Read on Twitter
*There is no such thing as bad news*
A Thread for beginners on twitter about using twitter to campaign for #remain
so - first point. On twitter there is no such thing as bad news. Every time something makes you react, twitter record that fact - and use it .........
1/30
A Thread for beginners on twitter about using twitter to campaign for #remain
so - first point. On twitter there is no such thing as bad news. Every time something makes you react, twitter record that fact - and use it .........
1/30
to make twitter more interesting. That is what twitter cares about.
So when you:
Like
retweet
Quote Tweet
click to expand a picture or article to read
or vote in a poll
You are telling twitter that you are interested in THAT tweet - and they will act on it
2/n
So when you:
Like
retweet
Quote Tweet
click to expand a picture or article to read
or vote in a poll
You are telling twitter that you are interested in THAT tweet - and they will act on it
2/n
Nothing succeeds like success ....
..they will act by sending you - and other people with a similar profile, more of these things that *interest you* for you to look at
3/n
..they will act by sending you - and other people with a similar profile, more of these things that *interest you* for you to look at
3/n
So, in turn, the subject of that tweet, and the author, will get promoted. Their ideas and all their content will move up the charts.
4/n
4/n
They freely admit that they do this - read their own write ups about what they do. They are there to try to please you - and they monitor what does. They do not regard pearl-clutching as authentic.
5/n
5/n
The devil has all the best songs
- according to the founder of the Salvation Army - and we are faced with a similar dilemma. The #leave groups appear to have all the best stories. The ones that grab attention, trend, get seen and talked about, we need to understand why -
6/n
- according to the founder of the Salvation Army - and we are faced with a similar dilemma. The #leave groups appear to have all the best stories. The ones that grab attention, trend, get seen and talked about, we need to understand why -
6/n
and why it is important that we do not simply pick up these stories, as they are pushed at us, and say
NO - STOP - BAD - RUBBISH - HOW VILE!
At its most simple, this is bc what you write in reply doesn't matter one bit...
What matters is the FACT that you interacted.
7/n
NO - STOP - BAD - RUBBISH - HOW VILE!
At its most simple, this is bc what you write in reply doesn't matter one bit...
What matters is the FACT that you interacted.
7/n
And the result of you interacting - is as reported earlier in the thread. You promote their views, and the poison spreads.
They know this, and they use techniques to MAKE this happen, bc it works.
8/n
They know this, and they use techniques to MAKE this happen, bc it works.
8/n
Throw a dead cat on the table....
Heard of this one? It is a technique to bury bad news. It is a strategy put forward by Lynton Crosby - here is an article about it.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jan/20/lynton-crosby-and-dead-cat-won-election-conservatives-labour-intellectually-lazy
9/n
Heard of this one? It is a technique to bury bad news. It is a strategy put forward by Lynton Crosby - here is an article about it.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jan/20/lynton-crosby-and-dead-cat-won-election-conservatives-labour-intellectually-lazy
9/n
It was the reason behind Mr Johnson's remarks about making model buses out of cardboard, and it worked. Whilst serious #brexit raged around us, twitter made jokes for 48 hours about cardboard buses.
bc right now - Lynton Crosby is working for BJ...
10/n
bc right now - Lynton Crosby is working for BJ...
10/n
A bit of a curate's egg .....
So Ok then, what should we be talking about, if we are not yelling at fascists, brexiters and Corbynistas? Surely sometimes some of them show movement - or say something a bit sensible? Should we *notice* that?
need to be careful here too
11/n
So Ok then, what should we be talking about, if we are not yelling at fascists, brexiters and Corbynistas? Surely sometimes some of them show movement - or say something a bit sensible? Should we *notice* that?
need to be careful here too
11/n
bc - like the famous Punch cartoon - a user who is *sometimes* saying good stuff and sometimes bad stuff - is like an egg that is only partly bad.
Twitter will take your upvote as being for them /their content in general.
and their bad stuff will get upvoted too
12/n
Twitter will take your upvote as being for them /their content in general.
and their bad stuff will get upvoted too
12/n
The curate upvoted the whole of the egg...
So if you don't like *part* of their message - think carefully about promoting another part of it...
13/n
So if you don't like *part* of their message - think carefully about promoting another part of it...
13/n
There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is NOT being talked about. (Oscar Wilde)
And Oscar had it bang on the nail. Much as we instinctively want to scream back - or register for our friends that we are outraged, the MOST sensible thing to do...
14/n
And Oscar had it bang on the nail. Much as we instinctively want to scream back - or register for our friends that we are outraged, the MOST sensible thing to do...
14/n
is mute, blank, ignore, and do none of the things that register that we even noticed it. (see tweet #2)
Walk on by...........
Silence is golden...........
15/n
Walk on by...........
Silence is golden...........
15/n
But surely we sometimes have to say that these are bad hombres? (and women some of them too)
yes - we do - but that bit comes further down the thread....
16/n
yes - we do - but that bit comes further down the thread....
16/n
Chalk and cheese.....
The most basic thing about #leave v #remain is that they are very different. The reasons that people wish to stay, are not the opposite of the reasons others wish to leave.
