
- IanCal 9y agoI think there's more to it than that, which deserves a more thorough critique. How following and retweeting works, the difficulty of replying, search and more all play a role in this.