Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

The perils of twittering

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So I’ve been getting into the Twitter lately, and I have to say it’s pretty fun.  There’s something satisfying about pushing out 140-character tidbits of information, links, argument, and snark, without feeling like you have to flesh everything out the way we normally would for a blog post.

But it’s risky too.  Particularly when you let snark get the better of you, as Phoenix reporter and inveterate twitterer David Bernstein did earlier today during the Gov debate at Emerson College.  Apparently (I didn’t get to watch it), a 26-year-old woman asked a question about how she was supposed to afford health insurance.  Here’s how it went after that:

dbernstein

Anyone kinda wish someone had said to the student w/ the health care Q: “You’re 26 – get a f@%#ing job”? #emersonforum #magov

Anaridis

@dbernstein I do have a job, I have two actually, and I’m a full time graduate student. If you were listening, you would have caught that.

Bernstein, to his credit, owned up to his gaffe, and in the process broadcast Anaridis’s response far and wide (he has nearly 2,000 followers; Anaridis has fewer than 10).

dbernstein

Uh-oh, busted. I take it all back, I was just feeling grumpy! RT @Anaridis: @dbernstein I do have a job, I have two actually #emersonforum

Twitterer Mike Deehan hilariously piled on.

deehan

@dbernstein pwned.

So there you have it – an amusing, if somewhat embarrassing, contretemps.  I say this as a caution to myself, as well as other twitterers out there: just as with good blogging, good twittering generally consists of knowing what you’re talking about and having the facts on your side.  It just does so in a lot less space.

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Comments

  1. a “hybrid system” to use his phrase, that cannot control health care costs, provide real universal coverage, or improve quality.  It is a hybrid of public money and regulations to support private profit, lacking in effective public control or input.  Thus this young woman’s predicament.

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    p>I do not care much if he is willing to say “well single payer would be better if you had to start from scratch” or  “a progressive tax system makes more sense overall”.  No amount of rhetoric or values talk can cover up the fact that he is unlikely to actually advocate for these things, and is more than likely to act as an obstacle from within.

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    p>Its unfortunate that no matter who is elected such basic and commonsense reforms will have to be fought for practically tooth and nail against the political class.

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    p>

    • I write this not to challenge at least one of your basic points — I agree the status quo in Massachusetts is miserable, like many aspects of the whole US health care system — but simply to ask if it is a relative success story. I suspect the latter is entirely possible, although that is as much of an indictment of the whole for-profit mess here as anything else.

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      p>At least Charlie Baker pulled $1.6 million a year out of this system for himself. I suppose that is something, at least for him.

  3. You cannot both be a ‘serious’ journalist or political professional, and be a snark-meister online. I hate to say this, but for my younger friends and bloggers out there, or my newer ones… you’ve got to pick one.

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    p>Yeah, it’s possible to transition from one to the other (a la Al Franken), but it takes time and has roadblocks.

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    p>I’ve been guilty of breaking this advice far more than I would like, but often the best thing to say, even if you think of something incredibly witty or funny, is nothing. It’s a buzz-kill, but something I’ve run into on more than one occasion (hence my default signature). I miss the day when I used to aim for funny blog posts, but it’s a necessary sacrifice if you want to be taken seriously.

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    p>Bernstein should have stuck to just the facts in his twitter post, only ever getting any snarkier in lengthier pieces, where you’ll force yourself to be more careful, have an editor and be able to place anything he written into deep context. Had he followed that guideline, there’d be no egg in his face (because he probably wouldn’t have ever written anything like what he did).  

  4. I thought it was strange that Cahill and Baker used this question to call for fewer mandated benefits.  College plans are allowed to be skimpier under the law, and if you enroll in one you comply with the state’s coverage mandate.  Because of their limited benefits, student health plans tend to be low-cost.  

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    p>Anaridis said that the student plan costs too much, but it has to be cheaper than the commercial plans that are generally available. I wonder.

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