ricky gervais
To retweet, or not to retweet…?
16 March 2013
As a musician and writer, I follow a number of musicians, writers, artists and actors on Twitter, most of whom use the service at least partly as a tool for self-promotion. Recently there has been a flurry of social media debate on whether or not it’s ‘cool’ to retweet what others say about you, which in turn has led to a slew of ranty articles by ranty bloggers such as myself.
I’ll admit that, while I don’t mind the occasional glowing retweet, it can be a bit annoying when someone I follow fills up my newsfeed with huge long streams of their own praise. However, I generally keep quiet about it, and this is why:
1. First of all, you have opted in to Twitter. You have also opted in to following individual users. Nobody’s making you do it. Constantly bitching about the Twitter feed of someone you have chosen to follow is inherently cretinous. Or, to quote the great Ricky Gervais: “Following someone on Twitter and then complaining about what they tweet about is like calling them up to tell them you don’t want to talk to them”.
2. If, for the sake of argument, we ignore point 1, remember you can turn off people’s retweets whenever you want so you don’t have to read them (here’s how).
3. If, for the sake of argument, we ignore points 1 and 2, remember you can just UNFOLLOW SOMEONE if they piss you off.
4. I’ve heard a lot of people complaining on the basis that self-promotion ‘is not what Twitter is for’. Come off it. You didn’t invent Twitter, and even if you did, it wouldn’t be up to you. The only thing Twitter is ‘for’ is for some people to say shit, and other people to listen – everything else is up to the individual.
5. As an addendum to point 4, everyone uses Twitter for different reasons. Some to inform their six followers what they had for breakfast, some to let their half a million fans know when their next book/album/movie is out, some to make sure the world is constantly up-to-date on the latest pictures of hot sexy boobs. None of these people have monopoly over the ‘purpose’ of Twitter. It is a gloriously flexible tool of technology, and anyone trying to reduce it to one single ‘purpose’ is just being self-important.
6. When people have something to promote, the idea that they might want their followers (FOLLOWERS, remember) to know what other people think about that product is neither new nor the heinous crime that many are making it out to be. As the excellent published author Matt Haig points out in his recent blog, writers have been posting complimentary quotes on their book sleeves for decades.
7. Finally, there are plenty worse things happening in this world than irritating retweets. Twitter is free, and brilliant, and user-generated. Any site that depends on and is defined by user-generated content will, duh, be user-generated in content. Deal with it.
ps. I am on twitter as @sixfootpianist. If you have enjoyed this blog and want to tell me what a talented writer I am, please tweet at me and I’ll pass it on – I think I have some followers who’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Chris Lightyear
Local girl done good
23 February 2009
So, finally, Kate Winslet won an Oscar. And hoorah for her, I say, because not only is she a damn fine actress but, like The Lightyears, she hails from Reading.
Reading isn’t generally considered to be “on the map” when it comes to famous sons and daughters, although it did also spawn Kenneth Branagh, Ricky Gervais and Dawn French. Plus, according to Tony (who perhaps ought not to be trusted on these matters as he does enjoy a good caper), Lennon & McCartney played their first ever gig in neighbouring Caversham’s Fox & Hounds pub.
Anyhow, Kate’s been churning out stellar performances for years and so it’s somewhat ironic that she pre-empted her eventual Academy triumph during her cameo in the comedy series Extras, in which she complained that in order to win an Oscar you had to “do a holocaust movie” – and sure enough it was taking on such a role that appears to have been the clincher! Mind you, I reckon this says more about the prejudices of the Oscars ceremony itself than it does about Kate’s pedigree as an actress.
So I guess these are my official blogger’s congratulations to the delectable Kate for what she herself described as “a dream come true”. May there be many more! And I’m sure when I win my Oscar for playing Chesney Hawkes in his (surely inevitable) biopic, Miss Winslet will return the favour.
To Berkshire’s finest Hollywood export – and proof that the A329M isn’t the only great thing to come out of Reading.
Chris Lightyear