digg

Join DiggAbout

Donkeys and Elephants and Delegates,oh my!
Check out the most popular Elections 2008 content on Digg.

How Twitter Can Change the Presidential Debate

npr.org — Hosted by the Personal Democracy Forum, the first ever Twittered Presidential debate is changing the face of modern politics. Working within Twitter's 140-character limit for individual tweets, the Obama and McCain Surrogates will be forced to narrow their positions and provide concise policy explanations... imagine that!

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • DistractedLib, on 06/22/2008, -20/+7Web 2.0 democracy- how cool!
    • CyphreDias, on 06/23/2008, -9/+2Web 2.0 is very, very bad. It is about removing net-nutrality. Dugg down for being ignorant!
      • kraetos, on 06/23/2008, -0/+4Do you even know what web 2.0 is?
      • quantumparticle, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1You are thinking about Internet 2, not web 2.0. If you think web2.0 services are bad then why are you using digg?
  • pingpants, on 06/22/2008, -13/+4As if we all don't already know who would win a Tweet battle. AYBABTOBAMA.
    • CyphreDias, on 06/23/2008, -6/+6Ron Paul would win.
      • homah, on 06/24/2008, -0/+2...reminds me of the time a Fox News reporter asked him to summarize a position in three words or less.
  • jbacon, on 06/23/2008, -18/+10Only McCain and Obama? Are they scared of opening up to allow Barr, Nader, and Baldwin?
    • Andrwmorph, on 06/23/2008, -8/+5Only candidates with a chance of winning are allowed.
      • Xihix, on 06/23/2008, -6/+6Comments like that really make me hate the fact that our country has this ***** two party system.
        • cadmiumpaint, on 06/23/2008, -3/+2i guess you aren't a fan of living in reality.
        • Andrwmorph, on 06/23/2008, -3/+2I hate the two party system as well, but I'm a realist.
      • dezholling, on 06/23/2008, -0/+0This is why we need an instant run-off system. Woo guilt-free voting for who we ACTUALLY like.
    • cadmiumpaint, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1Those are just niche candidates with a miniscule amount of supporters.
  • slifty, on 06/23/2008, -1/+93Cause if there is one thing I've learned, it's that complex policies can and should be summarized in 140 letters or less!
    • TheInformer, on 06/23/2008, -3/+7I thought twitters were exclusively a female thing?
    • vidar808, on 06/24/2008, -2/+1It looks like it is turning our politics gay.
    • vidar808, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2Its seems its turning digg gay as well.
  • rivalius13, on 06/23/2008, -6/+69We nd chng in wshntn, chng we cn belv in.
  • tfletch, on 06/23/2008, -3/+49I'm sorry but this is ***** and unrealistic today
    • goofygarber, on 06/23/2008, -2/+7No, it can't change the presidential debate because twitter is for hipsters and retards, not serious discussion.
  • hollering, on 06/23/2008, -2/+14I'm skeptical -- I think it's a great way to avoid the 15-minute answer that doesn't address the question. BUT... my concern is that the candidates won't be able to explain their positions well enough to the people, resulting in shallow answers that only sound good from 30,000 miles. I think we have enough sound-bite politics as it is!
    • toekneebullard, on 06/23/2008, -0/+3No the best way to avoid the non-answer is to call them on it. When they dance around the question, the moderator needs to say, "OK, now that you've wasted all that time, you mind answering the question?"

      We need to change who;s running these things. I can't remember the last time I saw a real debate.
  • h4mx0r, on 06/23/2008, -6/+1Hey, now a reason for me to go back onto twitter!

    Don't get me wrong, twitter looks like a fun waste of time, but it seems like the people who use it the most are those who have the mobile phones or devices that let them update anywhere. Still, nice to see all forms of communication being utilized heh
    • ColorBlind, on 06/23/2008, -1/+1You just text a twitter assigned number to update it. It does not require any special plan/phone/web browser.