For example, few #leavers wish to end 75 years of peace.
17/n
The most basic thing about #leave v #remain is that they are very different. The reasons that people wish to stay, are not the opposite of the reasons others wish to leave.
For example, few #leavers wish to end 75 years of peace.
17/n
by the same token, proving that various people are bad people, or have done criminal or irresponsible things, or gamed a referendum, does not, of itself, make a case for the EU being a "Good Thing"
It simply shows that those people are a "Bad Thing"
(ht 1066 and all that)
18/n
It simply shows that those people are a "Bad Thing"
(ht 1066 and all that)
18/n
Choose your battles wisely..
So if we merely spend all our time refuted and negating what the #leave groups say, we do 2 things that harm us
1) we promote their voice & what they have to say
2) We do not address our own issues, which are different, and put OUR case across.
19/n
So if we merely spend all our time refuted and negating what the #leave groups say, we do 2 things that harm us
1) we promote their voice & what they have to say
2) We do not address our own issues, which are different, and put OUR case across.
19/n
Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again
After 2016 referendum many wise marketing people pointed out the #remain campaign was both reactive (as above) & lacked emotional input.
So as many "start all over again" - we should try to do so more wisely
20/n
After 2016 referendum many wise marketing people pointed out the #remain campaign was both reactive (as above) & lacked emotional input.
So as many "start all over again" - we should try to do so more wisely
20/n
Keep your friends close....
As amateurs, perhaps is easiest to remember some basics.
Think about who is basically on our side - and who is not.
Gratuitously insulting someone bc they annoy us in other ways, isn't helpful
Most of all - what do we ACTUALLY WANT TO SAY?
21/n
As amateurs, perhaps is easiest to remember some basics.
Think about who is basically on our side - and who is not.
Gratuitously insulting someone bc they annoy us in other ways, isn't helpful
Most of all - what do we ACTUALLY WANT TO SAY?
21/n
This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship...
And then there are those annoying people who voted #leave and are now #remainerNow - should we be angry with them?
Well I would argue, not in public - bc, most of all, we do need to change minds
22/n
And then there are those annoying people who voted #leave and are now #remainerNow - should we be angry with them?
Well I would argue, not in public - bc, most of all, we do need to change minds
22/n
and we will not change minds if we abuse people who are brave enough to stand up and be counted as having changed theirs.
nor if we talk about people as if they can't read English - or abuse them generally (ie call them stupid)
23/n
nor if we talk about people as if they can't read English - or abuse them generally (ie call them stupid)
23/n
All of Twitter's a stage, and all the men and women merely players...
Yep - there are no private conversations on twitter, anyone can read what you say - and some surprising people will do so. Keep this in mind. Many of the people reading it will support the "other side"
24/n
Yep - there are no private conversations on twitter, anyone can read what you say - and some surprising people will do so. Keep this in mind. Many of the people reading it will support the "other side"
24/n
Politics is show business for ugly people...
And it doesn't get much uglier than this, at times.
"we should be struggling together" means alongside each other.....
We must indeed remember who the real enemy is..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=kHHitXxH-us
25/n
And it doesn't get much uglier than this, at times.
"we should be struggling together" means alongside each other.....
We must indeed remember who the real enemy is..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=kHHitXxH-us
25/n
Ok - back to the bad hombres - how can we deal with them - without handing them both the stage and the microphone?
Things we can do to cut down on the applause that we accidentally give them..
26/n
Things we can do to cut down on the applause that we accidentally give them..
26/n
... stop giving them "click through". Screen dump the tweet and use the picture - it is a dead link then, Don't use their real or common nicknames, as they get credit for that - and don't - above all @... .them into threads.
You are stopping the "own goals" by this alone 27/n
You are stopping the "own goals" by this alone 27/n
In the EU elections - the top 10 tweets were sent by the Brexit Party - and these were the top 10 in large part bc they were shared and discussed by the #remain side. That is you.
Remain is the bigger group on twitter, and we are nearly all real people,....
28/n
Remain is the bigger group on twitter, and we are nearly all real people,....
28/n
Where much of the retweeting on the #leave side (apart from that done by us) was done by bots and trolls. Learn to spot them, then block them - cut off their oxygen. They need your followers to get their message out.
29/n
29/n
I will repeat that. 
#remain is the bigger group on twitter and we are real people. Let's turn that into something very powerful - and put it to use, fighting the right battles - with the people we need to beat to win.
#stopbrexit #revokeA50
30/30 Ends
#remain is the bigger group on twitter and we are real people. Let's turn that into something very powerful - and put it to use, fighting the right battles - with the people we need to beat to win.
#stopbrexit #revokeA50
30/30 Ends
OK - Thanks for the support anyone want to read some more? This is an excellent thread to take it to the next level - especially with regard to bots and trolls. I am linking to mid-thread - as this is the killer point. Keep it in mind. 
https://twitter.com/mikefarb1/status/1149236951121375233
#revokeA50
https://twitter.com/mikefarb1/status/1149236951121375233
#revokeA50
