Twitter accepts Elon Musk's buyout deal

[Montecfo]

I am on Twitter. I find it highly useful. I follow my sports teams (especially great for college sports), favored entertainers, some politicians and journalists as well as some humor sites like The Babylon Bee.

Oh check that, they have been banned. Humor too biting I guess. This seemed to have been a last straw of sorts for Musk.

But it is what you make of it. And I do not tweet, it is one way communication for me.

 

[Midpack]

Getting back to the surfeit of "bad news," I think it has turned some folks into outrage junkies. Personally, it makes me tired. My career revolved around current events, but these days I limit my diet. I don't want to "know" too much.

As far as "changes" EM has suggested he wants to see 1) MUCH less moderation/censoring/banning except for illegal tweets ("FIRE!" in a crowded theater and 2) Open Source algorithms so everyone knows the rules and how they are applied. Just my humble opinion, that sounds like when I have a get-together and everyone is free to speak his own stupid opinion. What could be wrong with that? YMMV

Unfortunately, the root of the problem is human nature - it's not FB, Twitter et al. Those with a penchant for bad or provocative information over good or calming vastly outnumber those who seek the latter. Social media sites are in the for profit business of increasing engagement-getting eyeballs, they follow what our (collective) behavior leads them to write algorithms for. A good example I read recently, it's not as if a user does a couple searches on puppies and FB suggest sites on killing puppies, it's the user who slowly strays off from good to bad. Once they find sites that reinforce their ideas, good or bad, they go back over and over again to those silos. I don't know how we solve that, especially in a nation of willfully ignorant folks who have less and less trust of authority/institutions. If Musk has an answer, that's great, but I don't think its letting social media run wild.

Who among us doesn't personally know someone who's living in an alternate universe these days? I know several formerly normal people who believe ideas that are so out there it's alarming.

In the beginning I really thought the internet would bring us together, sadly I couldn't have been more wrong...

 

[Koolau]

Unfortunately, the root of the problem is human nature - it's not FB, Twitter et al. Those with a penchant for bad or provocative information over good or calming vastly outnumber those who seek the latter. Social media sites are in the for profit business of increasing engagement-getting eyeballs, they follow what our (collective) behavior leads them to write algorithms for. A good example I read recently, it's not as if a user does a couple searches on puppies and FB suggest sites on killing puppies, it's the user who slowly strays off from good to bad. I don't know how we solve that, especially in a nation of willfully ignorant folks who have less and less trust of authority/institutions. If Musk has an answer, that's great, but I don't think its letting social media run wild.

Who among us doesn't personally know someone who's living in an alternate universe these days? I know several formerly normal people who believe ideas that are so out there it's alarming.

In the beginning I really thought the internet would bring us together, sadly I couldn't have been more wrong...

Yeah the "problems" you mention are real enough but I just don't buy that some group of humans (with their own prejudices and preconceived ideas) can use an algorithm to solve them. My solution: Avoid twitter. YMMV

 

[Rianne]

Twitter will blend into the very crowded online experience. YouTube, Quora, Reddit, FB, Snapchat, TikTok, and whatever new platform comes along that captures the attention of 5-minute thinkers.

I hope true journalists stay in their lane and continue to provide quality reporting. It's getting to a point we must ask "what is fact?" Fact and fiction have become a gray area so big I'm beginning to tune out. When a face of a person can be digitally transferred to another body and it's hard to know if it's real or fake...this is getting scary.

Tweeters form opinions from completely false data and spew it all over the place. It's easy to do. IMO, that's why the pandemic provided a perfect storm of fake news. Then to call real news, fake news, and visa versa. What a mess!

I was standing in line at the grocery store looking at all the tabloids. Crazy fake pictures and stories thinking this is what the internet has become.

 

[ivinsfan]

I guess this thread is nearing it's end..delving off into politics and people bashing.


Calling people willfully ignorant and saying they live in an alternate universe is OK? I think it's not OK and one reason is"human nature" as it's called, seems to assume people that don't believe the same thing that you personally believe can be made fun of and mocked.


This is what wrecked Twitter the I'm right and your are wrong mentality. Then it moved to I'm right and you don't get to post your "wrong" opinions. I do love Greybeards term "outrage junkies". I'm not even outraged I'm tired like Greybeard.



It's too bad but I don't know if it's fixable, I do know it's gotten worse since Covid. maybe we need to restrict Twitter to dog and cat pictures.



