Twitter Users Rebelling Against Promoted Tweets

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Rebelling against promoted tweets? If you don't like Twitter, don't use it. If you have a better business model, make your own social media site. I don't know, this kinda stuff seems like such a waste of time and energy, doesn't it?

Ryan Woodsmall, a 34-year-old information-technology worker in St. Louis., hates promoted tweets. When he notices one from, say, Wal-Mart or Bank of America, in his feed, he will reply to the tweet or retweet it after editing the tweet to insert misspelled words or other flourishes that he hopes will reflect poorly on the brand. He also does this because he hopes it will drive up the cost of advertising for the brand.
 
god i dont understand the appeal of twitter... at ALL
 
While I think anyone should be able to have their opinion about a service and be able to vocalize it (and should), I don't think this specific method is the proper way to do it.

Trying to derail advertising with bad edits, and discrediting the company by deceptive practices is just no proper imo.

Sure retweet it, with a comment that you will not be a customer because of these practices etc etc, let everyone know that company X likes to advertise with twitter spam or something or another.

Don't you have to be following Wal-mart for them to twitter you? If not then for sure let everyone know that wal-mart is a spammy douche... If you are a follower, tell people not to follow.
 
I usually ignore them. Promoted tweets & users aren't worth the effort that people wind up giving them. Being a disgruntled spaz only strengthens the insanity, not lessens it...
 
i have a few twitters links i follow due to it being for my favorite tv show, but other than that i never saw a use for twitter.
 
god i dont understand the appeal of twitter... at ALL

Think of it as an RSS reader on steroids (or a way to sidestep getting news from a 3rd party... you can get it right from the source as it happens).

I used to have the same opinion as you, but I've actually come to like twitter quite a bit. I don't use it to socialize, but it's great to stay in the loop on certain subjects/interests... be it following a particular indie game developers progress on a project or, for example, keeping up to date with SpaceX's shuttle program. Due to how the hashtag system works, it's also a good way to connect with others in your areas on interest (and also advertising as it were)

I think a lot of people try to use it like facebook but, IMO, it's not really what it's meant for.
 
Amazing that people can't ignore something. Finally, the ability to space out and not give a shit is coming to my aid.
 
god i dont understand the appeal of twitter... at ALL

Either you do or you don't. For some, it's great. For others, it's not very useful.

But, a lot of it comes down to who you follow. I follow around 900 people/companies/sites. Lots of information. But, I've had to drop a lot of people because they post some really stupid shit.

I guess the reason I use it is for a glorified, up to the second news reader. The people I follow (including [H]), post updates to their sites and if I see something relevant, I'll check out the link. That, and there are some good chats on there (Microsoft stuff for me).

If you follow the wrong people, and I have, you see what people are doing, eating, reading, or jerking off... I can't stand that kind of stuff. No one really cares.

Promoted tweets? Twitter has to pay the bills. It's not that big of a deal. Just skip over it.
 
As far as use goes, I can see the appeal as a live news ticker if you can find suitably disciplined and concise posters to follow.
 
find suitably disciplined and concise posters to follow.

That can be the hard part. Sometimes, even the best ones spout dribble occasionally. Or, the bad ones can post some good things occasionally.
 
I find it hysterical that frequenters of [H] "don't understand the point of twitter". As a forum of mostly technically savvy people, you just look dumb.

It's a simple, yet powerful, aggregation of information based on people you follow that you have the power to control.

Don't like Twitter, good for you, you probably have nothing of value to contribute anyway.
 
I find it hysterical that frequenters of [H] "don't understand the point of twitter". As a forum of mostly technically savvy people, you just look dumb.

It's a simple, yet powerful, aggregation of information based on people you follow that you have the power to control.

Don't like Twitter, good for you, you probably have nothing of value to contribute anyway.

I find it hilarious that you're a poopy butt.
 
Twitters is for hipsters who think they are a badass for putting hashtags on everything that no one cares about.
 
Twitters is for hipsters who think they are a badass for putting hashtags on everything that no one cares about.

It can be. I don't use it much, but it's more for sharing information. Just like everything else, it can be used for meaningless crap, but there is a lot of good stuff out there too.
 
Twitters is for hipsters who think they are a badass for putting hashtags on everything that no one cares about.

#DudeShutUp. I was using #Twitter before it had the #BlueBird. @HashTag #HardHipster.

Hashtags are stupid outside of Twitter. In Twitter, they have a function, and you can filter based on hashtags (which makes it good for chats). But, they are overused, obviously.
 
So what's the deal? If I create a company like twitter will I be subject to government intrusion too?
 
Twitter is the only big social media platform I can tolerate. It's useful for quickly browsing breaking news.

I still don't get why anyone would sit around and spend time posting things on all of these shitty social media sites, though.
 
You probably have nothing of value to contribute anyway.

Ironically, I feel the same way about anyone that would "subscribe" to an individual or company. The automatons get fed, the beneficiaries feed, the smart never opt in.
 
I find it hysterical that...

It's a simple, yet powerful, aggregation of information based on people you follow that you have the power to control.

Don't like Twitter, good for you, you probably have nothing of value to contribute anyway.
I find it hysterical that you write like a douchebag. "Simple yet powerful," shut up.
 
