This is like acting surprised that a skateboard is not a suitable vehicle for going on a long vacation with.
More specifically: the skateboard manufacturer being surprised that a skateboard is not a suitable vehicle for a long trip.
^ nailed it
How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
121–130 of 246 posts
Re: How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
#122Twitter was founded as a micro-blogging service, not a forum. It evolved into the anonymous comment section for the entire internet somewhere along the way. Seems like neither side were being self aware in this case. I'm also not sure exactly what the product problem is with Twitter. The only exposure I have to a group of people upset about Twitter are the folks that Joe Rogan had on his podcast, and their complaints…
Don’t you think the inherent design — “microblogging” — encourages a toxic environment? Most people aren’t poets or great writers, so I just frequently see people talking past each other or misreading what has been said because there is zero nuance.
I wrote a whole thing making that very argument: https://jasonlefkowitz.net/2013/02/i-kind-of-hate-twitter/
Re: How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
#123> Swisher’s questions about Twitter’s complex abuse policies, and Dorsey’s subsequent responses, were floating around my timeline along with the regular tech news and opinions I always look at.
Ha! I need to see this episode of Silicon Valley
Re: How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be fair, this is a really atypical mode of using Twitter. Normally it's used for shouting at your audience/someone you disagree with. It's rarely used for true conversations, so I can somewhat see why the CEO is unfamiliar with its performance in that role.
But then why even try to have this conversation on Twitter? You'd think that after a decade he would have some idea of what Twitter is good and bad at. I can imagine having this kind of failed interview when the company was 3 years old, but after more than a decade, it's a bit bizarre. Unless this was explicitly meant as a test, and not simply an online interview.
> But then why even try to have this conversation on Twitter?
Many people are knowingly doing a kabuki theatre version of a conversation where they are specifically trying to get attention and grab more followers and retweets. You can see it in how responses are framed. There's a lot of attempted "mic drop" moments.
Real people don't have conversations like that, because they're not playing to an audience. In real conversations, people also don't just walk away from each other at the first jab, but that happens on Twitter constantly.
It's similar to how 95% of Reddit's content is posted by 1% of its user base. Most Twitter users aren't tweeting, they're voyeurs to online meltdowns (real or orchestrated), celebrity gossip and slapfights between political commentators/media/trolls.
I have never understood how MySpace became unfashionable because it was "too gaudy/immature" while Twitter has been a wildfire of horrible UX, hate speech, bullying and user surveillance for over a decade now.
Re: How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
#125This whole conversation was the result of a cop out by Jack to avoid being interviewed by Kara on air. I'm a bit surprised because he's gone on her show / platforms before and even Zuckerberg interviewed with her after the 2016 and Cambridge scandals.
Re: How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
#126Re: How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
#127Twitter was founded as a micro-blogging service, not a forum. It evolved into the anonymous comment section for the entire internet somewhere along the way. Seems like neither side were being self aware in this case. I'm also not sure exactly what the product problem is with Twitter. The only exposure I have to a group of people upset about Twitter are the folks that Joe Rogan had on his podcast, and their complaints…
That’s not entirely true. Twitter launched at SXSW, and people who were there can tell you that it was primarily used to build on the fly chat rooms during each session. Speakers would define the hash tag at the start, and then many would project the post stream up front and respond to questions or comments from the feed on stage. The audience would also discuss what was being said amongst themselves. It’s really jus…
So, basically it's exactly like IRC! Only instead of your client sending PRIVMSG #channel-name :YOUR MESSAGE HERE, you have to type the channel name yourself every time... and there's only one server that doesn't federate... and there's an absurdly short message limit...
...this is better somehow?
Re: How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
#128Twitter has this public utility value: a place where you can get updates on air quality during a wildfire, when the official agency websites are buckling under the traffic. Some report having good experiences by following a very selective group of people with shared interests. But it’s interesting that both Facebook and Twitter evolved into these negative, emotional, politically charged, environments when they moved…
> It’s hard to have a nuanced conversation in a noisy stadium. Much easier to chant along with the crowd.
True. I wonder how many are actually looking for a conversation. I use it regularly. I occasionally reply to some tweets. Most of the time I just scroll, like and retweet :)
Re: How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be fair, this is a really atypical mode of using Twitter. Normally it's used for shouting at your audience/someone you disagree with. It's rarely used for true conversations, so I can somewhat see why the CEO is unfamiliar with its performance in that role.
But then why even try to have this conversation on Twitter? You'd think that after a decade he would have some idea of what Twitter is good and bad at. I can imagine having this kind of failed interview when the company was 3 years old, but after more than a decade, it's a bit bizarre. Unless this was explicitly meant as a test, and not simply an online interview.
Jack's been out and about lately... whatever the thinking is about Twitter and its ability to respond to the criticisms at play, I think it's worth noting that Jack is trying.
Just in the last couple of weeks, he's been making himself available for long form discussions. He was on Sam Harris and Joe Rogan and other podcasts. He participated in this Kara interview.
He's been a bit more behind the scenes before, and now he's more visible and active and participatory. He doesn't have all the answers yet, but maybe this effort will lead to improvements.
Re: How hard is it to have a conversation on Twitter? So hard even the CEO can’t
#130Is there a Twitter client / UI that presents threads (with all their replies) on one page with indentation / nesting, i.e. like HN / Reddit?