      just an fyi
  • bubut, on 06/23/2008, -7/+84This just in: Twitter is extremely overrated.
    • TheInformer, on 06/23/2008, -0/+4BREAKING NEWS
      You're correct :^)
    • brutimus, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1I totally agree with you as I never imagined it being around for this long. But I am intrigued with the various uses people are getting out of it. The one thing I've found it really useful for is at work we have a remote developer and I find that it's nice for us to kinda keep track of what each other is doing without requiring an IM convo or email, etc.
      • sundancekid503, on 06/23/2008, -0/+3@brutimus: Dropping a deuce - brb
      • Angostura, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1And you're always truthful, right?
    • Bandito, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1I think you mean:

      "Twitter is Over Capacity"
    • Gutterpunk, on 06/23/2008, -0/+3Follow Up Story : Will SMS change The Presidential Debate, they have a 160 character limit after all!
    • travbrack, on 06/23/2008, -1/+1Facebook has status updates, which can be changed on a mobile phone as well.
      /thread
  • AllYourBase3, on 06/23/2008, -6/+51Twitter is the biggest ***** ever. I can't believe it is even half as popular as it is.
  • DemonicPrime, on 06/23/2008, -1/+3you mean a tactical terrorist communiqué?
  • nimbleprune, on 06/23/2008, -8/+3all I need to know is that obama plans to cut funding to NASA...he most definitely does not have my vote.
    • SeaweedWater, on 06/23/2008, -4/+3Yea, because NASA is our biggest concern right now?..

      I think an electric car will make Earth a little better than ice on Mars right now.
      • DivisibleByZero, on 06/23/2008, -0/+8You'll be singing a different tune when the giant ants arrive.
      • nimbleprune, on 06/23/2008, -0/+2Considering the fact that we wont have a shuttle program as of 2010 and have no plans of replacing them until 2015. Then add on obamas budget cuts pushing the replacement even farther back to 2020 it should be a huge concern. For someone so "progressive" as obama that seems fairly close minded and backwards thinking to me. Obama talks of unifying this country. What better thing to unify behind then the the exploration of space and the betterment of man kind?
      • chrispchiken, on 06/23/2008, -0/+3You're right. And who made the first electric car capable of driving on the Moon? And who engineers batteries that can sustain tremendous G forces and temperature differences and still perform? Cutting funding to NASA is like cutting money from the national research and development.
        • SeaweedWater, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1Good point, but IMO, this is a non-issue.

          I'm in the military, and getting out of Iraq is my main concern right now. Plus, Obama is anti-giant ants.
      • jgzman, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1There are LOTS of things that could use some funding cuts before NASA. I'm looking at YOU, military branch of the government.
  • SeaweedWater, on 06/23/2008, -0/+9This is gonna be pretty dumb..
  • PapaZit, on 06/23/2008, -3/+22Twitter is trivial. Let's get real.
  • SaperKain, on 06/23/2008, -9/+8Can we all stop pretending now that this presidential election is going to be a battle of ideas. Republicans are on the wrong side on just about every issue so they will not argue why they are correct. Instead they will try very hard to scare voters into voting for them. Happens every time.
    • kosmoX, on 06/23/2008, -3/+8Holy ***** your life must be easy with everything so black and white.
    • DivisibleByZero, on 06/23/2008, -3/+7"The wrong side" of every issue. This isn't Captain Planet, where the world is populated by villians who pollute the environment simply for the sake of doing evil things.

      Republican politicians and voters actually disagree with you. I know it's shocking.
      • TheInformer, on 06/23/2008, -1/+3Hmmm nice analogy! I guess if Obama supporters can use "McSame", McCain supporters can use "Captain Planeteers".
    • TheInformer, on 06/23/2008, -3/+6Republicans scare voters before an election, while Democrats scare voters after an election.
  • toastfox, on 06/23/2008, -0/+8No. Just no.
  • username484767, on 06/23/2008, -4/+5I will never twitter, I have digg to absorb into, I'm good.
  • roadtripper, on 06/23/2008, -1/+11Twitter can barely handle the traffic of an average Tuesday. I think it's a bit ambitious of them to assume they could handle this amount of traffic.
    • rald84, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1what is special about tuesday
    • roadtripper, on 06/23/2008, -0/+4Nothing . . . which was the point of the post.