I find it hysterical that frequenters of [H] "don't understand the point of twitter". As a forum of mostly technically savvy people, you just look dumb.

It's a simple, yet powerful, aggregation of information based on people you follow that you have the power to control.

Don't like Twitter, good for you, you probably have nothing of value to contribute anyway.

Many people don't "get it" because it's not powerful and is actually quite limited. Also, most of what is aggregated on twitter is not exactly what I would consider information but data, it's mostly nonsense, personal opinions, re-tweets of other peoples personal opinions, shortened tracking urls to selfie pics, promoted tweets aka ADs, and other non-information.

Twitter does serve a purpose and I can kinda see the appeal but to a lot of technically savvy people, this service is useless.
 
Many people don't "get it" because it's not powerful and is actually quite limited. Also, most of what is aggregated on twitter is not exactly what I would consider information but data, it's mostly nonsense, personal opinions, re-tweets of other peoples personal opinions, shortened tracking urls to selfie pics, promoted tweets aka ADs, and other non-information.

Twitter does serve a purpose and I can kinda see the appeal but to a lot of technically savvy people, this service is useless.

You clearly have no idea what you're fucking talking about.

I'm not going to sit here and prove what Twitter can and can't do for people. I've interacted with many tech based companies, most recently Cloudflare which I use for plenty of my sites and they were insanely helpful. Also, HP, Spotify and my webhost, to name a few more.

Twitter can be a a great service for someone who wants to acknowledge it as another channel of interaction and communication with people or companies. People to sit here and discredit it as useless bullshit are stupid and need to grow the fuck up.
 
You clearly have no idea what you're fucking talking about.

I'm not going to sit here and prove what Twitter can and can't do for people. I've interacted with many tech based companies, most recently Cloudflare which I use for plenty of my sites and they were insanely helpful. Also, HP, Spotify and my webhost, to name a few more.

Twitter can be a a great service for someone who wants to acknowledge it as another channel of interaction and communication with people or companies. People to sit here and discredit it as useless bullshit are stupid and need to grow the fuck up.

Anyone who uses fuck multiple times in a single posting and gets mad about someone's view of a random corporation and their services is clearly not credible. Get off your high horse and learn some general etiquette, then maybe people will take you seriously.
 
Anyone who uses fuck multiple times in a single posting and gets mad about someone's view of a random corporation and their services is clearly not credible. Get off your high horse and learn some general etiquette, then maybe people will take you seriously.

+++
 
Don't like Twitter, good for you, you probably have nothing of value to contribute anyway.
From what I've seen of twitter posts of those I know who use it, those that get reposted in say twitterless forums, etc.... the VAST majority of people who use twitter have nothing of value to contribute.
 
god i dont understand the appeal of twitter... at ALL

Agreed, don't have a twitter account and probably never will. The only time I have ever used it was to follow a developer of a custom android rom I was using on my phone. He would send a tweet out everytime there was an update. Luckily you don't need a twitter account just to follow someone.

But I don't get why in the world you would want to know that you friend kelly from second grade just bought a new pair of shoes.
 
From what I've seen of twitter posts of those I know who use it, those that get reposted in say twitterless forums, etc.... the VAST majority of people who use twitter have nothing of value to contribute.

And reading it is completely avoidable.
 
god i dont understand the appeal of twitter... at ALL

I don't understand the draw either. I guess it's the same vapid tendencies that attracts Facebook users as well, just a step further. My wife and I have a mutual friend who has suddenly started taking her attention whore tendencies to 11. I had her check out her Facebook page and it directly correlates to when she joined Twitter and started actively using hashtags extensively in everything she did. I really don't get it.
 
I don't understand the draw either. I guess it's the same vapid tendencies that attracts Facebook users as well, just a step further. My wife and I have a mutual friend who has suddenly started taking her attention whore tendencies to 11. I had her check out her Facebook page and it directly correlates to when she joined Twitter and started actively using hashtags extensively in everything she did. I really don't get it.

The key is to not follow people like that and to follow news organizations or other organizations you actually like or want to read. You can get a ton of information quickly if you know what you're doing. You can also engage in commentary about news... not unlike what you're doing right now. Lastly, sometimes you can ask an author of a piece a direct question and get a reply.

Spend a short amount of time following your local newspaper, a national news organization, and anything else you actively look at on the internet or might care about. It is stupid how much info you can get in 30 seconds on twitter. 120 character blurb/headline and a hyperlink. It will look just like FPN you're currently browsing.
 
The key is to not follow people like that and to follow news organizations or other organizations you actually like or want to read. You can get a ton of information quickly if you know what you're doing. You can also engage in commentary about news... not unlike what you're doing right now. Lastly, sometimes you can ask an author of a piece a direct question and get a reply.

Spend a short amount of time following your local newspaper, a national news organization, and anything else you actively look at on the internet or might care about. It is stupid how much info you can get in 30 seconds on twitter. 120 character blurb/headline and a hyperlink. It will look just like FPN you're currently browsing.

x2

Often times you get information hours, days or even weeks before a publication tends to cover it (if at all).

If you're following friends/family/etc, you're doing it wrong
 
I don't need a shitload of news "as it happens." I'm not carrying a nuclear football.
 
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