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Twitter Considers Letting Users Tweet to 'Trusted Friends'
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Twitter was once a relatively valuable tool. But as is so often the case with a medium that is able to reach masses of people: it will be abused to shape consumer and social behavior. It is going to be heavily manipulated by a comparatively small group of what I consider bad actors to force ‘only their way’.
To shaping consumerism on everything from entertainment to breakfast cereal, to organized groups and the powerful to manipulate thought and behavior on the political and social (certainly to encourage hysterical visceral reaction over reason and thoughtfulness) — Trolls and massive paid players, bots, the inconsolably angry, even the disturbed are overwhelmingly what is now the conscience of Twitter-verse.
Hopefully something new comes along to make Twitter passé. We can then get a year or maybe even two of something potentially good before the bad actors figure out how to twist that platform into their consumer and thought control-verse.
To shaping consumerism on everything from entertainment to breakfast cereal, to organized groups and the powerful to manipulate thought and behavior on the political and social (certainly to encourage hysterical visceral reaction over reason and thoughtfulness) — Trolls and massive paid players, bots, the inconsolably angry, even the disturbed are overwhelmingly what is now the conscience of Twitter-verse.
Hopefully something new comes along to make Twitter passé. We can then get a year or maybe even two of something potentially good before the bad actors figure out how to twist that platform into their consumer and thought control-verse.
Twitter is definitely a place where most people read rather than write. That doesn’t make it an echo chamber though. One often sees opposing points of view in replies to tweets. The “trusted friends” feature does seem like it might encourage an echo chamber… or perhaps it’s meant to send non-political posts to a group of friends… “who is going to the beach today?” Or something….
This is actually quite a smart idea, implemented too little and too late to make any real improvement. The reason One of the reasons I think Twitter became such a toxic place is because the public-by-default model made it so easy to share your private thoughts with complete strangers with very little filter, intruding into their private thoughts, utimately causing them to voice their opposition with very little filter of their own.
But then again, if you took that model away (or de-emphasised it to the point where it was no longer the main point of using Twitter), then it wouldn't really be Twitter anymore. I kinda feel like people only go on Twitter to enjoy that toxic soup of unfiltered opinions, stir the pot and occasionally add their own.
But then again, if you took that model away (or de-emphasised it to the point where it was no longer the main point of using Twitter), then it wouldn't really be Twitter anymore. I kinda feel like people only go on Twitter to enjoy that toxic soup of unfiltered opinions, stir the pot and occasionally add their own.
Twitter considering creating a way to share baby photos with your friends (because who else needs to see your baby photos) and macrumours forum users get upset.
PS: I’m not sure I actually believe anyone outside of the US uses Twitter, except bots. I’ve tried creating several Twitter accounts over the years (wih verified mobile numbers) and they just get suspended after my first post. Even after appealing Twitter doesn’t care. I don’t need Twitter that badly. Klingon story short, I don’t believe anyone who claims Twitter even works properly for people outside of the US.
PS: I’m not sure I actually believe anyone outside of the US uses Twitter, except bots. I’ve tried creating several Twitter accounts over the years (wih verified mobile numbers) and they just get suspended after my first post. Even after appealing Twitter doesn’t care. I don’t need Twitter that badly. Klingon story short, I don’t believe anyone who claims Twitter even works properly for people outside of the US.