      The site is down during the most random times so I can't imagine how they'll stay up/running during a debate.
  • HotSaucePanCake, on 06/23/2008, -1/+6I don't Twitter, i have to much crap already to do
  • beatmix01, on 06/23/2008, -1/+11wont happen, twitter will just go down
  • Scopitone, on 06/23/2008, -1/+46Q - "How Twitter Can Change the Presidential Debate"

    A- Not ***** remotely.
  • praveenmarkandu, on 06/23/2008, -2/+4it could.... if it ever worked properly
  • mychaleg, on 06/23/2008, -6/+14if you're on Twittr and old enough to vote, it's time to rethink your life.
  • themostbrian, on 06/23/2008, -0/+7Why is it political folly to be the smartest person in the room? Why must we continue pandering to the lowest common denominator through perpetually "simplifying" policy explanations and demonizing complexity and nuance?

    I am all for expanding the reach of this democracy through the internet, but if that means reducing intricate issues to savvy political punch lines, then we have gone too far. We need a great debate about issues, ideas and ideology.. This will simply not get us there and, in fact, I fear that it will take us in the opposite direction.
    • jarrodmartin, on 06/23/2008, -0/+0themostbrian, I agree to some extent, but look around. We're already there. How many of us really want to sit around and listen to complex explanations...about anything, much less political policies?

      So, where do you start a revolution to bring us all back? No successful revolution starts from the "top side." It starts by going to the lowest common denominator and building from there. Maybe going to Twitter is a way to start the conversation and gain an audience to go further elsewhere.
      • locojones, on 06/24/2008, -1/+1Um, I want to hear complex policy explanations and thorough detailed plans about what they will do as President. But maybe that's because I actually went to school and read every week. I'm embarrassed to say that "Idiocracy" is becoming more and more of a documentary every day...
  • Drakk0n, on 06/23/2008, -0/+15Since were talking about insane debate formats - I prefer a mexican gong show style presidential debate - a candidate begins to ramble the audience can boo - a guy in a black hood and trumpet comes out and begins to mock him - a buncha pretty girls in bikinis - it would be the best format and would accomplish pretty much the same thing right?
    • jaythree9, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1I would support something like this. Let's do the whole thing on a Wednesday evening at the Apollo Theater.
  • kuwan, on 06/23/2008, -5/+11You people think you're more important than you actually are.
    • mt4055, on 06/23/2008, -0/+2Who is it you are referring to? People who post on Digg?
      Look in the mirror.
      As for me, I am more important than I actually am.
  • angusm, on 06/23/2008, -0/+14140 characters doesn't favor well-thought out responses to difficult questions. It favors "They hate us because we're free" oversimplifications. Do we really want another soundbite presidency?
    • toekneebullard, on 06/23/2008, -0/+2"Change."
    • mt4055, on 06/23/2008, -0/+2I'm sorry, you will have to rephrase that. It was 167 characters, not counting spaces.
  • DivisibleByZero, on 06/23/2008, -2/+2There's too much of a pissing contest about which candidate has the most twitter followers. Wouldn't it make more sense to follow both so that you'll actually have the data you need to form an opinion?
    • TheInformer, on 06/23/2008, -0/+2I agree it would. Sadly, as a result of today's education system, more and more people can't follow a thread or conversation once it gets past a certain length, say the average length of an episode of American Idol.
  • duckyinc, on 06/23/2008, -1/+1How about this, first we make digg change politics before we get onto some obscure site where people post their own details
  • EruditeGoof, on 06/23/2008, -2/+5Obama's surrogate wouldn't need 140 characters to explain his policy positions. "Change" is only six.
  • chubbybubba, on 06/23/2008, -1/+1Twitter is way over-rated. We need a new twitter that isn't down half the time.
  • TheInformer, on 06/23/2008, -1/+1How hard will it be for the Obama supporters to type MCSAME?
  • bxblox, on 06/23/2008, -1/+6Twitter aint changing *****.
  • asyluman, on 06/23/2008, -3/+4Wow, nobody gives a *****! Twitter is for fags! It's the self-obsessiveness of blogs without the ability to convey meaningful and complex information!
  • Andrwmorph, on 06/23/2008, -2/+6I'm sorry but Twitter is not going to make a difference in anything. Ever.
  • jfreeman, on 06/23/2008, -0/+4Hasn't meaningful debate been stifled enough in this country? Do we really need, or want, more soundbites?
  • babar77, on 06/23/2008, -0/+3Twitter only gives the MSM what they want: the 10 second sound bite. Look where that has taken our political discourse.

