Shark Sketch
It started late last night where I observed several Twitter comments about the RT practice, one which I largely have not used in my Twittering practices. I posted first:
Am I supposed to us the RT function? Is it my way of giving a shout out? What is its purpose? Does it provide points? Extend networks? What?
Followed shortly by:
Sorry, my bad. I forgot. RT saves puppies and kittens from sharks.
This was subsequently RTed out of Simon’s ironic funny bone:
simonFerrari RT @caseyodonnell Sorry, my bad. I forgot. RT saves puppies and kittens from sharks.
This seemed to catch Ian’s fancy:
ibogost @caseyodonnell RT is short for “retaliate.” It’s used to destroy the spirit of the users you RT. Liberal use is encouraged.
To which I posed:
@ibogost Ooooh… I prefer that approach. Why didn’t they use BR or something for “berate”? Can one invent new shorthands simply from use?
His response thusly sent me down one rabbit hole:
ibogost @caseyodonnell Superb. BR =berate; IG =paradoxically ignore; FU =express contempt; DT =dote upon; $R =affirm inaccessibility of the Real
Darius managed to further solidify my desire to drink the kool-aid:
tinysubversions @caseyodonnell Actually, all the Twitter conventions, including @ and # signs, were invented through use. Then Twitter supported them.
And later Christine added:
naptimewriting @caseyodonnell silly, RT saves puppies and kittens from heartworm, not sharks. Students can submit plagiarized papers if they begin with RT.
To what end do I relate this Twitter story? Well, for one, I’ve drawn a shark Continue reading »