12th
Nick, unless you and I have radically different notions about what defines conversation, I don’t understand how I managed to hit a nerve with such a modest (albeit sarcastic) observation.
My point is not that retweeting is useless (or useful either, for that matter). To my mind, that’s a simple, but separate, issue.
My point is also not that I like or dislike the way Twitter’s addressing the current state of the retweet. I haven’t so far been on the list of users exposed to the RT feature. I understand its proposed functionality, but I haven’t used it. Until I’ve used it, I don’t consider myself to be in a position to make functional or use case evaluations.
My point is that the dilemma of retweeting does not have to do with how it enables or stymies conversation. I have yet to experience, via retweeting, anything even vaguely resembling conversation as I define it. I’ve seen the effective relay of alerts (amber alerts, PSAs, and other calls to action), I’ve seen people quoted and paraphrased with some measure of respect, and I’ve seen the careless rape of both meaning and nuance.
Insofar as retweeting is problematic, I don’t see how a technical change can influence its value as a conversational medium. Conversation - at least as I value it - implies, and indeed requires, more thought than the act of retweeting can possibly reflect.
