Title of the Essay, Author, and Date

Twitter and Power by Noah Berlatsky (February 11th, 2014) 

Title of the Reflection

T he power of Tweets

First Impression

A n essay about how twitter and power correlates with each other

Quote

My body of work doesn’t matter and my actual thoughts don’t matter. Not to those who have decided to hate me. What matters is to destroy and silence 

Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets" ” Twitter is a place where, not always, but sometimes, power relationships can shift, and folks who are marginalized can make others listen. That’s not always comfortable. But discomfort, and especially the discomfort of those accustomed to power, isn’t always a bad thing.” Twitter spreads disinformation, that it encourages bullying and abuse.  I think this criticism is correct to some degree. Twitter can, and does, allow for abuse of power.  The basic complaint, as in many critiques of the Internet, is that the forum and the platform encourage random people, with neither credentials nor accountability, to gossip, insult and gang up.

Twitter has changed society’s power dynamics in some thoroughgoing manner. Again, the platform is often used for misogynist harassment of women of minorities. But it’s also true that Twitter’s demographics skew somewhat differently than society, or online, as whole — the forum is very popular with young people.  Moreover, the Twitter platform, with its followers, retweets and hashtags, tends to create micro-communities in which commenters without traditional connections or platforms can gain large and influential followings.

            Twitter is a place where, not always, but sometimes, power relationships can shift, and folks who are marginalized can make others listen. That’s not always comfortable. But discomfort, and especially the discomfort of those accustomed to power, isn’t always a bad thing.

5 Things That I've learned from the article:

1. “What I’ve learned from Twitter is that it doesn’t matter what I do,”
2.  Twitter can, and does, allow for abuse of power.
3.  Twitter can actually provide a counter, or a check, on abuses in traditional media.
4.  Twitter, there are lots of women who work in the sex industry. And they tend to speak up.
5. Twitter is a place where, not always, but sometimes, power relationships can shift, and folks who are marginalized can make others listen.

 5 Integrative Questions

1. Why and what reasons views in twitter are misrepresented?
2. Why and what reasons that twitter is a place where intellectual laziness is encouraged, oversimplification is mandatory, posturing is de rigueur, and bullying is rewarded?
3. Why Twitter spreads disinformation, that it encourages bullying and abuse?
4. Where Twitter really distinguished from other forums or other venues by abuse of power?
5. Why Twitter is a place where power relationships can shift, and folks who are marginalized can make others listen?