Bad Lemon

Note: I have re-written this post several times. Each time losing a little here or there either by design or by accident. So as I stand in my kitchen cooking Sunday breakfast I will attempt to finish this up, especially since it has been bothering me to be idle for so long. Are we becoming overly sensitive as a group as we lessen are individuality? I recently read about a CNN reporter that resigned her position because she wrote about the passing of a Hezbollah leader on Twitter. (The full tweet, ‘Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.. One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot. #Lebanon') Twitter, 140 characters to say kind of what you mean but not really express the full meaning of your thought. Most people that use the service understand you can never get across what you "really" mean. So when she said she respected this leader of a terrorist organization people became upset. She later blogged how she meant she respected his progressive views on women but apparently the damage had already been done. Even when we parse our words carefully and explain ourselves fully using mediums such as email and blogging we are sometimes misunderstood. (Will I end up making a valid point with this posting or will it just become a rambling mess.) So how can we expect to come anywhere near the breadth of what it takes to explain a position as complex as a terrorist leader's progressive views on women's rights and a respect for just that sliver of his outlook in 140 characters. Don't get me wrong on a couple of accounts. 1. I don't know the Hezbollah leader's politics or even care. My defense is for the reporter and her right to keep her position. 2. I really like twitter and I think it can be used effectively just like the words "yes" and "no." Also like the words yes and no sometimes a longer explanation is needed. And this may be one of the limitations of this form of social media, the status update, conveying more than the essence of an idea in 140 characters or less. Because we think and grasp ideas in more than 140 characters do we expect to receive thoughts and ideas in the same manner. Using services like tweetlonger we seem to miss the point of Twitter. My thought is this - do we enter a an unspoken covenant with all those using Twitter, either as a way to express themselves or simply as a way to gather news and info, with the understanding that 140 characters is the "point" and that complicated ideas may need a blog post or something longer to fully express to thought. [caption id="attachment_256" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Duck's Butt by spacepleb via flickr"][/caption] Twitter and Facebook status updates are a great way to pass off quick thoughts or links to bits of info but may lead to a generation needing daily reminders of being sensitive towards others and also letting 140 characters expressing incomplete thoughts roll off you like the proverbial water off a duck's back.