It is that social media and the internet encourage knee-jerk responses. The speed with which we can access information on Facebook and Twitter, not to mention newsfeeds in email inboxes, bombards us in ways even cable TV news never did. It is so convenient to favorite, share and even fill in the little blank box and hit post. Maybe it gives us a false sense of knowledge and involvement. In seven plus years of blogging about Hillary Clinton and sharing the posts on social media I have noticed a trend – or at least what might be a trend. People don’t read.
Dealing with paper-and-ink press presented a challenge. We used to have to buy several morning papers and physically turn the pages and go through them to find the news stories we sought. It was labor-intensive and time-consuming. Today, it is easy to join Facebook groups, follow media on Twitter, and set up newsfeeds on particular topics from news sources. The work is done for us. We do not need to do the searching. Yahoo, Google, the New York Times, and the social webs do that work for us. Electronic subscriptions have taken the challenge away, and we have feeds providing the information.
I have subscriptions like that, and some time ago had to train myself not to react to headers that caught my attention for good or ill. The devil – or angel – might be in the details – and the effort, once again, became more time-consuming than simply skimming the headlines.
As a blogger and pretty active user of other social media, I have noticed that reactions in comment threads sometimes miss the mark – the point I was making in the post. In cases like this I have responded by asking whether the person had actually read the post. Occasionally a truly sincere and honest person will admit not having done so and then reverse the original reaction. More often I get a doubling down accompanied by a variety of false accusations: I am a Republican (no registered Democrat my entire life); I am sexist (from one extreme to another); I am ignorant; I need to change my writing style (this from someone who later admitted never reading anything but headers). It goes on. Everything short of accusing me of being a witch.
So on the Sunday after Halloween I will admit that I spent Halloween night reading some of Hillary’s emails that were released on Friday, posted about a few exchanges that I found interesting, and deliberately lured innocent victims to respond with provocative headers that were bait as surely as Reese’s peanut butter cups might be in the hands of the wicked hag trying to lure innocent children into her oven. Yes, I did that. And some bit, but this was not meant as an exercise in “gotcha” blogging.
The archives here are filled with the words and work of Hillary Clinton. They are here to attest to her almost overwhelming qualifications as a leader. The blog is here as a place where people can come to find those words and that work. It is discouraging to try to work with people who steadfastly resist information. Sloganeering is fine for bumper stickers and Twitter hashtags, but I must admit frustration with those whose attention span does not extend beyond 140 characters. How can you be an informed voter when you cannot get through a moderate read?
I see Hillary’s campaign trying to address this population with tweets, memes, short videos and even GIFs. But I still feel frustration with the reactive nature of a lot of the support. There is a formula. How to get a reaction: use the words “emails,” “Benghazi,” “criminal + Clinton,” or “server.” That formula does not draw readers. It draws a reaction. It appears that many whose profile descriptions include the word “activist” engage less in action than in reaction.
The question is how to draw readers to her words. I do not know the answer, but I do know that I am not the only person frustrated that some people do not read. In fact they refuse to.
Still4Hill 
Still4hill I stand proudly and applaud you for all you do I know I don’t always say it but what you do is simply amazing I am in awww of the work you do because I know it’s hard tedious work and I know you do it because y ou truly believe and appreciate Madame Secretary not just as politician but as a human being so Ithank you Still4hill for all you do 🙂
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Thank you so much, Robyn. 🙂 What drives everything is Hillary. It is hard not to be dedicated to someone who is so dedicated to us.
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I want to associate myself with Robyn’s remarks, Still. You put so much time and effort into bringing us Hillary news. I appreciate it more than I can say. It’s much better to keep up with Hillary and her campaign here than than on corporate media. You rock, Still4hill!
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Thank you so much, Brassy! I deeply appreciate your loyalty.
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I was at the FL Dem Con this weekend and had a brash very young male sanders supporter festooned with buttons come to the Hillary booth and ask me a question. He asked in an arrogant voice with his obvious expectation there is no reasonable answer – Why HER???
I said if you have 12 hours I can answer you!
Yes, he wanted the Twitter response. My answer is her lifetime and mine.
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Btw, another woman at the booth heard my answer and laughed and then tried to answer the kid. I went to the other side of the table and sold things or signed up serious supporters. She had a conversation with the kid trying to pursuade him to no avail.
We had Halloween candy on the table and the Hillary volunteers each brought a bag to share. The sanders supporter said the Hillary supporters had to bribe people with candy to get people to come to the table.
The next 90 days better hurry. They are getting on my last nerve!
Let the voting begin!
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At least you used real candy. I used bait. But people aren’t even ashamed when they do this on social media.
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*Sigh* someone said make the blog entries shorter. Yes I’ll be sure to email that to Hillary re: her next speech or op-ed.
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Karen I thought you might like this. Phlippe Reines about the dinner in Annapolis when Hillary gave the Forrestal Lecture in April 2012.
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This is adorable. Charlotte now says, “Grandma”!
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Check out this video – and say awwwwwwwwwww.
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I tried to post that a while ago, but it didn’t go through. It’s adorable!
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I put it above the fold on the next post. It’s too cute to be below. PYW I don’t know why you go into moderation every time you post a link. It’s very weird and I can’t seem to do anything about it. I didn’t even get the notice to moderate either. It’s routine to go into moderation for two links but not for one. Anyway, thank you.
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Excellent post,S4H. I read the whole thing!! 🙂 Thanks so much for clarifying an issue that has been bothering me for a long time. I’m clear that I won’t do well in a 140 character world. ( I honestly think life is a bit more complex than that)How does one communicate w/those so wedded to the technology that they appear allergic to paper? I think you may have nailed it;headlines and candy. Hey,common ground!
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Thank you! I saw a report on the news tonight about babies and devices based on a small study among low income families in Philadelphia. 50% of the kids were using devices by age one. 80% by age two. I wondered how many of them will also be getting all of that important pre-literacy development they get from books. I thought of that pic Chelsea posted of her reading to Charlotte who already knows how books work. Before they ever read they know the front from the back. They know the direction in which print works. In English left to right and down the page and they know how to progress through the pages. It’s pretty amazing. My students who came from cultures where print works differently told me that beginning reading in English was most challenging because of orientation. Much more so than vocabulary and grammar (which is challenging enough).
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