It's weird how after being a user for 10 years I still can't tell whether Twitter is net good or bad for the world. On one hand there are Twitter mobs, and Trump saying he might not have won without it. And yet I've learned so much and "met" so many interesting people.
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I think this is not merely a case of something being complicated and thus hard to judge. The way Twitter works makes it hard to judge. It increases the amplitude of the waves, which makes it harder to tell whether the average point is above or below the x axis.
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It's slightly alarming to think what the Twitter replacement might be like. Will it increase the amplitude even more, till the vibrations shake society apart? Or will some social antibody kick in and make users prefer something that doesn't jerk them around so much?
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Replying to @paulg
@paulg Sometimes i think arguments against a particular platform, like twitter, are really an argument against the internet. Lets say twitter ceases to exist tomorrow, do you think much of what you dislike would also go away? my hunch is that it would end up somewhere regardless1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes -
Replying to @ferenstein
Having spent all that time munging HN, I'm fairly confident that design choices can have a big effect on what a social media site is like.
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Replying to @paulg
I feel like thats a different statement than asking “is twitter good for the world?”. When i worked at techcrunch, us banning comments didnt stop folks from criticizing me or the companies. The site was more pleasant, but did it change the world? i have my doubts
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Replying to @ferenstein @paulg
i really respect your experience here and im offering up these criticisms because i hope your experience proves me wrong. i want to believe changing site design makes a global difference, but im skeptical. My hunch is site design doesnt eliminate ideas that want to be aired
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Replying to @ferenstein
Imagine if you wanted to tweak a social media site to encourage people to get into fights with one another. I bet you have some ideas of how you might. Well, if it's possible to design a site to increase fights, then it's also possible to design one to decrease them.
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Replying to @paulg
i got product design advice from someone i (greatly) respect: tech products dont change people. A great product is slightly better than an *inevitable* competitor which lets folks do what they want. If convervatives want to fight and twitter bans it, will an alternative come?
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Replying to @ferenstein @paulg
that was meant to come off more as a question than a lecture: youre legendary with product . Im skeptical that tech changes people. It changes who uses the site or how they use it. But, globally, if enough people want something, it’ll be built for them. Thats the internet.
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The reason that's not true is that in this case network effects put a brake on the evolution. Once something gets critical mass, everyone has to use it, even if it's not what most of them would like. Think Newark Airport.
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Replying to @paulg
I spy a contradiction: you’ve often argued that big companies dont have the monopoly critics claim. Twitter/facebook have competition from other outlets, blogs (medium), etc. In my experience, its true. twitter bans, it goes to FB. fb bans, it goes to a gigantic conservative blog
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