The best day on Twitter is the first day on Twitter. Every day after, the toxic stew of abuse, hatred, attention-hacking, and brain drain worsens. It’s also safe to say that if Elon Musk is successful in his bizarre, half-hearted attempt to buy Twitter, life on the platform is going to get much, much worse. While spouting nebulous bromides about “free speech,” Musk spent the last few weeks promising to undo the steps Twitter took to curb abuse and hate speech. He even promised to immediately end Donald Trump’s lifetime Twitter ban. As you may remember, Trump used Twitter to spread the Big Lie, invite people to the fateful rally in D.C, encouraged them to march on the Capitol, and then egged them on.
On the average day, I get about a dozen emails from various candidates. They all follow the same pattern:
- I hate to bother you
- The sky is falling
- Only you can help
- I need money
The variation is something like Cory Booker’s book club or some other event that you can’t sign up for unless you donate.
I know these candidates all need money. But some of us don’t have that to give.
I think they’re missing a huge opportunity to engage the rest of us by not giving us an alternative call to action.
“It would be great if you could spare any amount in a recurring donation to my campaign. But if not, could you please post about my stance on INSERT PROGRESSIVE CAUSE THAT MAKES SENSE IN MY DISTRICT/STATE HERE on your socials? Please also note that my opponent is opposed to/has voted against this measure.”
The DNC (who also sends me Chicken Little emails once every few days - hourly at the end of the quarter) could also do this on a national level.
“Please post about gun control this week. Your candidate’s position on this issue can be found here on this handy tool-we-created-that-isn’t-all-buggy-and-actually-works. Your candidate’s opponent’s position can also be found there.” Perhaps this tool could be like Wikipedia and blockchain and receive input and maintenance from all of us.
I know no one will listen to little old me, but thought I’d try…
Thank you Dan. You are very correct in saying what you do about FB and Twitter. Twitter is where I go for breaking news; FB is where I go to promote my dogs in my rescue. FB is truly where all Dems need to go to promote their message, because, as you have said, many people get their news from FB. Walter Cronkite has been dead for quite awhile. Dems can't just say 'oh, we hate FB and we won't engage'...NO, engage all the harder on FB.
There was a time when I would've considered investing in one of the lower-tier Teslas out of an abundance of wanting to move toward a zero-emission vehicle. Ever since Elon started pulling his sh!t, though, I'm turning my attention toward a Subaru Solterra as a future purchase for an EV.
I “liked” your FB page. Looking forward to some good content. Also, I bet if you link your youtube videos as they are posted, I will be more likely to watch them. I tend to go directly to Youtube only for yoga videos :)
I have long understood the importance of Twitter in political communication--and yet I have never actively participated. I have engaged on Facebook with some modest impact the last few years--but I have found the conversations and exchanges increasingly "unhealthy." In light of that--I have backed away--some-- from political "messaging" on Facebook this past year, and I now avoid trying to persuade others to seek facts--actual data--before opening fire. Facebook surprised me the last three years and so I am almost falling into "Grampa Status." I teach political science at a college. Has it been a form of malpractice to stay out of Twitter all these years? Some of my students think so--although they don't act too surprised. (A sign of my age?) Has backing away been the wrong thing to do? I still post timely articles on Facebook now and again--but I have held my peace--even in the aftermath of so much happening this past year. At one point I felt like the house cat chasing a laser pointer. Honestly-- I like the conversation here much more than I have on so many other spaces. I wonder--in the year ahead--what is the right thing to do?
On the average day, I get about a dozen emails from various candidates. They all follow the same pattern:
- I hate to bother you
- The sky is falling
- Only you can help
- I need money
The variation is something like Cory Booker’s book club or some other event that you can’t sign up for unless you donate.
I know these candidates all need money. But some of us don’t have that to give.
I think they’re missing a huge opportunity to engage the rest of us by not giving us an alternative call to action.
“It would be great if you could spare any amount in a recurring donation to my campaign. But if not, could you please post about my stance on INSERT PROGRESSIVE CAUSE THAT MAKES SENSE IN MY DISTRICT/STATE HERE on your socials? Please also note that my opponent is opposed to/has voted against this measure.”
The DNC (who also sends me Chicken Little emails once every few days - hourly at the end of the quarter) could also do this on a national level.
“Please post about gun control this week. Your candidate’s position on this issue can be found here on this handy tool-we-created-that-isn’t-all-buggy-and-actually-works. Your candidate’s opponent’s position can also be found there.” Perhaps this tool could be like Wikipedia and blockchain and receive input and maintenance from all of us.
I know no one will listen to little old me, but thought I’d try…
Thank you Dan. You are very correct in saying what you do about FB and Twitter. Twitter is where I go for breaking news; FB is where I go to promote my dogs in my rescue. FB is truly where all Dems need to go to promote their message, because, as you have said, many people get their news from FB. Walter Cronkite has been dead for quite awhile. Dems can't just say 'oh, we hate FB and we won't engage'...NO, engage all the harder on FB.
There was a time when I would've considered investing in one of the lower-tier Teslas out of an abundance of wanting to move toward a zero-emission vehicle. Ever since Elon started pulling his sh!t, though, I'm turning my attention toward a Subaru Solterra as a future purchase for an EV.
Thanks for getting active on Facebook. I will be actively sharing your posts to other groups!
Did I miss the link to the newly announced FB Group, or even just the name of the Group?
I “liked” your FB page. Looking forward to some good content. Also, I bet if you link your youtube videos as they are posted, I will be more likely to watch them. I tend to go directly to Youtube only for yoga videos :)
I have long understood the importance of Twitter in political communication--and yet I have never actively participated. I have engaged on Facebook with some modest impact the last few years--but I have found the conversations and exchanges increasingly "unhealthy." In light of that--I have backed away--some-- from political "messaging" on Facebook this past year, and I now avoid trying to persuade others to seek facts--actual data--before opening fire. Facebook surprised me the last three years and so I am almost falling into "Grampa Status." I teach political science at a college. Has it been a form of malpractice to stay out of Twitter all these years? Some of my students think so--although they don't act too surprised. (A sign of my age?) Has backing away been the wrong thing to do? I still post timely articles on Facebook now and again--but I have held my peace--even in the aftermath of so much happening this past year. At one point I felt like the house cat chasing a laser pointer. Honestly-- I like the conversation here much more than I have on so many other spaces. I wonder--in the year ahead--what is the right thing to do?