No doubt the configuration of Musk, Twitter, government, other social media groups and such will bring interesting developments to the digital world. I hope we are ready for it.

 

[Qs Laptop]

That said, I still don't really "get" twitter. I follow a few people, but when I log on I don't see their tweets, just the crap the algorithm feeds me, in between all the ads which look like tweets. No thanks!

Yes, the solution is to use a third-party twitter app on your phone. I like Fenix 2. No ads and more features than the official Twitter app. I think it was $2.99 when I bought it several years ago.

Oh, and Twitter is actually much better on your phone than on your PC.

 

[Koolau]

Twitter will blend into the very crowded online experience. YouTube, Quora, Reddit, FB, Snapchat, TikTok, and whatever new platform comes along that captures the attention of 5-minute thinkers.

I hope true journalists stay in their lane and continue to provide quality reporting. It's getting to a point we must ask "what is fact?" Fact and fiction have become a gray area so big I'm beginning to tune out. When a face of a person can be digitally transferred to another body and it's hard to know if it's real or fake...this is getting scary.

Tweeters form opinions from completely false data and spew it all over the place. It's easy to do. IMO, that's why the pandemic provided a perfect storm of fake news. Then to call real news, fake news, and visa versa. What a mess!

I was standing in line at the grocery store looking at all the tabloids. Crazy fake pictures and stories thinking this is what the internet has become.

Then again, occasionally the Tabloids break a story that's way ahead of the "big guys" and actually get the story right. Then there was Drudge. Kinda changed everything - not always for the good, but no one was going to stop it. Now it's standard fare in all social media. Ready, fire, aim. YMMV

 

[Rianne]

Then again, occasionally the Tabloids break a story that's way ahead of the "big guys" and actually get the story right. Then there was Drudge. Kinda changed everything - not always for the good, but no one was going to stop it. Now it's standard fare in all social media. Ready, fire, aim. YMMV

That's true. Some of those tabloid stories were right on and had good reporting. The problem is they were mixed in with a bunch of trash reporting. Murdoch's reporters were relentless. No holds barred and sometimes delivered detailed and very true stories. Then again, they were bought off by famous people like Bob Hope. His persona was revered. He did many good things for our veterans and produced popular movies. But he had a dark side that few know about.

There's an excellent documentary about this. I can't remember the name of it, I saw it a while ago.

 

[jollystomper]

Calling people willfully ignorant and saying they live in an alternate universe is OK? I think it's not OK and one reason is"human nature" as it's called, seems to assume people that don't believe the same thing that you personally believe can be made fun of and mocked.

+1

It seems that the only "willfully ignorant" people are people who do not hold one's same point of view .

One of the problems with Twitter (and many other social media) is that is does not allow true debate, out of fear of somehow "legitimizing" one side. Give people on whatever sides they are on a topic present what they believe and why, using facts and not belittlling/name calling those with different views. That IMHO is how you inform people. But again, follow the money, that does not get as much clicks and related revenue as hateful divisiveness. Can Musk make things better? I do not know. But rather that stake a claim either way at this point (like too many do), I am glad to be patient, withhold judgement, and see what actually happens first.

 

[Koolau]

That's true. Some of those tabloid stories were right on and had good reporting. The problem is they were mixed in with a bunch of trash reporting. Murdoch's reporters were relentless. No holds barred and sometimes delivered detailed and very true stories. Then again, they were bought off by famous people like Bob Hope. His persona was revered. He did many good things for our veterans and produced popular movies. But he had a dark side that few know about.

There's an excellent documentary about this. I can't remember the name of it, I saw it a while ago.

Heh, heh, so far, I've found folks with dark sides and those who hide them well. Then Depp et. Al., just put it all out there for everyone to see. No need for a tabloid (or Twitter, etc.) just turn on the TV (or, better yet, don't.) YMMV

 

[Montecfo]

^^^During the election, Twitter famously censored news reports damaging to one party.

Then as now those reports were credible (even the NYTimes and Washington Post agree). Even Jack Dorsey admitted this was a mistake. So not sure I see the point about Twitter not wanting to legitimize one side or the other. One party benefitted hugely from their actions.

That type of thing needs to stop.

 

[Midpack]

Calling people willfully ignorant and saying they live in an alternate universe is OK? I think it's not OK and one reason is"human nature" as it's called, seems to assume people that don't believe the same thing that you personally believe can be made fun of and mocked.

+1

It seems that the only "willfully ignorant" people are people who do not hold one's same point of view .

