Twitter is not remotely reflective of the real world

[Alma]

https://www.poynter.org/tech-tools/...-create-80-percent-of-all-tweets-study-finds/

About 80 percent of all tweets from U.S. Twitter users come from just 10 percent of users. These users tweet 138 times per month, while the median Twitter user only tweets twice per month.

These superusers are more likely to be women and more likely to tweet about politics, the study found. In most other ways, this group falls mostly in line with the average Twitter user, which the study found to be younger, more educated, more likely to identify as a Democrat and likely to earn more than the average U.S. citizen.

 

[playthrough]

A Gannett paper is working on a reaction story to this right now that will consist entirely of embedded tweets.

 

[DanielSimpsonDay]

https://www.poynter.org/tech-tools/...-create-80-percent-of-all-tweets-study-finds/

About 80 percent of all tweets from U.S. Twitter users come from just 10 percent of users. These users tweet 138 times per month, while the median Twitter user only tweets twice per month.

These superusers are more likely to be women and more likely to tweet about politics, the study found. In most other ways, this group falls mostly in line with the average Twitter user, which the study found to be younger, more educated, more likely to identify as a Democrat and likely to earn more than the average U.S. citizen.

Sounds similar to talk radio, i.e. callers are a fraction of listeners

 

[Alma]

Sounds similar to talk radio, i.e. callers are a fraction of listeners

It is and is not similar.

Twitter is free. Public marketplace. Virtually no immediate control over messages even after they’re posted, and none whatsoever before. No screens.

It is fascinating that, given the sheer freedom of it, the demographics would break down that way. My suspicion is, because Twitter is so tied to “news” - it’s basically the town square - and most journalists are either somewhat to unusually liberal, the market builds that way.

 

[dirtybird]

It is and is not similar.

Twitter is free. Public marketplace. Virtually no immediate control over messages even after they’re posted, and none whatsoever before. No screens.

It is fascinating that, given the sheer freedom of it, the demographics would break down that way. My suspicion is, because Twitter is so tied to “news” - it’s basically the town square - and most journalists are either somewhat to unusually liberal, the market builds that way.

The fascination is that people who use Twitter a whole ton are trending liberal and female? And this is tied to the liberal media?

 

[CD Boogie]

https://www.poynter.org/tech-tools/...-create-80-percent-of-all-tweets-study-finds/

About 80 percent of all tweets from U.S. Twitter users come from just 10 percent of users. These users tweet 138 times per month, while the median Twitter user only tweets twice per month.

These superusers are more likely to be women and more likely to tweet about politics, the study found. In most other ways, this group falls mostly in line with the average Twitter user, which the study found to be younger, more educated, more likely to identify as a Democrat and likely to earn more than the average U.S. citizen.

And more likely to waste time on a useless ****ing medium.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

This article wins the "Heard About the Lindbergh Baby?" Award for the month and possibly year. I mean, no ****.

 

[Alma]

This article wins the "Heard About the Lindbergh Baby?" Award for the month and possibly year. I mean, no ****.

You knew all that? Hey, more power to ya.

 

[exmediahack]

Especially politics. Liberal twitter is snarky and condescending. Conservative Twitter is LOUD and conspiratory.

That actually is a perfect reflection.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

A Gannett paper is working on a reaction story to this right now that will consist entirely of embedded tweets.

I’m astonished this thread isn’t an endless stream of embedded tweets.

 

[Alma]

Especially politics. Liberal twitter is snarky and condescending. Conservative Twitter is LOUD and conspiratory.

That actually is a perfect reflection.

Journalism and journalists is where it is most stark. The industry is even more liberal than I realized. More arrogant, too. I’m...surprised at the attitude and is overly comfortable political stances of some sportswriters. Maybe I shouldn’t be.

 

[SoloFlyer]

Journalism and journalists is where it is most stark. The industry is even more liberal than I realized. More arrogant, too. I’m...surprised at the attitude and is overly comfortable political stances of some sportswriters. Maybe I shouldn’t be.

If Twitter is not representative of the whole world, why should it be representative of a whole industry?

I know dozens of journalists who have Twitter accounts and rarely tweet. They're editors and page designers and photographers. I know dozens more who only tweet work related content.

So maybe it's not a case of the industry being more liberal than you realized, but simply the loudest and most active people who happen to follow being more liberal than you realized.

 

[Azrael]

Or maybe journalists are actually in the center, and everything and everyone else has moved to the right.

 

[FileNotFound]

Journalism and journalists is where it is most stark. The industry is even more liberal than I realized. More arrogant, too. I’m...surprised at the attitude and is overly comfortable political stances of some sportswriters. Maybe I shouldn’t be.

I'm not sure why this would be a surprise. Institutional arrogance is a lot of what got the news industry into the pickle in which it currently finds itself.