3 ms·

Twitter is not a megaphone. So tired of news sites using that analogy. I can choose what I see on Twitter.

PartiallyTyped 4y ago
Not only that, such services - unlike a megaphone or the agora - are a) incentivised to keep you there, b) algorithmically curate the content that you view, and c) are businesses and their responsibility is first and foremost the shareholders and not the public.
squeaky-clean 4y ago
I only follow about 25 people on Twitter, Elon Musk is not one of them. Yet the first tweet in my feed when I just opened up the homepage is Elon Musk said "let the good times roll" 8 hours ago.
- sixstringtheory 4y ago
  I would amend GPs statement to say “Twitter doesn’t have to be a megaphone” but then I guess their only/biggest revenue stream would dry up if people truly could curate their feed to only show what they actually wanted to see.
- merely-unlikely 4y ago
  I keep mine on chronological sort so I only see people I follow.
  - jacooper 4y ago
    Now they added the similar tweets section under tweeg replies. Its always confusing for me when I am just scrolling through replies then see something totally irrelevant. Though I gotta hand it to them, the tweets suggested are often related, and it will resort to funny tweets when it can't find something similar.
  - squeaky-clean 4y ago
    Just because you chose to leave the vicinity of the megaphone doesn't mean the megaphone stops existing. I'd bet more than 90% of twitter users keep their feed on the default sort.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
- sanxiyn 4y ago
  Why haven't you muted Elon Musk yet? Do you want to see or not see Elon Musk's tweets? If you don't want to see Elon Musk's tweets, mute him right now. If you want to see Elon Musk's tweets, it's mighty strange to complain.
mikkergp 4y ago
Am I missing something? I guess with a custom browser, but I can’t close the “what’s happening” box and I often see retweets and likes from the people I follow. You can individually turn off retweets but that’s hate-UX, is there a way to do this in bulk? (I already changed the “show me tweets in order” setting or whatever.
fernandotakai 4y ago
that's one of the things i never understood. twitter gives you SO MANY TOOLS to avoid seeing what you don't want to see. you can lock your account, lock replies, block accounts, mute accounts, filter keywords and that's not without mentioning the granularity of notifications. i, myself, almost never see what i consider hateful content.
- sixstringtheory 4y ago
  Maybe I’m just not willing to put in as much effort as you, but despite everything I tried I could not stop unwanted content from meeting my eyes. Except for the step of not using it any longer, of course.
  - cm42 4y ago
    I feel like "unwanted" and "hateful" content are potentially two very different circles in a Venn diagram.
    - sixstringtheory 4y ago
      So? That's beside the point we're talking about. If I can't hide content I don't want to see, what difference does it make what kind of content it is? How do you know the unwanted content I'm talking about wasn't hateful?
j-bos 4y ago
I think it is for journalists because that seems to be why they're there.

Not only that, such services - unlike a megaphone or the agora - are a) incentivised to keep you there, b) algorithmically curate the content that you view, and c) are businesses and their responsibility is first and foremost the shareholders and not the public.

squeaky-clean 4y ago

I only follow about 25 people on Twitter, Elon Musk is not one of them. Yet the first tweet in my feed when I just opened up the homepage is Elon Musk said "let the good times roll" 8 hours ago.

sixstringtheory 4y ago
I would amend GPs statement to say “Twitter doesn’t have to be a megaphone” but then I guess their only/biggest revenue stream would dry up if people truly could curate their feed to only show what they actually wanted to see.
merely-unlikely 4y ago
I keep mine on chronological sort so I only see people I follow.
- jacooper 4y ago
  Now they added the similar tweets section under tweeg replies. Its always confusing for me when I am just scrolling through replies then see something totally irrelevant. Though I gotta hand it to them, the tweets suggested are often related, and it will resort to funny tweets when it can't find something similar.
- squeaky-clean 4y ago
  Just because you chose to leave the vicinity of the megaphone doesn't mean the megaphone stops existing. I'd bet more than 90% of twitter users keep their feed on the default sort.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
sanxiyn 4y ago
Why haven't you muted Elon Musk yet? Do you want to see or not see Elon Musk's tweets? If you don't want to see Elon Musk's tweets, mute him right now. If you want to see Elon Musk's tweets, it's mighty strange to complain.

mikkergp 4y ago

Am I missing something? I guess with a custom browser, but I can’t close the “what’s happening” box and I often see retweets and likes from the people I follow. You can individually turn off retweets but that’s hate-UX, is there a way to do this in bulk? (I already changed the “show me tweets in order” setting or whatever.

fernandotakai 4y ago

that's one of the things i never understood. twitter gives you SO MANY TOOLS to avoid seeing what you don't want to see. you can lock your account, lock replies, block accounts, mute accounts, filter keywords and that's not without mentioning the granularity of notifications. i, myself, almost never see what i consider hateful content.

sixstringtheory 4y ago
Maybe I’m just not willing to put in as much effort as you, but despite everything I tried I could not stop unwanted content from meeting my eyes. Except for the step of not using it any longer, of course.
- cm42 4y ago
  I feel like "unwanted" and "hateful" content are potentially two very different circles in a Venn diagram.
  - sixstringtheory 4y ago
    So? That's beside the point we're talking about. If I can't hide content I don't want to see, what difference does it make what kind of content it is? How do you know the unwanted content I'm talking about wasn't hateful?

j-bos 4y ago

I think it is for journalists because that seems to be why they're there.