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> Members of the top 10% of tweeters also have distinct attitudes, behaviors and personal characteristics compared with those who use the platform less often. T

> Members of the top 10% of tweeters also have distinct attitudes, behaviors and personal characteristics compared with those who use the platform less often. These prolific tweeters are more likely to be women: 65% are, compared with 48% of the bottom 90% of tweeters. I find this fascinating. If the data are correct, Twitter's most valuable users (the ones who write all the Tweets) are overwhelmingly (65%) women, and even among the less active "lurkers" women make up just a little less than half. And yet, ask any woman who's active on Twitter to tell you about her experience with it, and you'll get a hair-raising catalog of stories of threats, abuse, and general unpleasantness -- all of which Twitter has shown next to zero interest in curbing. It requires some seriously blinkered management to decide it's not important for your service to provide at least a minimally welcoming experience for its core audience.

haberman 8y ago
I don't think Twitter provides a welcoming experience for anybody. "Threats, abuse, and general unpleasantness" could be the site's slogan.
- matt4077 8y ago
  I invite everyone to create a female persona on twitter and interact with your usual communities for a month. You will likely get the same “with all due respect...” responses as usual, but a surprising number of them will manage to meander their way, within just 280 chars, to “...and therefore you need a good rape.”
cotelletta 8y ago
Maybe this should finally clue you in that online harassment has always been a pass time for and by women. ED, Kiwifarms, do you really think it's mostly men who spend all that time concerned with social warfare, gossiping and reputational damage? The default on the internet is male, and the same goes for anons, because we expect women to make themselves noticable. When they don't, we assume they are men. But clearly social media is mainly for and by women. Maybe they ought to own up to that. I have never seen more drama and abuse as in female dominated groups. Men have an argument, fight, and then go have a beer. Women will waffle and try to appear the reasonable party, but only so they can stick the knife in the back later, and they rarely forgive. This is generally true, but any woman who does not fight this way is a treasure who you can invite into groups of men without changing the dynamic permanently.
- 0815test 8y ago
  > ED, Kiwifarms, do you really think it's mostly men who spend all that time concerned with social warfare, gossiping and reputational damage? Yes, actually I really do think so. Never mind ED or Kiwifarms, what about B1FF and the Meow Wars? Internet trolling and flame-baiting very much dates back to the 1980s, when the Internet was truly a male domain; Twitter and Tumblr have simply made it mainstream. At most, we could say that some women with remarkably antisocial tendencies may have joined the fray with gusto, but I just don't buy the claim that they even account for anything close to a majority of that, erm, userbase.
gnicholas 8y ago
> ask any woman who's active on Twitter to tell you about her experience with it, and you'll get a hair-raising catalog of stories of threats, abuse, and general unpleasantness I do know several women who are moderately active on twitter and have not had experiences like this. Most of the people I know on twitter are in the accessibility community, K12 education, or higher education. Perhaps these spaces do not have the same behaviors that you describe? It’s possible that these areas are overwhelmingly female and that the gender balance changes the dynamic.

haberman 8y ago

I don't think Twitter provides a welcoming experience for anybody. "Threats, abuse, and general unpleasantness" could be the site's slogan.

matt4077 8y ago
I invite everyone to create a female persona on twitter and interact with your usual communities for a month. You will likely get the same “with all due respect...” responses as usual, but a surprising number of them will manage to meander their way, within just 280 chars, to “...and therefore you need a good rape.”

cotelletta 8y ago

Maybe this should finally clue you in that online harassment has always been a pass time for and by women. ED, Kiwifarms, do you really think it's mostly men who spend all that time concerned with social warfare, gossiping and reputational damage? The default on the internet is male, and the same goes for anons, because we expect women to make themselves noticable. When they don't, we assume they are men. But clearly social media is mainly for and by women. Maybe they ought to own up to that. I have never seen more drama and abuse as in female dominated groups. Men have an argument, fight, and then go have a beer. Women will waffle and try to appear the reasonable party, but only so they can stick the knife in the back later, and they rarely forgive. This is generally true, but any woman who does not fight this way is a treasure who you can invite into groups of men without changing the dynamic permanently.

0815test 8y ago
> ED, Kiwifarms, do you really think it's mostly men who spend all that time concerned with social warfare, gossiping and reputational damage? Yes, actually I really do think so. Never mind ED or Kiwifarms, what about B1FF and the Meow Wars? Internet trolling and flame-baiting very much dates back to the 1980s, when the Internet was truly a male domain; Twitter and Tumblr have simply made it mainstream. At most, we could say that some women with remarkably antisocial tendencies may have joined the fray with gusto, but I just don't buy the claim that they even account for anything close to a majority of that, erm, userbase.

gnicholas 8y ago

> ask any woman who's active on Twitter to tell you about her experience with it, and you'll get a hair-raising catalog of stories of threats, abuse, and general unpleasantness I do know several women who are moderately active on twitter and have not had experiences like this. Most of the people I know on twitter are in the accessibility community, K12 education, or higher education. Perhaps these spaces do not have the same behaviors that you describe? It’s possible that these areas are overwhelmingly female and that the gender balance changes the dynamic.