Posted on 04/23/2009 2:34:23 PM PDT by GoldStandard
Meghan McCain says we need to take back Twitter from the creepy people—like Karl Rove, "America’s Toughest Sheriff," and the other undesirables who now follow her every Tweet.
Karl Rove follows me on Twitter. That’s creepy. I joined Twitter a few months ago; so far, it has been a liberating way to transition from political to personal blogging. It’s allowed me to share the less-serious aspects and humorously uncensored moments of my life. But there’s also been a downside: I am now being followed by Karl Rove, and my local sheriff, and God knows how many other political pundits. We need to take Twitter back from the creepy people.
On the surface, Karl Rove’s Twitter feed intrigues me. Here’s a guy who for years has been perceived as some kind of inaccessible man-behind-the-curtain figure. And now he Tweets numerous times a day. I’ve never met him in person, which only makes our Twitter relationship even weirder. And to be honest, I find Rove’s Tweets boring. Sometimes he takes questions; other times he talks about his appearances on cable news and other shows. But he doesn’t say anything substantive. If I had to guess, I’d say Rove has a “ghost Twitterer” (as in a ghost writer) or an assistant updating his feed for him.
Oddly enough, Rove’s Tweets seem to reveal a softer side to him. Call it savvy marketing, but I find it disingenuous. And it’s a bit weird to think his people—not even Rove himself—are following me. I’d like to think it’s because they find what I’m saying entertaining, but I can’t help thinking they’re just trying to seem connected to young people.
The Twitter creeps gets stranger. My local Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (who, as the author of America’s Toughest Sheriff, is notorious in his own right) recently sent me a Tweet about an answer I gave a fellow Twitter follower. He tried to tell me to go easy on them. It’s really scary when the guy who houses his inmates in tents in the summer and whose most visible public-relations success involves pink underwear, boxers, and handcuffs tells you to tone it down. The sheriff also inexplicably Tweeted me to say my mother owes him $10. Say what?
But media-hungry politicians aren’t the only ones creeping me out on Twitter. Certain media outlets seem to want to ruin it for the rest of us, too. I was shocked when Think Progress and The Huffington Post reported on one of my Tweets—and even more shocked when HuffPo made it their front-page story. I replied “Hey HuffPo, I am Twittering in bed in my pajamas, wanna report that too?” It went unanswered, of course.
I refuse to “script” who I am, what I say, and what I do. The only person Tweeting on my account is me. I don’t have an assistant, friend, or spokesperson updating my feed to “represent” me. (Seriously, would an assistant swear so much?) But this made me consider censoring myself. Who knows the next time The Huffington Post will have a slow news day and feel compelled to stick a headline next to a particularly unflattering photo of me? My Tweets are not sound bytes. Of course, I recognize I’m choosing to Tweet, but seriously, can’t journalists find something more important and useful to report?
By contrast, my Dad—another new Twitter user—is making a real effort to use it effectively and not just pander. For one thing, it’s really him Tweeting. How could it not be given his sense of humor and constant shout-outs to Arizona sports teams? (In fairness to him, I’d initially assumed he had an assistant writing for him. But when I flat-out asked him, he was almost offended I’d suggested he wasn’t being as real as I am.) Second, my dad prides himself on making his updates more than just, “Watch me on Fox News tonight at 7.” And he’s always amused by the attitude I show in my updates—like father, like daughter.
In the end, Twitter is still maturing as a means to reach out and communicate with people en masse. But I can’t shake the fact that Karl Rove is following me—it can be creepy. So watch out.
Meghan McCain - Twitter critter litter.
“Certain media outlets seem to want to ruin it for the rest of us, too.”
A lot of us think something like that, although from a different point of view.
I’m guessing Karl dropped her within seconds of seeing this article. After all, he’s a gentleman....even if she’s not a lady.
She needs a massive enema because she’s full of crap.
I hope McCain loses in the primary. It will move her off the radar even quicker.
They have basked in the limelight for waaaaaaaay too long.
Does Meghan own Twitter or has she just decided she gets to decide who uses it?
STOP MEGHAN MCCAIN POSTS!!!
If she is the face of the ????NEW???? Republican party I think they need to refer to a different part of her anatomy.
A belated welcome to FreeRepublic.com, GoldStandard.
Are you a Megan McCain fan or a Ron Paul voter?
Just curious.
ABCDisney has just paid her to write a book due during the 2010 election cycle. Ignore her at the peril of conservative positions during the campaign. She’s out of her league.
Expose her as a RINO clown now.
I like that one better.
Whoever writes Baracksteleprompter.com has a “voice” a lot like MegCain. All gushy and Valley Girl...only the TOTUS writer is doing it for irony...
RINO nothing. This editorial of hers is just plain incoherent and delusional. She did everything but accuse the Queen of England of draining her precious bodily fluids.
Isn’t she at about the age when schizophrenia claims it’s victims?
Ding-a-ling-ping
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