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I am confused; why do you, as the creative person, need to tell the world about the death of a family person or if you are getting married (Looking at you, Neil

by eshvk 13y ago

I am confused; why do you, as the creative person, need to tell the world about the death of a family person or if you are getting married (Looking at you, Neil Gaiman)? Why has this become a thing? Why can't you STFU, get off twitter/facebook/whatever social network and go do your creative thing?

ncallaway 13y ago
Yes. How dare you use social media in a way that other humans do! If you contribute anything in the public space, social media should be nothing more than a marketing tool. I am, like you, infuriated that a public / marginally public figure would use social media to communicate a personal message. These marginally public figures should only be allowed to talk about their creative output in a public space. /s Edit: I guess the general point my unnecessary sarcasm was trying to make was this: Creative people are people first and foremost. They have the same drives and desires for using social media, AND they need to use it as a marketing tool. I think one of the major problems is it's super easy to dehumanize people when you're interacting with them over the internet. They aren't just content creation machines. Apologies for the unnecessary sarcasm.
- eshvk 13y ago
  I am not clear what your point is. Are you saying that it is a normal human instinct to broadcast all your shit to the world? Just because a few people think that cultural consumption should work like that, doesn't mean that everyone does think the same way.
  - ncallaway 13y ago
    > "Are you saying that it is a normal human instinct to broadcast all your shit to the world?" To some extent, yes. Death in the family and informing people about an upcoming marriages are things that I frequently see people post on social media. Really any very important event in someone's life often gets posted on social media. I'm just saying, it's easy to think of people on the internet as abstract things, and not realize that you're saying: "Hey, actual person shut about about that major event in your life, no one cares, get back to work". Let me ask you this: if your friend posted a message about a death in their family on twitter would your response be "Why can't you STFU, get off twitter, and get back to work"?
    - eshvk 13y ago
      > easy to think of people on the internet as abstract things, Right. You mean it then becomes easier to be a major sarcastic dick to someone who voiced an opinion quite contrary to yours?
      - ncallaway 13y ago
        I do. And I'm sorry for my sarcasm. It was inappropriate. Hence the earlier edit to my comment calling it unnecessary and apologizing for it. It was a knee-jerk comment, and it was indeed a pretty dick thing to say.
- lmm 13y ago
  If you use a twitter account for promotion of your product then it's not really personal any more. I mean, you know your fans, most of whom don't know you personally, are going to follow it. At that point it's a question of what kind of relationship you want to have with your fans. And while you have every right to share details of your personal life with these strangers on the internet, and certainly don't deserve abuse for it, it seems weird to want to do so. (I write a small amount of fiction. I don't go out of my way to conceal my identity, but I do have distinct handles and to a certain extent personae for professional-programmer-me, writer-me, family-me etc. It would feel strange to use a single twitter account)
  - ncallaway 13y ago
    I agree that having separate accounts for promotional stuff and personal stuff is a very wise thing to do. It's very possible that you'll turn off followers, and reduce the number of people tuning in for your promotional stuff, by posting personal stuff. That being said, I don't understand the anger when people do post personal stuff. If a twitter account posts things that aren't interesting to you, just don't follow them. I fundamentally don't understand why someone would get upset, or send in abuse, because someone posts some information from their personal life on their twitter account.
Ygg2 13y ago
Because twitter sells. For better or for worse. Or because you enjoy using it. I never could understand twitter/facebook appeal other than to pop cheap snippets or stalk your old friends, but I don't judge people based on what they do in their leisure time.
skylan_q 13y ago
This is a problem with social media. We've given away our privacy willingly. This also opens us up to the peanut gallery.

by eshvk 13y ago

ncallaway 13y ago

Yes. How dare you use social media in a way that other humans do! If you contribute anything in the public space, social media should be nothing more than a marketing tool. I am, like you, infuriated that a public / marginally public figure would use social media to communicate a personal message. These marginally public figures should only be allowed to talk about their creative output in a public space. /s Edit: I guess the general point my unnecessary sarcasm was trying to make was this: Creative people are people first and foremost. They have the same drives and desires for using social media, AND they need to use it as a marketing tool. I think one of the major problems is it's super easy to dehumanize people when you're interacting with them over the internet. They aren't just content creation machines. Apologies for the unnecessary sarcasm.

eshvk 13y ago
I am not clear what your point is. Are you saying that it is a normal human instinct to broadcast all your shit to the world? Just because a few people think that cultural consumption should work like that, doesn't mean that everyone does think the same way.
- ncallaway 13y ago
  > "Are you saying that it is a normal human instinct to broadcast all your shit to the world?" To some extent, yes. Death in the family and informing people about an upcoming marriages are things that I frequently see people post on social media. Really any very important event in someone's life often gets posted on social media. I'm just saying, it's easy to think of people on the internet as abstract things, and not realize that you're saying: "Hey, actual person shut about about that major event in your life, no one cares, get back to work". Let me ask you this: if your friend posted a message about a death in their family on twitter would your response be "Why can't you STFU, get off twitter, and get back to work"?
  - eshvk 13y ago
    > easy to think of people on the internet as abstract things, Right. You mean it then becomes easier to be a major sarcastic dick to someone who voiced an opinion quite contrary to yours?
    - ncallaway 13y ago
      I do. And I'm sorry for my sarcasm. It was inappropriate. Hence the earlier edit to my comment calling it unnecessary and apologizing for it. It was a knee-jerk comment, and it was indeed a pretty dick thing to say.
lmm 13y ago
If you use a twitter account for promotion of your product then it's not really personal any more. I mean, you know your fans, most of whom don't know you personally, are going to follow it. At that point it's a question of what kind of relationship you want to have with your fans. And while you have every right to share details of your personal life with these strangers on the internet, and certainly don't deserve abuse for it, it seems weird to want to do so. (I write a small amount of fiction. I don't go out of my way to conceal my identity, but I do have distinct handles and to a certain extent personae for professional-programmer-me, writer-me, family-me etc. It would feel strange to use a single twitter account)
- ncallaway 13y ago
  I agree that having separate accounts for promotional stuff and personal stuff is a very wise thing to do. It's very possible that you'll turn off followers, and reduce the number of people tuning in for your promotional stuff, by posting personal stuff. That being said, I don't understand the anger when people do post personal stuff. If a twitter account posts things that aren't interesting to you, just don't follow them. I fundamentally don't understand why someone would get upset, or send in abuse, because someone posts some information from their personal life on their twitter account.

Ygg2 13y ago

Because twitter sells. For better or for worse. Or because you enjoy using it. I never could understand twitter/facebook appeal other than to pop cheap snippets or stalk your old friends, but I don't judge people based on what they do in their leisure time.

skylan_q 13y ago

This is a problem with social media. We've given away our privacy willingly. This also opens us up to the peanut gallery.