In the May 24th "Ask me anything about anything... If you dare!" diary, Kos noted:
Before we get started, I have something to ask you guys -- please stop shitting on people doing activism on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else outside Daily Kos. If someone talks about Facebook shares, and you hate Facebook, then just keep it to yourself. Announcing to the world how much you hate Facebook really brings nothing to the table, and might in fact discourage people from helping spread the word.
If we are to grow as a movement, then we have to take what we learn on Daily Kos and share it everywhere else, online and off. Because as much as we bicker on this site, fact is we all agree with each other 95 percent of the time. If there were 60 million people on this site, then this is all we'd need. But fact is, we're trying to change America, and doing that requires us to evangelize outside the cozy orange-y confines of Daily Kos.
Yikes. Guilty as charged. Has Kos installed spyware to capture my thoughts? Yes, I've been generally dismissive of Facebook and Twitter (although not mentioning it in my diaries). In the case of Facebook, my reasons are personal, including resistance to a family member informing me that if I wished to get family updates, I "had to" be on Facebook. Yeah... no. It's just a lot easier for me to text or e-mail the people I want updates from and keep in touch with.
In my defense, I'm neither a Luddite nor a hermit. I'm very active on LinkedIn where I interact daily with people across the country and around the world that I've met professionally. However, injecting my Progressive political views or posting calls to action wouldn't be advisable on LinkedIn, where I'm representing myself and my business under my real name.
My cassandracarolina identity here in the Great Orange Blogosphere is kept separate, allowing me to clutter cyberspace with my political and paleontological ravings. Still, that's mostly preaching to the choir in an echo chamber.
I was neutral on Twitter. At least Tweets are mercifully brief, and many are clever, if not brilliant. I enjoy seeing Tweets scroll by on MSNBC and other programming. I was amazed at Twitter coverage of the Arab Spring and other global events. But... I was really just a detached observer.
So I posed this question in the May 24 diary:
I'm not on Twitter, but would consider it (18+ / 0-)
Why do you consider it important, and what traits would your ideal Kossack bring to the Twittersphere?
We're all in this together.
by cassandracarolina on Fri May 24, 2013 at 02:54:30 PM CDT
and Kos replied...
Twitter (59+ / 0-)
in itself isn't any more important. The process of growing our movement beyond this site is.
If you photocopy a good diary and leave copies on a Subway bench, that's important too.
I just don't like people who wear their disdain of social media like a badge, like it makes you badass or something. If the public is on Facebook, and we're trying to move public opinion on the issues we care about, then we should be on Facebook. And Twitter. And Tumblr. And all that other shit.
by kos on Fri May 24, 2013 at 03:12:17 PM CDT
It wasn't the exact answer I was seeking, but in pressing on with the question, I got some
great input from other Kossacks including this
DKos Tweeters List. There's a weekly
Kossacks Tweet Too #kt2 diary also posted by
flitedocnm and you can find Kossack Tweets using the #kt2 hashtag.
So I checked it out, and there were many of my favorite orange writers, Tweeting their own stuff and retweeting the Tweets and diaries of others. Heck, I could do that. I could also write pithy little Tweets of my own. I'd been helping other people write them, so why couldn't I write my own.
That very afternoon, I set up my Twitter account @cassandra17lina and began by "following" a bunch of familiar Kossacks. I posted my first of what will be many limerick Tweets:
So far, the Internet wasn't broken, and this was kind of fun. Hey... It was retweeted! Twice! Each by people with a whole bunch of followers! Now I'm getting followed! This wasn't really "activism" though. For that, I started Tweeting out some excellent Daily Kos diaries that weren't getting a lot of attention. So now in addition to being able to "tip" and "recommend", could now also "Tweet".
1. You can use your Daily Kos username or some variant of it, so people can recognize you - you needn't reveal your real identity. If that's been a concern, cross it off the list.
2. You can have multiple Twitter accounts if you want to keep your political Tweets separate from personal or business. I now have two accounts, one for politics, one for my business. Obviously I want to be careful which one I've got active when I'm retweeting or posting ;-)
3. You can Tweet your own diaries, alerting your followers and - it they retweet - their follwers that you've posted something new - if they stop by and "rec" your diary early, your chances for making the "rec" list will be improved
4. You can Tweet the diaries of people you like here on Daily Kos to get them more visibility and possibly gain them more new readers followers (that's happened to me as a pleasant unintended consequence)
5. Your writing skills may improve as you find clever ways to stuff ideas (or in my case, limericks) into the 140-character limit. Twitter's also great for those of us with short attention spans ;-)
6. You'll find ideas for diary topics much more easily - if you're looking for ideas, scan your Twitter feed or see what's trending. Follow organizations and individuals who Tweet about topics of interest to you, and some out-of-the-box folks that will get your imagination revved up
7. You can stay better informed, as virtually every organization, pundit, media outlet, candidate, and political group has a Twitter following. Instead of spending your time scouring the Internet, you can have news, ideas, and calls to action find you.
8. You can crank out a Tweet much more easily than a diary. If you want to keep communicating, but haven't got time to write a diary or hang out to reply to commenters, you can still get your point out to fellow Kossacks plus many other folks. By using the #kt2 hashtag, people can find Kos-affiliated Tweets.
9. You can be part of breaking news events from campaign rallies to tornados to political shenanigans in your new role as a citizen reporter, Tweeting from your laptop, tablet, or phone.
10. You can bring much needed (and much appreciated) visibility to nonprofit and political calls to action, so that, even if you can't donate your time or money, you can bring the message to people who can, and do so in real time.
Oh, I suppose we could add #11: You can make drive more traffic to Daily Kos while vastly enriching your own experience of this site and the Internet in general.
I might be a little late to the game, but Kossacks are still joining Twitter as we speak. Check it out. If I can set aside my misgivings and have this much fun, who knows? There's hope for you too!