Internet all a-Twitter
Poor Twitter.
Twitter gets raves when it proves to be useful and efficient but suffers predictions of its imminent demise when it’s used inappropriately. Reminds me of what Craigslist is going through. Read the headlines:
Swine flu creates controversy on Twitter
Some observers say Twitter — a micro-blogging site where users post 140-character messages — has become a hotbed of unnecessary hype and misinformation about the outbreak, which is thought to have claimed more than 100 lives in Mexico.
Swine Flu Misinformation Runs Rampant on Twitter
Still, mass hysteria and paranoia — with voices wailing over an ‘epidemic’ — continue to sweep the Net, especially Twitter.
It appears there’s confusion over the difference between a means of communication and the communications themselves.
Twitter is one medium among many that facilitate human communication. The internet is a free country, in a free country open communication is encouraged. While the methods used to communicate may differ in the degree of communications they permit, the means of communication do not dictate the substance of the communications. Twitter limits the conversation to less than 140 characters but it doesn’t guarantee the quality of the conversations one reads there. Perhaps there’s so much misinformation being spread around on Twitter because too many people are following those who spread it. If you walk too close behind the guy shoveling manure don’t complain when you get shit on your shoes.
Twitter has nothing to apologize for, has no reason to feel guilty or responsible for any hysteria about swine flu or any of the other thousands of inane and useless conversations going on at this very minute on its service.
There is a bit of a bright note to all this, though. The fact that the national media can casually toss off “Twitter” and “Craigslist” without feeling the need to go into much explanation shows just how common the knowledge of those two services has become to our society. It’s a sort of validation. They’ve joined the ranks of Google and AOL. There’s a difference, though. Increased awareness of Craigslist, eBay and Amazon means increased profits to someone, usually several someones. Increased awareness of Twitter doesn’t benefit anyone at the moment. In fact, increased awareness can also attract the lower lifeforms on the web. Spamming and spoofing are sure to increase on Twitter. The value of the experience will lessen for many users. “There goes the neighborhood” will be implied though not often explicitly stated.
Still, it would be nice if now and then the mass media and some bloggers would stop blaming the medium for the message.
