The Liberal Gun Club Forum

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/magaz ... .html?_r=1

The shortcomings of social media would not bother me awfully if I did not suspect that Facebook friendship and Twitter chatter are displacing real rapport and real conversation, just as Gutenberg’s device displaced remembering. The things we may be unlearning, tweet by tweet — complexity, acuity, patience, wisdom, intimacy — are things that matter.

I don't use Twitter, but I've been struck by the 140-character limit on tweets, which is kind of at odds with every other kind of WWW communication, which is all about removing arbitrary limits on communication -- the size of the physical page, etc.

The contrary view is that is might have a salutory effect on some writers to have to learn to condense and get to the point. But I think that lesson is better taught without a rigid, arbitrary length limit.

larrymod wrote:But I think that lesson is better taught without a rigid, arbitrary length limit.

Definitely. All we've gained from that is twitter short hand with enough room for multiple exclamation points.

I 8 fud wit da boys. lol!!!!

mark wrote:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/magaz ... .html?_r=1

The shortcomings of social media would not bother me awfully if I did not suspect that Facebook friendship and Twitter chatter are displacing real rapport and real conversation, just as Gutenberg’s device displaced remembering. The things we may be unlearning, tweet by tweet — complexity, acuity, patience, wisdom, intimacy — are things that matter.

I would add spelling and punctuation to that menu if given the opportunity.

I recall similar comments about the telephone and the decline of letter writing. Some of my more precious possessions are the letters between friends and lovers while separated by vast distances at a time when I could not afford long distance.

I don't generally save emails and can honestly say that I have never tweeted anything and wouldn't care to learn.

I am a dinosaur.