transplantbillsfan Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 (edited) Created in 2006 Clearly took some number of years to explode. Place where ANYONE has a voice. Argument for it of course is that all voices are heard, not just the select few among the media who have historically progressed from pen to typewriter to computer to smartphone. Argument against it is also that all voices are heard, not just the select few among the media who have historically progressed from pen to typewriter to computer to smartphone. Yes, I fall in the latter group, but I'm curious the general sentiment. Twitter has more than tripled in active users since 2012, a Presidential election year. I read tweets as I lurk on here. Most are opinions. Some are referred to as "source material" but often imply or mean something a shade or completely different than what the original poster believed it meant. So... twitter... Empowering? Dividing? Neither? Both? Edited September 28, 2019 by transplantbillsfan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_Gal Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Like so many inventions (car, phone, etc) it is both positive and negative. Positive in that it is the fastest way possible for news and event reports to get around the world. Negative in that the doxxing, harassment, arguing, etc isn't helpful to anyone. I miss the early days of twitter before it came under mob and bot control. You could actually have interesting and informative conversations back then. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Mobile platform & smartphones made it go wild. Election of 2008... Smartphones were just coming on scene. 2012... Again, tech, speeds just not there to manipulate via mobile. Tech was in place and numbers of people using smartphones by 2016 made it the right time to manipulate the people. I don't even have a computer any more. Desktop? LoL... Like going on a decade without one. The only time I use a laptop computer is when I do taxes. And I borrow my wife's she uses for (very seldom) for work... And she's even not on that... She has a Surface at work. Only other time I am on a desktop is when I am at work. I am 99.9999% mobile, everything I do. Which has never been Twitter or Facebook, which is for the idiot masses. I guess it's like radio was in the 1930s and TV 1950s, and now smartphones/handheld devices 20teens... Think about it... We had FDR trying to calm a suffering populace with with a few orange glow fireside chats about a chicken in every pot... Now we have the Trumpster rile up a rosy azz populace giving lectures on spelling, properly placed apostrophes and how to choke a chicken under the glow of the blue mobile light. You've (Tech) come along way baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 25 minutes ago, Buffalo_Gal said: Like so many inventions (car, phone, etc) it is both positive and negative. Positive in that it is the fastest way possible for news and event reports to get around the world. Negative in that the doxxing, harassment, arguing, etc isn't helpful to anyone. I miss the early days of twitter before it came under mob and bot control. You could actually have interesting and informative conversations back then. Maybe it took a while for the Twitter platform to bust the bubble. And when they did bust, people just retreated to another bubble. You obviously never saw this board, PPP in 2002-2003. Forums were around for a long time... I betcha they had interesting and informative discussions over the BBS's. LoL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddy KGB Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Twitter is way way way too far left. Uneven moderation, total clown show 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 3 hours ago, Buffalo_Gal said: Like so many inventions (car, phone, etc) it is both positive and negative. Positive in that it is the fastest way possible for news and event reports to get around the world. Negative in that the doxxing, harassment, arguing, etc isn't helpful to anyone. I miss the early days of twitter before it came under mob and bot control. You could actually have interesting and informative conversations back then. I don’t use it but I’m aware of what the positives and negatives are and I feel the negatives way outweigh the positives. Ive been saying for a few years now it, and social media in general, will help in the downfall of the Republic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxx Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 5 minutes ago, Chef Jim said: I don’t use it but I’m aware of what the positives and negatives are and I feel the negatives way outweigh the positives. Ive been saying for a few years now it, and social media in general, will help in the downfall of the Republic. what is the alternative? returning to living under a mushroom and being fed bull####? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meazza Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 13 minutes ago, Foxx said: what is the alternative? returning to living under a mushroom and being fed bull####? Because that’s the only alternative. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxx Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 13 minutes ago, meazza said: Because that’s the only alternative. an alternative of the first amendment is the only alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 I view Twitter as neither positive nor negative. I view it as inevitable. It's one of a long line of things that can have their positives and negatives argued: guns, nuclear energy/weapons, genetic engineering, combustion engine, and thousands upon thousands more. If something can be invented/marketed/used, it will be. Whining about it does nothing to change it. The real issue I see wrt to Twitter specifically is the deception behind it as being some sort of open format. It's not. It's just a company doing predictable things to bolster its bottom line and market share. It tries to keep competitors at bay. It gets to do this in unusual ways compared to older companies. The past two POTUS' have given them free advertising daily. Imagine if JFK always had a can of Coke while speaking. Would that hurt Pepsi or potential future Pepsis? Beverages are one thing but centralized messaging carries a lot more leverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 3 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said: I view Twitter as neither positive nor negative. I view it as inevitable. It's one of a long line of things that can have their positives and negatives argued: guns, nuclear energy/weapons, genetic engineering, combustion engine, and thousands upon thousands more. If something can be invented/marketed/used, it will