FWIW, that's not what willfully ignorant means at all. Having a different point of view is most welcome, we can't learn without them.

Willful ignorance is built on the deliberate avoidance of evidence that doesn’t match one’s existing beliefs. This can be a defense mechanism as it allows us to create a world we feel safe in, akin to confirmation bias.

However, it is also often apparent in behavior that is socially harmful. In this post, we will explore what willful ignorance is and explore this in examples of how it works in everyday life.

https://www.learning-mind.com/willful-ignorance-examples/

 

[ivinsfan]

FWIW, that's not what willfully ignorant means at all. Having a different point of view is most welcome, we can't learn without them.


https://www.learning-mind.com/willful-ignorance-examples/

This is a blog written by a teacher with a Batchelor degree in Social science..we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[ivinsfan]

Heh, heh, so far, I've found folks with dark sides and those who hide them well. Then Depp et. Al., just put it all out there for everyone to see. No need for a tabloid (or Twitter, etc.) just turn on the TV (or, better yet, don't.) YMMV

Everyone has a dark side some are just a lot darker then others pretending we don't have our own dark side is what leads to Twitter implosion

 

[Midpack]

This is a blog written by a teacher with a Batchelor degree in Social science..we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

One link, but you’re welcome to your views. I don’t much care about the future of Twitter anyway…

Willful ignorance differs from ordinary “ignorance“ — when someone is simply unaware of something — in that willfully ignorant people are fully aware of facts, resources and sources, but refuse to acknowledge them. Indeed, calling someone "ignorant" shouldn’t really be a pejorative, but intentional and willful ignorance is an entirely different matter.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Willful_ignorance

 

[ivinsfan]

One link, but you’re welcome to your views. I don’t much care about the future of Twitter anyway…


https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Willful_ignorance

Me either so I guess we're good, but this is why we can't have nice things

 

[easysurfer]

^^^During the election, Twitter famously censored news reports damaging to one party.

Then as now those reports were credible (even the NYTimes and Washington Post agree). Even Jack Dorsey admitted this was a mistake. So not sure I see the point about Twitter not wanting to legitimize one side or the other. One party benefitted hugely from their actions.

That type of thing needs to stop.

A benefit to Musk owning Twitter is this may lead to new social media companies with a selling point of unlike Twitter. If Twitter, say removes "censoring" and lets folks posts what the want as long as legal, there may be alternatives companies the have a, shall we say, quieter tone.

My personal view (in Social media in general, as I'm not a Twit ) is hopefully, what comes about is more tools and power for people to filter. Choose what they want and filter out what they don't want. Censoring done at the user level. I may be naive, but a hope anyhow .

 

[Rianne]

^^^During the election, Twitter famously censored news reports damaging to one party.

Then as now those reports were credible (even the NYTimes and Washington Post agree). Even Jack Dorsey admitted this was a mistake. So not sure I see the point about Twitter not wanting to legitimize one side or the other. One party benefitted hugely from their actions.

That type of thing needs to stop.

I separate reporting and opinion in the NYT and WP. Very different things. Often, opinions are formed from skewed facts (?) and weaved into an opinion piece.

I respect Fareed Zakaria's opinions. I like his CNN Sunday morning show. I like Robert Costa. It's like any publication, you have to read through the weeds. I get to decide what I think is true and honest reporting or opinion. That's the nature of a free society. It scares me to think I'd be forced to believe something. Bots that deliver thought manipulation are easier than we realize. We're finally figuring that out.

There was a class I took in college that focused on subliminal advertising. It was part marketing curriculum. Happens all the time. At movies, in magazines, on Tv shows, and in TV commercials. A way of swaying your thinking without you even knowing it. The psychology behind this phenomenon is pretty fascinating. That's why I steer clear of social media. Not on FB, or any SM platform. I'll read a tweet from an article, but I'm not on Twitter or anything else.

Elon Musk said himself to a group of senators and house members years ago. I saw it on C-Span. AI should be feared more than anything else in the future.

 

[jollystomper]

FWIW, that's not what willfully ignorant means at all. Having a different point of view is most welcome, we can't learn without them.


https://www.learning-mind.com/willful-ignorance-examples/

In theory? Yes.

In practice: Some of those examples in the linked article themselves are not good examples, they are "biased" as they state things that are just not true about some of the topics, while ignoring the holes in the ones that might support their point of view - willful ignorance, perhaps? Similar to Twitter.

 

[braumeister]

Alas, a thread drift too far.

Thanks for the interesting discussion.