You’re severely underestimating the power of Twitter here. It’s not the quantity of users that’s the issue there, it’s the quality. It’s where the visible elite (people in politics, entertainment, academia, “journalism,” etc) go to say the absolute dumbest shit, which then makes its way to stuff like cable news, online and in-print opinion columns, and- yes- Facebook. Here’s an example: if you wonder why TV is so awful and forgettable today a mere ten years after we were in a golden age for the medium, go and look at the Twitter feed of anyone who brags about what TV show they write for. Every last one of them gets sanctimonious about politics and “problematic” pop culture of past and present.
You can’t even say that the stuff that the visible elites say is stuff that the average people don’t believe. Repeat the lie enough and they will start to believe. Online discourse there ends up becoming real life discourse. Some checkmark poo-pooing class critique, or some 20something scolding people on how Hazbin Hotel is awful for queer representation, will end up making my life visibly worse at some point down the line. It’s a laboratory of bad ideas and opinions. Whether that was Jack Dorsey’s original intent is up for debate, but he sure as hell isn’t complaining.
Most any political candidate who wants to win would be delighted to be able to campaign in a WalMart shopping center parking lot if they allowed it. In unwalkable places across America it is very hard to meet large numbers of voters. Big box retailers offer that chance if they let you on their property. Yeah, it is not very targeted, but for a Congressional or statewide race it might not matter that much.
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You’re severely underestimating the power of Twitter here. It’s not the quantity of users that’s the issue there, it’s the quality. It’s where the visible elite (people in politics, entertainment, academia, “journalism,” etc) go to say the absolute dumbest shit, which then makes its way to stuff like cable news, online and in-print opinion columns, and- yes- Facebook. Here’s an example: if you wonder why TV is so awful and forgettable today a mere ten years after we were in a golden age for the medium, go and look at the Twitter feed of anyone who brags about what TV show they write for. Every last one of them gets sanctimonious about politics and “problematic” pop culture of past and present.
You can’t even say that the stuff that the visible elites say is stuff that the average people don’t believe. Repeat the lie enough and they will start to believe. Online discourse there ends up becoming real life discourse. Some checkmark poo-pooing class critique, or some 20something scolding people on how Hazbin Hotel is awful for queer representation, will end up making my life visibly worse at some point down the line. It’s a laboratory of bad ideas and opinions. Whether that was Jack Dorsey’s original intent is up for debate, but he sure as hell isn’t complaining.
Most any political candidate who wants to win would be delighted to be able to campaign in a WalMart shopping center parking lot if they allowed it. In unwalkable places across America it is very hard to meet large numbers of voters. Big box retailers offer that chance if they let you on their property. Yeah, it is not very targeted, but for a Congressional or statewide race it might not matter that much.