Minor online uproar because Sarah Palin made a throwaway indirect comment about Twitter. A comment that wasn’t actually disparaging, but it suited a couple of commentators to paint it as such. No surprise to see a liberal blog like the Huffington Post jump on it, it’s the kind of “story” they do (and do well). Bit more of a surprise to see Mashable following up, again taking the line that Palin was being directly critical of Twitter. As someone working in the tech world, am I supposed to be a liberal myself? Am I also supposed to think that Twitter is sacrosanct?
Sarah Palin. Twitter. Why…It Would Be The Perfect Storm!
The story pans out like this. Sarah Palin is speaking at an event in Arkansas and someone asks “what’s the greatest threat to America today?” Someone else in the audience shouts out (predictably), “Obama”. Palin’s response;
See, they said that, I didn’t. Just you watch now, too, because somebody will be here with their little Twittering thing, and it’s going to be on the Internet any minute now.
That’s a smart response. It identifies the prevalence of mobile technology, the speed with which news travels, and the extent to which stories can be easily twisted and misunderstood. You can tell what Palin’s saying, that it’d be no surprise if a story didn’t turn up along the lines of “Palin says Obama ‘Greatest Threat To America’” based on a cat call at an event she was at. Let’s face it, the facts don’t get in the way very often when it comes to media coverage of Sarah Palin.
OK, so Palin has responded pretty quickly to diffuse one issue, so she gets jumped on for using the phrase “little Twittering thing”. Oh dear god, a criticism… of Twitter?! Obviously you have to ignore the fact that a) she’s talking about mobile devices, not Twitter and b) it’s not disparaging, but then it’s game on. Present Palin as making a critical remark of Twitter and here are some responses from Mashable’s site comments and also from their Facebook page.
I think she needs to close her mouth and her legs and the world will be alot better off…
That we still have to hear about her is a sad commentary on PART of society.
Sadly, it is not her doing alone- and it’s not because of those of us who are sickened by her…. who gives a rip what she thinks.
She’s as dumb as a rock.
just a dismissive remark, made by an unthinking, arrogant hairdo masquerading as a human being. we should be just as dismissive of her.
This mini story combines two important strands of online life; an overly aggressive response to conservatism in any form (and Sarah Palin in particular), and a preciousness about the sanctity of Twitter or similar technology, both of which exist for the same reason.
But I Thought You Were Liberal…
In many ways web design and online technology blogs and discussion are refreshingly non-political. When politics does rear its head, however, it’s almost exclusively of a liberal bent. Obviously there are a number of reasons for this. The demographic of web workers means that it’s more left leaning social group than average.
I find it funny though, because it leads to an expectation about my own political views. I only have to mention my profession and people will think I’m a left-leaning, liberal, Democrat. It’s surprising that such a young profession as “web design” already has such stereotypes attached to it. A demonstration of its acceptance and importance in the professional sphere maybe.
For the record, I do manage to successfully balance creative and professional success with a conservative political philosophy!
If You Diss Twitter, Well … You Just Suck!
Are we really so precious about the likes of Twitter that it’s insulting if they’re disparaged? So insulted that we have to invent criticisms when they don’t occur, just so we can get angry about them? If anything it suggests that Twitter users simply don’t have enough confidence in the service. If they did, then they wouldn’t have to react aggressively to “put down” a critical comment.
I like Twitter a lot, I use it regularly (@fogofeternity). I’m also confident in the service, I think it can stand up to criticism without my going crazy to defend it. And I’ll accept that lots of people use it for spurious or boring reasons. They still use it though. And, hell, if the best defence people can come up with is “you’re not using it right” then Twitter’s got bigger problems.
Any service that isn’t straightforward enough for people to use easily is always going to fail. I don’t think that’s a problem for Twitter, but perhaps there’s an elitist attitude to that defence; I like Twitter because I’m smart, you don’t like Twitter because you’re dumb.
Reinforcing My Own Belief, Undermining My Ability To Argue That Belief
This is all a demonstration about how the internet, for all the free information out there, actually reinforces people’s beliefs to the extent that they become blinkered. It’s “been decided” in left-leaning arenas that Sarah Palin is to be a figure of hate, to be disparaged regardless of factual accuracy. Passionate Twitter users have decided that Twitter is the most awesome thing ever.
The problem with this reinforcement is that it’s screwing up people’s ability to argue their point effectively. Contrary beliefs become a threat, to be shouted down, not something to engage in debate. The nature of online debate, the immediacy and relative anonymity, encourages this closed off attitude. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone reasonably address their political ideals and why they are better than Sarah Palin’s, better to call her a dumb blonde. I can’t remember the last time someone made a worthwhile defence of Twitter instead of suggesting that people who don’t use it or criticize it are simply too dumb to understand.
And, if I can kind of bring it back to the idea of web design right at the death of the article, blinkered thinking is never a good thing for creativity. I already see it online on web design blogs. There’s a right way to do things, there’s a wrong way to do things. There’s an incestuous self congratulation, where web design inspiration is taken from other web design. The internet for all its freedoms encourages that kind of blinkered thinking. Don’t fall prey.