Over recent months, I’ve found myself questioning many elements of social networks and how we’re using them. As I’ve already pointed out in some detail – see my column in PC Plus 298 – I have huge issues with Facebook, which ultimately led to the deletion of my account. (Just so you know, it’s now been around six months since I quit and every consequence of my decision so far has been a positive one.)
So it’ll come as no surprise that Twitter has always been my preferred social service of choice. There’s never been any question about the nature of Twitter’s proposition: it’s unashamedly public, and that’s always been its biggest strength. However, as certain trends begin to emerge in the ways people publish content, even Twitter is starting to raise concerns.
Before I get into my stride here, I have to get one thing straight: I won’t be quitting Twitter any time soon. Twitter has enabled me to improve the way I work, meet new people, discuss issues close to my heart, make more money and share random crap with like-minded souls. In fact, given the benefits I’ve just highlighted, you may well be wondering how anyone could possibly have a problem with Twitter.
Well, here goes. The first problem I have is an interesting one, and it centres on influence. For a long time I used my personal account as people do, and the ‘filter’ I applied to the way I conversed on Twitter was set very low. My language was often choice – anyone who knows me won’t be surprised by that – but I always tried to publish with humour, and only used profanity to punctuate points I felt very strongly about. And it wasn’t just me. Among my peers, Twitter had become a forum for straight talking and even straighter delivery.
About six months ago, though, I noticed trends among young designers and developers I follow – and who follow me – on Twitter. To cut to the chase, it appeared that the word ‘fucking’ had become permanently attached to the definite article. ‘The fucking’ this, ‘the fucking’ that, ‘the fucking’ other; I was shocked at the lack of humour and the implied aggression in many of the tweets I was seeing. These Twitter users had seen people they look up to using bad language in a public forum and taken it as acceptable – even desirable – to use profanity at every given opportunity. It really made me think, and though I haven’t completely removed bad language from my tweets, I’m now far more likely to consider the effects of what I post than I would have been 12 months ago.
It’s a small example, among a small realm of Twitter users, but it can be applied to a much wider audience. Take @50cent for example. 50 Cent has almost 3.5 million followers on Twitter, and the guy is an offensive idiot with a massive online influence. Judging by his tweets, he’s misogynistic, homophobic, violent, and borderline illiterate. It’s worth thinking about.
The second area of Twitter that I’ve come to loathe is the way people use it as a means to expose/attack others. This scale starts at one end with companies that have irked us in some way (and in most cases, this is perfectly acceptable), but also spans to the other end of the spectrum, where personal attacks are becoming more and more prevalent (something far less palatable). Twitter gives people a quick and easy way to publish their thoughts to hundreds, thousands or millions of people – often delivered at the height of anger, rage, frustration, or other emotions that often cloud our logic. In these instances, all personal and professional courtesy flies out of the window. On a number of occasions people I know or work with have criticised either myself or my magazine (.net) via Twitter – often only armed with a handful of facts and little sense. In 90 per cent of these cases, I’d say a simple phone call would have cleared up any confusion and removed the potential for damaging relationships. But for many, the lure of Twitter is simply too great. Something irks them and things like facts become unimportant; what matters is getting on Twitter and telling the world that you were the first to be offended by x, y or z. It’s a horrible trend, and one I hope to see the end of soon.
Now, having outlined all of the above, I must stress that I’m far from blameless in many of the aforementioned areas. But my experiences over recent months have led me to seriously question the ways in which I use Twitter, and in most cases modify them. It may be only 140 characters, but we should never underestimate the effect that they can have.