Trusting Twitter

By: Ben Adler | Columbia Journalism Review

Few things feel more personal than my Twitter feed. I tweet without the meddling of an editor. I use it to broadcast my thoughts on minutiae such as what I had for lunch, whether I dressed appropriately for the weather that morning, and my delight or irritation at the latest episode of Boardwalk Empire. There’s a reason someone made a hilarious video about how the only person who cares about people’s Twitter accounts are their Jewish moms.

And so it is easy to understand the sense of violation felt by New York Times film critic A.O. Scott after one of his tweets was quoted in a full-page ad for Inside Llewyn Davis in his own newspaper. “You all keep fighting about Wolf of Wall St. and Am Hustle,” Scott tweeted. “I’m gonna listen to the Llewyn Davis album again. Fare thee well, my honeys.” The ad chopped off the first sentence, reproducing the second part.