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Hear ye, hear ye: In honor of Monday’s Pulitzer Prize ceremony, the twilight of media awards season, CJR is handing out the first (and likely last, let’s be honest) Most Exemplary Tweetstorm Awards.
We are of course cognizant that hating on Twitter threads has become its own sub-genre. The diehards of traditional blogging at the sites formerly known as Gawker Media have taken special offense at the new style stepping on their turf, running not one, but two, think pieces trashing it in December. It’s “like manspreading, but of digital space,” explained Gizmodo. “Fuck tweetstorms,” a Deadspin headline proclaimed.
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Such content stands on the shoulders of BuzzFeed writer and OG tweetstorm critic Charlie Warzel, who nailed the argument from which all other threading takedowns flow way back in 2014:
The fundamental criticism of the tweetstorm™ goes beyond the simple “get a blog” mentality. At its root, the tweetstorm™ feels like an abuse of power/influence or, at the very least, a slightly inconsiderate, oblivious way to engage with people who’ve chosen to follow you (granted, users can obviously choose to opt-out at any time with an unfollow). In earnestly embarking on a tweetstorm™, the tweetstormer™ is tacitly admitting that he or she has many important things to say and an infinite listener attention span in which to say them.
It is true that the form can be abused—here’s looking at you, game theory guy—jumping out of smartphone screens and stinging the nostrils. But allow me to propose a counter-take: Tweetstorms can be a good vehicle for journalism.
Thread:
For calming us all down: Rukmini Callimachi, for quickly explaining all the terrifying news alerts we get about the Islamic State or other terror groups.
1. A lot of confusion over letter left at scene of German bus attack claiming it was ISIS. That is *not* how ISIS normally claims attacks
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 12, 2017
For grabbing hold of the firehose: Sopan Deb, for collecting in one place what seems like every statement by then-candidate and now-President Donald Trump.
https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/845385084383498240
For telling the story behind the story: Ben Taub, for laying out the motivation and reporting process for his New Yorker feature on human trafficking
https://twitter.com/bentaub91/status/848875813462315008
For talking like a human: ProPublica, for pushing back on PR spin, elevating its journalism, and actually treating Twitter like a publishing platform—all in a conversational voice.
1/ So @seanspicer just called us a “left-wing blog.” Since we’re actually in the biz of facts, we figured we’d respond w/ a few…
— ProPublica (@propublica) April 3, 2017
For tapping the brakes: James Fallows, for injecting historical context into a medium that desperately needs it.
https://twitter.com/JamesFallows/status/851122734763397120
For peeking behind the curtain: Maggie Haberman, for spilling her notebook and adding value to her already excellent newspaper reports on the Trump administration.
A few final thoughts on the weekend/first few days. Trump had less than 4 hours sleep on Saturday, when he woke up and, at about 7 am., 1/
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 25, 2017
For illuminating, if occasionally odd, think pieces on politics and culture: Jeet Heer, for helping to popularize this form of writing and taking all the flak that came with it.
1. Someone should re-read Jean Baudrillard's "The Gulf War Did Not Take Place" in light of Trump's Syrian adventure.
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) April 8, 2017
Who did I miss? Tweet your thoughts to me @DavidUberti. I smell a storm coming.
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