    Sorry, but I prefer to base my vote on more than a bunch of 140 character statements.
  • Rizoh, on 06/23/2008, -0/+5Wait, you hear that? Sounds like someone's pissing into an ocean.
  • leprix, on 06/23/2008, -3/+1We all know that McCain can't use a computer, let alone twitter.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/11/mccain-ad ...
    • TheInformer, on 06/23/2008, -0/+2Using the Huffington Post for information is like using Phillip-Morris for your smoking information.
  • nzhamstar, on 06/23/2008, -0/+2Twitter, track yourself and your actions to save the government money on spy technologies.
  • Spoomeister, on 06/23/2008, -0/+9When I read the phrase "twitter can change the presidential debate", I think I actually heard some extra brain cells dying. Or maybe that was the dying squeak of the last vestiges of any dignity associated with the American political process.

    I now have the start of my "glad George Carlin didn't live to see this" list.
  • SyrusBass, on 06/23/2008, -0/+0it might be harder for both sides to pack in ***** that way. but its unrealistic. lets find another way to cut out their ***** answers and cut to the point.
  • salinemist, on 06/23/2008, -1/+3What is Twitter?
    • supermanky, on 06/23/2008, -1/+3Twitter is another way for anybody to post self-congratulatory sound bites about their mundane lives.
  • Beto0707, on 06/23/2008, -1/+1They only have 30 seconds as is. They need more time for explanations, not less.
  • Duositex, on 06/23/2008, -0/+4Why is it that every time something becomes remotely popular people begin to write articles on the topic in a vain attempt to relate them to every other topic every conceived?

    Because it boosts ad revenue! Newspapers, Magazines, Television, Books, the Radio, and every other medium have been doing this for decades. Lame lame lame profiteering.

    Twitter is a useless fad for self-important bored people. If I hear about anyone tweeting anything again any time soon I'm gonna tweet my pants.

    here's a few more article topics destined to make some cash:

    - How Twitter Could've Changed the Outcome of WWII
    - Twitter Saved My Leg: A Would-be Amputee Espouses the Virtues of the Most Useful Web 2.0 Every Created
    - Toilet Tweets: How Twitter Is Used to Diagnose Colon Cancer and Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    - John Twitter: Did Twitter Distract Emergency Responders who Could've Saved John Ritter's life?
    - The Top 10 Most Hilarious Tweets of 2008
    - My Car Runs on Twitter
    - 7w1773r - A Hacker's Guide
    - John McCain's Twitter Trouble - How one old presidential candidate loses pace with the speed of the internet.

    Etc. etc. etc. etc. BOOOOOO!!!
    • RegalBegal, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1My car DOES run on twitter though!!!111

      "Dear Twitterverse, I am going to masturbate in sopping wet diapers now ^ _ ^"
  • yosserhughes, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1Who the heck came up with such an insipid name? Twitter, FFS.

    "I say Gervais I just sent you a tweet"

    "Oh, how adorable, I'll tweet you right back"
  • funk13, on 06/23/2008, -0/+2dugg for npr, buried for twitter...

    ...i'm not really sure where i stand.
  • skribble, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1How is this good for the presidential debates? The biggest issue today is everybody wants there info in a 30 sec (or less) sound-bite. As a result you get a lot of meaningless market speak and pandering. Not thoughtful discourse. This sound like the wrong direction needed not the right direction. Now you don't have to explain your view at all (and how could you in 140 characters?.) Blah!
  • jmoh, on 06/23/2008, -0/+2I heard about this on NPR the other day, needless to say it didn't seem that convincing it would make any difference whatsoever, and the founder of this didn't seem too clear either.
  • freezeout, on 06/23/2008, -1/+4so some 2.0 web service used only by a handful of latte sipping hipsters will change the presidential debate

    riiiiight..
    • RegalBegal, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1Yeah man. It's so revolutionary!!! Get on board!!!1111 eleven

      *thumbs down*

      Just another story on Digg to make Twittiots feel like they are worth more than the bags of flesh they appear to be. Have fun

      "Dear Twitterverse, I just took a massive, eye popping *****"
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 63 of 63 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.