Twitter’s Response to the Oscars Slap Was a Predictable Cycle

Or take Twitter. As a medium, Twitter nudges its users toward ideas that can survive without context, that can travel legibly in under 280 characters. It encourages a constant awareness of what everyone else is discussing. It makes the measure of conversational success not just how others react and respond but how much response there is. It, too, i... See more

become clear that all manners of dishonest, harassing, or otherwise negative content can perform quite well. Suggesting influencers “figure out what’s resonating” in a time when mis- and disinformation is flourishing seems inappropriate at best, and reckless at worst. This exchange illustrates what influencers have long understood—that they are ult

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That experiment failed. Humanity does not want to be a global hive mind. We are not rational Bayesian updaters who will eventually reach agreement; when we receive the same information,  it tends to polarize us  rather than unite us. Getting screamed at and insulted by people who disagree with you doesn’t take you out of your filter bubb

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