Topic: Twitter Hashtag

A discussion on the mechanics of "blocking" users on Twitter explores whether it is more effective to announce the block with a hashtag or to do so silently. The hosts share their personal evolution in handling online trolls and algorithmic engagement.

The "J20" hashtag on social media is being used to organize a general strike and massive protests for Inauguration Day on January 20th. The hosts note the coincidence that J-20 is also the name of a Chinese stealth fighter and claim the movement is being pre-organized by Soros-funded groups.

State Department spokesperson Marie Harf announced a global social media campaign using the hashtag #UnitedForUkraine to mobilize international support. The campaign encourages users to tweet pictures to US officials to show commitment to the Ukrainian cause. The hosts characterize this effort as state-sponsored propaganda masquerading as "truth" on social media.

The New York Police Department's social media campaign using the hashtag #myNYPD resulted in a "bash tag" as users flooded the feed with images of alleged police brutality. While the department intended to show civic harmony, the public used the opportunity to catalog incidents of officers charging protesters and using force. The hosts speculate that the PR blunder may have originated from John Miller's office or a naive social media manager.

The hosts argue that tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter are actively trying to kill RSS feeds to maintain control over user data and advertising. They discuss the "RSS is dead" media narrative and how they have moved their own social networking primarily to email, using hashtags in subject lines to organize information.

President Barack Obama launched a social media campaign using the hashtag #My2k to pressure Congress regarding the fiscal cliff and middle-class tax cuts. The branding is criticized for its phonetic similarity to the Y2K computer glitch, which is characterized here as a historical hoax or scam. The campaign aims to highlight the $2,000 tax increase families might face, but the choice of terminology is mocked as poor messaging by the Curry-Dvorak Consulting Group.

Curry highlights a comment made by Barack Obama in Iowa where he compared the Republican agenda to a "rerun" on "black and white TV." Curry jokingly labels the comment racist. The hosts also discuss the Republican National Committee purchasing promoted hashtags on Twitter to manipulate trending topics.

Twitter's management of the #RNC2012 hashtag is scrutinized for appearing vetted and monitored to suppress negative sentiment. The platform is accused of selling hashtags to political parties, resulting in a curated experience that lacks authentic public discourse. The prevalence of political bots and paid influencers is noted as a factor in the degradation of social media communication.

Twitter users have dubbed a new trending bar in the mobile app the "Dick Bar," named after CEO Dick Costolo. The feature, which displays promoted tweets and trending topics like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, has been widely criticized by users as intrusive advertising. The hosts note the version number of the update is 3.3.

The discussion shifts to the evolution of Twitter from a social platform to a critical news-gathering tool. Using tools like Twitterfall and hashtag tracking, real-time data points from protests in London are analyzed, contrasting this raw data with repetitive mainstream media helicopter shots. The hosts argue that true citizen journalism is a new system of data points rather than the old newspaper model of writing stories.

The focus shifts to social media tools, specifically the use of TweetDeck and the Twitter API. Features such as Boolean logic searches, tag clouds from TwitScoop, and the Adobe Air platform are detailed. The "noagenda" hashtag is established as the primary way for listeners to communicate with the program.