Comments on: RT @UserName Tweets are real content, you guys #srsly

By: Black Marks on Wood Pulp wins South Dakota Socies Award, Crowd Sorta Rejoices. : Black Marks on Wood Pulp / by Corey Vilhauer

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:25:02 +0000

[...] pagination. Or the one where I got upset about a word they made up. Also, disregard the time when I called the lead Web guy on the carpet (Cory Myers, a very cool person who I have since met and actually like) for mangling my [...]

By: Mike Billeter

Mike Billeter — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:25:18 +0000

Silly Corey, writers can’t be thought leaders.

On a side note, I’d love to see a paraphrase signifier take off like RT did for retweet. I’ve had a few times where I’ve said “paraphrasing @____” and then made changes to shorten it. Leaves me feeling better about it, even if it’s only self-justification.

Unfortunately, I just don’t see PP taking off the way RT did. Mostly because dumb people probably think PP stands for PowerPoint or PoundPuppies or something similar. Idiots.

Pretentiousness FTW!

By: Corey Vilhauer

Corey Vilhauer — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:15:12 +0000

@Mike Hell yeah. I’m a trailblazer. I’m totally available for a speaking engagement at that OTA thing if you’re looking for A MODERN DAY THOUGHT LEADER.

@MZ Not saying tweets are art. I’m saying they are content, just as a blog post is content – if someone is putting time into saying it, it should be respected as such.

You know as much as anyone – those who write want to see their words represented in the correct light – and syntax/punctuation/word choice is as much a part of the post as spelling.

Also, let’s be honest. I probably am a pretentious dick. But I’m trying.

By: MZ

MZ — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:07:17 +0000

When I first saw your twitter complaint I thought, “Wow, what a dick, and a highly pretentious one at that.”
Then I looked again and realized the retweet had actually been (slightly) edited, and I immediately recognized/sympathized with your minor outrage and confusion in trying to properly display it without coming off an asshole, because I go through the same preocess EVERY TIME I HAND IN A STORY.
Having said that, I still think the idea that tweets are art is silly and pretentious.

By: Mike Billeter

Mike Billeter — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:35:34 +0000

I’ve shared this same frustration numerous times. It’s hard because, as you mentioned, it’s fun to be retweeted and it’s nice to know people wanted to share your thought, but it sucks that it can end up making you sound like a 15-year-old text messaging girl.

Something like “Have you seen this yet? How are these people allowed to get away with stuff like this? – somerandomlink.com”

becomes “RT @mikebilleter: Have u seen this? How r ppl allowed to get away w/stuff like this? – randomlink.com”

And I just want to send my own tweet (like you did) that says “For the record, I don’t write like a 15 year old sending a text message. I write in complete sentences. Thank you.”

I’ve never taken that step because I typically don’t feel like it’s worth the fight. But now that you’ve paved the path, maybe I’ll give it a try myself. And I’ll make sure I cc you in the tweet so you can edit it and change it as you see fit before you retweet it. And then I’ll hate you.

Anyway, see you around on Twitter, sucka. Talk to you later.

RT @mikebilleter: Anywayz, see u on teh twitterz! Lol l8r!