📢 App Version 1.99 is rolling out now (1/5)
With every update, we’re aiming to make the Internet less toxic, more fun, and more in your control.
• 3 minute videos!
• A separate request inbox for DMs from unknown users
• Mute accounts more quickly
I think the idea that forced brevity is an important component of microblogging is mistaken. Low friction to post, minimal formatting, and (optionally) collapsed long posts in feeds all encourage short posts without requiring them.
It might have served more of a purpose when Twitter launched because people weren’t in the habit of short text posts at the time, and because Twitter supported posting via SMS.
I think the original point was to facilitate a noisy town square feeling. In that setting, you don’t have several paragraphs to get your point across, you need to condense your thought to a couple sentences or you’ll get lost in the sea of other voices. You bring handouts (links) and something to show (images) and that’s it.
Although as a format that kind of sucks. It’s not terribly useful for anything more than promoting your blog post or what have you and when you have Nazi seig heiling all over the place it becomes completely unusable
There is a chance that I just don’t get microblogging. I’ve always felt that short character limits encourage people to make bad points that resonate emotionally but fall apart when thought through, and to yell at people they disagree with rather than being thoughtful.
That’s how I feel too. It’s really limits the ability to actually carry on a conversation. The one thing I will say is that a focus on people other than the focus on content gives a different sort of vibe which is situational useful
I think the idea that forced brevity is an important component of microblogging is mistaken. Low friction to post, minimal formatting, and (optionally) collapsed long posts in feeds all encourage short posts without requiring them.
It might have served more of a purpose when Twitter launched because people weren’t in the habit of short text posts at the time, and because Twitter supported posting via SMS.
I think the original point was to facilitate a noisy town square feeling. In that setting, you don’t have several paragraphs to get your point across, you need to condense your thought to a couple sentences or you’ll get lost in the sea of other voices. You bring handouts (links) and something to show (images) and that’s it.
Although as a format that kind of sucks. It’s not terribly useful for anything more than promoting your blog post or what have you and when you have Nazi seig heiling all over the place it becomes completely unusable
Twitter was incredibly popular, which certainly means something.
This has nothing to do with the format.
There is a chance that I just don’t get microblogging. I’ve always felt that short character limits encourage people to make bad points that resonate emotionally but fall apart when thought through, and to yell at people they disagree with rather than being thoughtful.
That’s how I feel too. It’s really limits the ability to actually carry on a conversation. The one thing I will say is that a focus on people other than the focus on content gives a different sort of vibe which is situational useful
I agree, which is why i don’t use Twitter/X, Bluesky, or Mastodon. I prefer the Lemmy/Reddit style of medium-length, topic-centered discussion.