Do you use Twitter?
"If you lived today as if it were your last, you'd buy up a box of rockets and fire them all off, wouldn't you?" -- Garrison Keillor
"If you lived today as if it were your last, you'd buy up a box of rockets and fire them all off, wouldn't you?" -- Garrison Keillor
I might not agree with everybody here (Score:5, Insightful)
but I feel I can have an educated discussion on /. or even silently read enlightening comments on varied topics. Twitter is based on a different model where reasonable discussions are made impossible, and its major feature is exposing points of view of conflictual minded individuals. There is no sane ways to use it for individuals, it just can be a tool for journalists needing people's raw opinions without much effort, and communication professionals who use it to publish corporate updates or interact with customers.
Re:I might not agree with everybody here (Score:4, Insightful)
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"Say something considered right wing " Ie something homophobic , misogynic , racist, etc... Nobody is banned, or suspended for expanding upon the virtues of less government or optimal tax rates.
Too Many Twits (Score:4, Insightful)
it just can be a tool for journalists needing people's raw opinions without much effort
If that's actually happening then I think right there is one of the problems we face as a society. The raw opinions of people who post of Twitter are not the same as the raw opinions of the majority of society. All you have is a sampling of extreme opinions of either side of the political divide and when journalists start pandering to those opinions you end up with the divided society we currently have. Just remember: you can't say "Twitter" without saying "twit" and that's whose opinions you are actually getting.
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Agree 100%. It eliminates nuance and forces people into siloed bullying hot takes. It's the worst thing that has happened to political discourse in this country in the last 50 years.
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I'm not going to attack or defend Musk. If he fixes Twitter, great, and if he runs it into the ground, nothing of value was lost. But the idea that you can build the "digital town square" on top of Twitter seems ill conceived. When I think of all the things that a digital town square should be... politically at arm's length from either party, not taking "sides", promoting long form nuanced discussion, encouraging people to listen to other points of view, making people feel like they have a voice and it's
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I agree with your comments, but I think you're missing the point. The internet, itself, is the digital town square that you seek. I run some websites myself. I post political commentary and other things there. I intentionally don't promote them, don't run ads, and don't link to them from other places, including slashdot. I may post similar opinions in other places including slashdot from time to time, but my websites are my voice in the digital town square. If the search engines happen to return them to som
Which makes Musks's political statements egregious (Score:1)
its major feature is exposing points of view of conflictual minded individuals
Is it any wonder, then, that Musk came out publicly in support of Republicans for the mid-terms, not because he believes in their platform, but because there was a democratic president. Twitter is already showing deep, deep revenue drops in just the time he's taken the helm. What does a mixed government do - it stirs conflict.
Which is exactly the way I see Twitter right now. Right on par with conflict diamonds. I used to have a twitter account just for those (dumb) companies that did all support and com
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its major feature is exposing points of view of conflictual minded individuals.
This, and it is also a major outlet for narcissism. So Elon may be onto something by asking users to pay. I bet there will be enough narcissists and "conflictual minded individuals", needing to satisfy their urge to cover the bills. I would suggest instead of fixed payment to have a cost scale with matching "perks" that make the users feel proportionally more important. Who knows, this may even be the "holy grail" business model that finally will treat the users as actual clients rather then a product (Nah
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Another way to look at it is that it forces one to be concise.
Sometimes it's refreshing to just see people get to the point.
Twitter isn't for extended dialogue; but for concise and focused discussion, it's actually quite great.
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I use too many words in most replies. On the other hand, topics that can be discussed within twitter's limitations aren't worth discussing.
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As a result, there is no meaningful dialogue on Twitter - just people with extreme viewpoints yelling at each other.
It's fine if you mostly follow (Score:1)
Twitter is based on a different model where reasonable discussions are made impossible
I think that depends on the topic though.
I have a few fairly topic specific Twitter IDs (like software development), and one general one.
Each one I find very usable because I mostly use them to follow interesting people, or to make occasional useful comments for others.
Used in that way I have just about never had issues.
The few times I've posting something in support of some controversy, year there were a few idiots respon
Re:Elon Musk is a scumbag (Score:4, Interesting)
I took the second option, but more because my usage is episodic rather than because your Subject is too true. These days being a rich scumbug is apparently the career objective of a YUGE chunk of the country.
But his screeching about "free speech" is already hilarious. I was waiting for #heilElon to start trending to expose his censorious heart, but it was the impersonations of his own name that got to him more quickly.
The saddest part to me is that if Musk flushes Twitter it will actually be Saudi money that evaporates. Too soon to say yet, however. Such a cesspool that it's hard to see what could make it worse, so maybe it will wind up becoming better? After all the fan splatter has ended, of course.
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Day 2 of owning Twitter: "I did not expect you to make fun of meeee! YOU ARE ALL BANNED AND MAKING FUN OF ME IS NOW AGAINST THE RULES!"
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Anyway, I was quite active on Twitter, but scaled back in April and have completely stopped now. I'm not going back to using a site run by that psychopath.
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Are you doing that because you hate Musk and don't want to be involved in something he owns, or because you think he's going to turn Twitter into something even worse than it already is?
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Speaking for myself:
Both. I don't like musk, don't want to feed his pocket book in any way, and yeah it will get worse.
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I'm of the opinion that people that have amassed that amount of money are evil. He's like Smaug sitting on his hoard.
very little (Score:1)
I'm nobody famous , I post 3 tweets a year that no one will ever read. If I leave or stay nobody's going to care
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But it also means that you won't be reading others' tweets and consuming ads whilst doing so.
Only once or twice (Score:2)
I created a twitter account ages ago as a joke. I posted an @reply, got and @reply, sent a DM, and received a DM. Then I told my friend I beat twitter, and the last boss wasn't even hard.