be. Whining about it does nothing to change it. The real issue I see wrt to Twitter specifically is the deception behind it as being some sort of open format. It's not. It's just a company doing predictable things to bolster its bottom line and market share. It tries to keep competitors at bay. It gets to do this in unusual ways compared to older companies. The past two POTUS' have given them free advertising daily. Imagine if JFK always had a can of Coke while speaking. Would that hurt Pepsi or potential future Pepsis? Beverages are one thing but centralized messaging carries a lot more leverage. This stuff is not new. It started with the subliminal messages flashed across the movie theatre screen showing food, candy and drink to get you to buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 3 minutes ago, 3rdnlng said: This stuff is not new. It started with the subliminal messages flashed across the movie theatre screen showing food, candy and drink to get you to buy it. It not new but it is more pervasive and efficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 14 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said: It not new but it is more pervasive and efficient. Somewhere I have a case of subliminal messages on cassettes designed for self improvement. The first one in the sequence had to do with stopping procrastination. They seem to be just the sound of waves washing in on shore, and you just leave them on all the time and with the auto reverse function on the cassette player you'd forget about them. After a few days my teenage daughter started cleaning her room everyday which floored me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 2 hours ago, Foxx said: what is the alternative? returning to living under a mushroom and being fed bull####? Debating face to face like real men instead of hiding behind a keyboard. Stop being #######s to each other and having civil discourse. That’s the bullshiit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxx Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 7 minutes ago, Chef Jim said: Debating face to face like real men instead of hiding behind a keyboard. Stop being #######s to each other and having civil discourse. That’s the bullshiit. we evolved out of chaos. it will work itself out, 1984 be damned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Neither It only brought to the surface what had already been festering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Zevon Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Answer: Never before Twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 LBJ had a proclivity for calling Black and Brown people *iggars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 9 minutes ago, Gary Busey said: Answer: Never before Twitter Lame. You think every President before Twitter was kind and obsequious when Congress wouldn’t go along with his policies? You don’t think that language was saltier than “savages”? Oooohhhh “savages”, where are my pearls?!?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transplantbillsfan Posted September 28, 2019 Author Share Posted September 28, 2019 (edited) A lot of people enjoy the kind of trolling that illuminates the gullibility of the powerful and their willingness to respond. One of the best is Congressman Steve Smith, a Tea Party Republican representing Georgia’s 15th District, which doesn’t exist. For nearly three years Smith has spewed over-the-top conservative blather on Twitter, luring Senator Claire McCaskill, Christiane Amanpour and Rosie O’Donnell into arguments. Surprisingly, the guy behind the GOP-mocking prank, Jeffrey Marty, isn’t a liberal but a Donald Trump supporter angry at the Republican elite, furious at Hillary Clinton and unhappy with Black Lives Matter. A 40-year-old dad and lawyer who lives outside Tampa, he says he has become addicted to the attention. “I was totally ruined when I started this. My ex-wife and I had just separated. She decided to start a new, more exciting life without me,” he says. Then his best friend, who he used to do pranks with as a kid, killed himself. Now he’s got an illness that’s keeping him home. Marty says his trolling has been empowering. “Let’s say I wrote a letter to the New York Times saying I didn’t like your article about Trump. They throw it in the shredder. On Twitter I communicate directly with the writers. It’s a breakdown of all the institutions,” he says. “I really do think this stuff matters in the election. I have 1.5 million views of my tweets every 28 days. It’s a much bigger audience than I would have gotten if I called people up and said, ‘Did you ever consider Trump for President?'” ... “It’s not about the target. If they get blocked, they say, ‘That’s cool,’ and move on to the next person,” she says. Trolls don’t hate people as much as they love the game of hating people. Edited September 28, 2019 by transplantbillsfan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 8 hours ago, Deranged Rhino said: I can NOT be the only one waiting for the Snopes fact check of this one. It'll be gold, Jerry, GOLD! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 14 hours ago, Gary Busey said: Answer: Never before Twitter Historians: When was the last time Congress spent 3+ years trying to overturn a lawful election? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Freedom of speech and expression is never a bad thing, and Twitter is just another way for people to express themselves. That said, freedom of speech should be left completely open to all points of view, regardless of how extreme or offensive they may be. Once Twitter began showing favoritism by suspending people for posting pro-Trump and anti-leftist points of view, they became irrelevant. Twitter makes money off of giving people an avenue to speak their mind. Once they start deciding who can and can't speak their mind on their platform, they've lost any credibility as far as I'm concerned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Brown Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 One step closer to Idiocracy. Entertaining as hell though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandemonium Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 17 hours ago, Gary Busey said: Answer: Never before Twitter I’m pretty sure it was FDR. All the other presidents stood up to call Congress savages. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koko78 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 9 hours ago, /dev/null said: Historians: When was the last time Congress spent 3+ years trying to overturn a lawful election? Congress? Never. Democrats? 1861-1865. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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