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RogersParker brings up a good point with the Onion tweet. (Above right screenshot of DNAinfo.com Twitterfeed 7am this morning) What are the point of tweets? What is appropriate or inappropriate? The most useful tweets bring you news you can use. The Onion's mission statement is satire. It is extremely incisive at that. That satire will be all the more shocking in the limited character count of tweets. What the Onion was most guilty of with this tweet was it just wasn't that funny. People sometimes take the Onion seriously when they shouldn't. Did they actually mean what they said?
Continue reading for more commentary and close up of screenshot
Last updated 2/25/13 6:30pm
The Onion got a lot of press (which it hasn't for sometime) out of this controversy. In the long run this will help them more than hurt. The Onion is pointing out the utter crap that is being tweeted out there in Twitterland. In the past week the print edition of the Onion was scaled back by more than half. It is therefore fortuitous that they make a splash on the internet now. The Onion is an ironic reflection of what our society has become at times extremely stupid and thoughtless.
The Onion has come up with similar one liners on the front of their newspaper. These one liners are fake taglines for stories that never appear in their paper. Twitter and tweets can be the lowest means of communication on the internet. But they can also be used to put forth important ideas. It is interesting watching Twitter and tweets evolve. Some people have become Twitter jocks. Instead of talking on the radio they emit tweets on the internet. Twitter is the silent radio of the internet. The grand majority of tweets are nonsense. That was the Onion's point with this fake tweet.
The c-word has also been bantered around a whole lot more in movies and television lately. It still is considered to be an rated-R word, but it doesn't pack the punch it once did. C&^* is used a whole lot more over in England and doesn't have the same connotation it does here in America. The Onion is aping what a lot regular joe six packs are mindlessly tweeting. Tweets can be pretty mean. For instance many people are sitting there tweeting oh such and such actress is a b%&#$ or @$$h)%^. The Onion lampooned these tweets and took it to its natural conclusion. Looking at it from this perspective the tweet is funny. Imagine someone seriously being such a nut that they would tweet something like this. Completely ludicrous. Taken verbatim without context the tweet isn't funny. It takes perspective and some thinking. Which doesn't always come naturally with tweets.
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Chevanston recently covered the topic of what you should and shouldn't tweet to the general public. Calling people names on twitter isn't appropriate or funny. Neither is updating the general public concerning your family member's condition in the hospital. Telling the world whether you can make it to someone's funeral is also bizarre. Chevanston criticizing this behavior was seen by many as verboten. (Breaking news Gerald Farinas' father is leaving the hospital). A public apology was not issued in either circumstance by Gerald.
Last edited 6/16/13 1 pm
28 comments:
Take it up with Dorsey. "Pointless Babble" is the biggest category of more than 1.6 billion tweets per day. Do you want to kill more than 40% of his daily business? Jack might not agree with you on this. Beware the Gnorth Wind when the Ides approacheth.
I think people should totes get over this. Its the Onion, lol. I read it, I giggled, and I moved on. That's what I expect from the Onion. Oh schwell. What's funny is that little girl would have never, ever had to hear about this if it weren't for the self-serving "angry" back-lashers masquerading as defenders of a little girl when in reality they just want to draw attention to themselves with fake outrage. What a funny world. lolz
The Onion is a bunch of dope smokers with no upbringing. But that angry #RogersParker thinks she's the RP Taliban. I remember her face. That's what got her kicked out of EB telling off everyone like hers didn't stink.
Nice stash, Sal. Free mustache rides anyone?
Nothing better than a wild Sicilian pony feelin its oats. Don't tweet me on that.
I suppose Phoebe can't handle an average episode of Tosh.0, either.
Liberals have no sense of humor whatsoever. People call me a redneck and other offensive things all the time, and I just laugh at it, because, really, who cares if those kinds of people like me, anyways?
The Onion largely exists in paper form in Chicago just for homeless people to sell to clueless tourists.