I used the account to contact Dell support outside local business hours and open a ticket once. I really don't see the point of twitter.
Isn't Randy Newman dead yet? (Score:4, Funny)
I QUIT TWITTER BECAUSE OF ELON MUSK! (Score:3)
Laughing out loud! [youtube.com]
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Joined Twitter in 2007 (Score:3, Interesting)
But I've been on many other platforms that have either died, like Google+, or "pivoted" like Foursquare. Or which I have been taken over my nefarious forces. Livejournal was bought by Russian interests, and a few years later explicitly banned all LBQGTI+ posts of any kind. Which, to be fair, was forced upon them by draconian Russian laws. At that point, myself and most other users migrated to Dreamwidth.
So I'm yet to see which scenario will unfold here. I've (re)joined a Mastodon server as a precaution.
And I do wish that Elon would stick to building electric cars and interesting space rockets. And stop acting like a rich entitled spoiled petulant teen. Oh, and the army of Techbros that adore him make me throw up in my mouth a little.
What's "use" (Score:5, Interesting)
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I've always used Twitter more or less as a read-only newsfeed, and, for years it has been usable only via third-party apps using the Twitter API. But if that API disappears, or is changed to prevent the apps filtering out ads and 'algorithms', I'll stop using Twitter immediately.
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I created an account to check it out, but hardly ever login, so I don't count myself as a "user"
Not since it got Gab-ified (Score:1)
Only one thing I use it for (Score:2)
The only thing that I use Twitter for is to get alerts about high speed chases that are live on TV. It's good for that, and to get a link to a feed of the chase. Anything else, it's a total shit show, and I feel like the UI is fighting against me every step of the way.
The lifespan poll? (Score:2)
Well, this poll already seems to have outlived its usefulness. Not that I'm hating on the topic, but it's pretty clear almost no one much cares. So I got to thinking about a new poll question, which is linked to this poll if you take it as a poll about the "effective" lifespan of Twitter. (And I confess I'm hoping Musk will earn a #heilElon for killing Twitter.) Though (as usual), I am coming at the topic sideways:
How long should a program (or a company or a Constitution) be maintained?
And don't forget the implications for the data created and manipulated by the program (or Cons
Bot accounts (Score:2)
I do, but considering to quit. (Score:1)
However, I dislike the increase in advertisement presence, and if it continues to grow, I'll end up quitting, or just leave my handle as testimonial but not enter the site anymore. I've been phasing out Facebook for the same reasons, and I do not enter other social media sites because of the ads. I barely watch Youtube videos.
That's also the reason why I stopped watching regular TV and embraced st
missing option (Score:1)
Missing option: I have an account, but open the site/app once in a blue moon
I use it; waiting to see what happens (Score:3)
It's a great place for sports news, at least at present. But in order to fix Twitter's very real problems, Musk will likely need to set his ego aside and think of it as a business - and I expect he'll have trouble with that.
Don't use most social media platforms (Score:2)
CowboyNeal (Score:1)
Traditions are important :D
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Yes but I won't pay for it (Score:2)
I joined years ago, ironically to follow Tesla & SpaceX.
But not gonna pay for the privilege of Elon's shitposting
Missing poll option (Score:2)
Oblig.... (Score:2)
Where's Cowboy Neal (Score:1)
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He got impressed into the Russian army.
Yes, It's become super-entertaining (Score:1)
Stopped a long time ago (Score:2)
At one time I had an account for my small publishing business but deleted the account about two or three years ago. I just wanted to sell my funny, non-political cat books, but discovered twitter was just a dumpster fire of hate and a political echo chamber.
I wasn't using it before not using it was cool (Score:2)
Now I'm laughing at the implosion.
Nope. Ain't happening. (Score:1)
5th Option...A few times per year (Score:2)
Mitch Hedburg (Score:2)
I still do, but used to, too.
Got banned from twitter way back when (Score:2)
Old account hacked, new account deleted by twitter (Score:1)
I am very confused (Score:1)
Been redirected to see tweets (Score:2)
But have never had a login or sought to "use" Twitter. Can say the same for Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok...
I do have Facebook account, mostly to keep up with hometown activities and high-school and college classmates.
Goverment Should Not Use Twitter (Score:2)
Where's the option for I use it for tech support? (Score:2)
Many companies have for some unknown reason much better support available by twitter than they do via phone or their native web chat.
Other than that I haven't really had much use for twitter.
A long, long time ago. (Score:1)
By I used to use Twiitter it was a long, long time ago when there was interesting information to be found there. I haven't logged in to my Twitter account for a decade.
Tried to (Score:2)
But Twitter kept locking my account due to "suspicious activity".. Sure is suspicious to not post anything.. Dumb fucking platform.
Obligatory CowboyNeal option (Score:1)
I'm waiting for CowboyNeal to buy it before I try it.
No, never used Twitter and Never Will (Score:1)
No, never used Twitter and Never Will.
Yes, but (Score:2)
I follow two or three things, they follow the headlines and use Twitter to post headlines. Occasionally they post video worth watching. I'm more of a casual user at best. But Twitter uses me as a active monthly user, even though I don't think I've seen the Twitter main feed more than once or twice a year
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Almost the joke I was looking for: Twitter using the user as a missing option for the poll...
But my last tweet was
Where is the #PeanutGallery? I'm just [on Twitter] to find the best place to watch the #ClusterMusk.
And I'm not worried about protecting my Twitter account.
#heilElon !
See. All better now!
And Twitter still seemed to be running an hour ago...
The rabid hate being posted on twitter says more a (Score:1)
Twitter? (Score:2)
Need another answer. (Score:1)
All the world's a stage... (Score:2)
Missing option: "Not really" (Score:1)