Twitter: Rascism & Values & social spam
I received the usual Twitter email today: Well, I don’t blindly follow people so I went to check out PodBlanc. The first thing I check when joining or inviting someone on a social network is their profiles. Then I check friends. Then content. That is: Profiles (who are they?) Friends (how are we connected?) Content…
I received the usual Twitter email today:
Well, I don’t blindly follow people so I went to check out PodBlanc. The first thing I check when joining or inviting someone on a social network is their profiles. Then I check friends. Then content. That is:
- Profiles (who are they?)
- Friends (how are we connected?)
- Content (what do they say and do online?)
In this case podblanc’s profile said eugenicist. No clue what one of them is. Friends following 567, followed by 37. Not a great sign, I prefer a smaller ratio of difference. Content? Ah this is where it gets interesting:
92% of the world’s population is non-white and overpopulating rapidly: http://tinyurl.com/4skake Give these aspiring tax-collectors a chance. They’re really sincere: http://tinyurl.com/6octyo Adolf Hitler gave us back our self-respect as a people [vid]: http://tinyurl.com/69mjua A Dying Man Speaks His Peace [vid]: http://tinyurl.com/4c9bsx This pastor says Nigger more often the snoop dogg; http://tinyurl.com/6rrmyd
I choose not to follow podblanc. I choose to block him/her. I actually checked out the website listed (podblanc.com) and saw the about tab:
About Podblanc: White Now
Podblanc was founded in April 2007 as a media outlet specifically tailored to White Interests, White Culture, and White Politics around the globe. Podblanc is the leader in online video, and a premier destination to watch original videos worldwide.
Everyone can watch videos on Podblanc. People can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests, and discover what it means to be White. As more people capture special moments on video, Podblanc is empowering them to become tomorrow’s media.
Podblanc is 100% viewer and member supported. Our mission is to enlighten, educate and entertain our people. Craig Cobb, as one of the founding members, has taken the lead as Chief Content Officer.
Are our values aligned? No.
Is it social spam? No, probably not, but still… not stuff I want filling up my Twitter page. Nor does @marywallace
oh great, followed by a ‘eugenicist’ named @podblanc. NOT.
This is where Robert Scoble‘s (@scobleizer) strategy of following everyone comes unstuck I reckon. Mainstream media doesn’t take ads for escort agencies or hit men. Nor should we, as “we media“. Unless of course, you are in the business of escorting or as a hit man: one should at least have some values in common, no?
EDIT: Robert Scoble noted in his comments (I questioned his auto-follow on Scobleizer blog post) that he has blocked podblanc. Just wanted you guys to know.
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I definitely agree with your stance on this Laurel in not allowing part of the network that spreads blatantly offensive material and poisonous ideas to connect to your profile.
By making ideas like these harder to propagate through the network and “infect” other minds you are practicing an act of social media democracy, casting a vote towards what you think is an acceptable idea.
I’m not sure I agree with Robert Scoble’s strategy either and I’m still trying to figure out what works for me with Twitter… initially I was just adding willy nilly but now I need to find some common ground or follow people I feel I can learn from. This one is a pretty clear cut case of when to block someone, that’s for sure!
I think the challenge with social media is that we are now responsible for the media we create AND consume. No more blaming the poor quality of coverage of an event – it’s up to us to source better quality ourselves.
BTW, I edited the main post, Robert Scoble did block podblanc – not that I’m looking for scapegoats. We will all one day have people in our walled gardens/gated communities that we SO don’t want there. *rolls eyes*
You bring up an interesting point, and I think that it even goes a step further.
We are now creator, consumer, censor and distributor. I don’t really agree with censorship normally, but do I want to be responsible for publishing and helping to distribute garbage like this?
When traditional media does our filtering for us, it’s censorship. When we do it ourself, its just filtering.
Or to put it more simply. When you make your own choices, you are filtering the content you want to see, when you do it for someone else (forcing it, etc) it’s censorship.
I have no problem with filtering. People can follow or not follow Podblanc as they choose. I have no say on it. That’s the beauty of the ‘net. And there will be some ppl who follow simply for objective interest. To see what they are up to, rather than subscribing to their beliefs. Just not me. 🙂
g’day Laurel, Steve,
I think the censorship word is the wrong word – censorship is when YOU stop ME from seing something. Filtering, which is what laurel is talking about, is when I stop ME from seeing something.
There is a time and place for both (kids, crap like this P******C guy). There are also occassion when you shouldn’t filter. A good example of that is when I’m flaming someone about something, ignoring everything they say in return, including their message that ist’s noting to do with them (which I have unfortunately done).
You are right, of course. It just seems so strange that it needs to be said. Follow everyone, lead noone, I would have thought. Do the rules of normal human interaction not apply in this world?