Tag Archives: Twitter

Offence: When did everyone get so precious?

Offence by Tom NashDespite what many of my blog posts may suggest, I try to make the journeys where I climb up onto my pedestal and proclaim something bullshit rare. When I do, I try to make it worthwhile. I consider this piece one of those. The ease at which people take offence to things these days is fucking ridiculous. Feel free to disagree- that’s what the comment section is for.

Now don’t go thinking I’m one of those “it’s Political Correctness gone mad” pee-narses, this is nothing to do with deluded excuses for racist/xenophobic/racist and xenophobic language/behaviour/language and behaviour, as those of you who make to the end will see.

Now, cleverer people than me have explained why ‘Political Correctness’ is a good thing and they’ve done it in a much more entertaining and eloquent way than I ever could, so I’m going to let one of them do it for me now. If you think ‘Political Correctness’ has ‘gone mad’, watch this clip of comedian Stewart Lee and join the rest of us in a bit, OK?

No, my beef is with the sense of privilege that people are increasingly displaying. The sense of privilege that seems to believe that we are all unique and delicate porcelain dolls that must be handled carefully in case something upsets us. And god-forbid anyone or anything that does.
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Twitter: Who’s on your timeline

Twitter by Tom NashTwitter, like Facebook, is a social network but unlike Facebook, you are restricted to using 140 characters to inform people of things nobody else cares about. It also makes it easier to interact with wonderful creative types, such as the musicians you listen to and writers whose books, television programmes or films you enjoy, as anyone who thinks they’re anyone has an account.

A few months ago, the British press lauded Twitter for its part in spreading the word about protests in the so called ‘Arab Spring’ demonstrations across the middle-east and Africa. Then as recently as last week, it was denounced as a tool for disorder while parts of England burned, before Blackberry’s BBM became the latest social network to reach pariah status. But we’ve covered that already.

Not familiar with the tweet phenomenon? Here’s what you can expect:
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