I remember in LA a comic book shop had copies of the Onion, this was before it was in more cities, and the girl there didnt realize that the ads were real. The ads were all ads in Madison.
IMHO the Onion is a hilarious newspaper and have been following since it was just distributed at midwest college campuses in the mid nineties.
DAMMIT!!! I mean DARN IT. (sorry just took the meds) I think da dang Onion is prolly one of the best satire rags in town. or anywhere. anyone who don't get the damn joke is a low info idiot in my humble opinion. If Phoebes is all that bent outta shape about somethin like this well theres a sayin where I's come from and its called: "shes fit to be tied." Sorry i's had a couple a beerss,
Oafy you redneck if she watched 10 minutes of Tosh.O she would choke on her prune balls. No more tweets from RogersParker after that.
There are news sources and then there's twitter. Never the twain shall meet.
I suppose that's true Helen. Tweets are pretty silly.
I was mistaken, it was the early nineties when I started reading the Onion. At that time it was black and white and was folded in half like the news star is today but it was only 4 pages long if memory serves me right.
Stanley, that particular tweet wasn't satire. It was nasty and inexcusable. Since when has it become acceptable to say such things about a 9-year-old child?
@ Helen, It is inexcusable if the Onion meant it. They didnt
It wasnt a joke in the best taste, it is funny to contemplate the a-hole tweeter would be such a jerk to do such a thing.
It was inexcusable, Jeff. 9-year-olds are--or should be--off limits. Or do you think child pornography is ok, too?
I see your point Helen.
And technically that was the Onion's point too. That's why the joke went over like a rock.
Ah, do we have an omniscient presence capable of looking into the minds of anonymous tweeters and determining intent - satire vs. not satire? Do tell us at what age - 12, 15, 18? - it is excusable to say such things. We need guidance Oh Wise One. Since 9 is off limits, at what age are they within limits? Please advise us. Child pornography? What does that have to do with satire or was that pseudo-question cleverly disguised to bait a response ripe for yet another moral attack? Illuminate us. Shall I light my torch and sharpen my pitchfork?
If ya don't like strip clubs don't go. If ya don't like Onion don't read it. If ya don't like McFarlane don't listen to him. If ya don't like rough stuff stay home and read the Bible.
I watched Oscars show and saw how the little bitch was acting up for the camera. The Onion tweet had a point. Sorry.
Patricia, come out from behind your sock puppet name and reveal yourself. If there's a female back there, I'll eat my now-famous hat. That goes for Isadora too.
Tweets n stuff is boring but proving gender is hot. How bout it Helen? If Patricia and Isadora show me theirs will you show me yours? I'm a good judge with lots of experience.
Vick Bro what you said is not nice and wrong to post. She's only 9 and what you said is a cheap shot.
Gonzo, from your looks, I doubt that you have much experience at all. You saw my face on that other blog, I'm sure. That's all YOU get.
Hey sorry if i was lookin like I was sayin a 9 year old should be attacked of something. Wasn't meanin ta. It was bad taste. Yeah. Definite bad taste. But satire or not a publication ain't gotta be judged by one damn idiot that workes for em messin up. They took care a him and that's that so movin on. Point was sometimes even when things kinda offend us we gotta consider whether da outrage helps or hurts the target of the original post. In this case onion was stupid but maybe all the hoopla about it made the girl actually have ta hear about it longer. That ain't right neither.
Helen #2 come out from behind your sock puppet name and reveal yourself. If there's a female back there, I'll eat Helen #1's now-famous hat. Your bird is different than hers.
What bird?
Gonzo, I'm sorry if I offended you, but your looks really do turn me off. I should have thanked you for your comment to Vick though, so thanks.
God, I use that word at least 10 times a day, I wonder how she'd get a load of me.
Louis C.K. has a take on that word in "Chewed up".
@Helen Nice to see the old kitty cat avatar back in action.
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