Feminist and journalist Caitlin Moran instigated #TwitterSilence, a 24-hour boycott of Twitter on Sunday following the rape and bomb threats women have been receiving on the social network.
While #TwitterSilence intended to spark outrage against the internet trolls tweeting this abuse, a poorly chosen hashtag meant many were left confused over who the campaign was supposed to be silencing: the abusers or the women being abused.
What I find confusing is how is #twittersilence trending??
— Stuart Storey (@stewiebear10) August 4, 2013
This #twittersilence is confusing! What's the point? Isn't keeping quiet what bullies want u to do? & then we encourage victims to speak up
— Louise Stimpson (@HerewegoLoubie) August 4, 2013
#twittersilence is trending... which is slightly confusing. People are posting on Twitter about not posting on Twitter? Sensible.
— Steve Robinson (@ikralla) August 4, 2013
Meanwhile Samantha Brick, the women who appeared on The Late Late Show last year talking about the "downsides of being pretty," wrote a column for the Daily Mail in which she called the campaign "atttention-seeking":
"Heaven! This meant that they and their merry band of toadies would neither be indulging in the usual self-congratulatory claptrap or selling themselves via inane tweets for a whole 24 hours."
Moran appeared to admit defeat when she tweeted half-heartedly following her own 24-hour boycott:
I enjoyed doing #twittersilence with those that did it. I enjoyed all the people #shoutingback. I enjoyed people trying to do things.
— Caitlin Moran (@caitlinmoran) August 4, 2013
Essentially, #TwitterSilence failed because Moran didn't realise that when it comes to the Tweet Machine, with great power (ie. great number of followers) comes a great likelihood of things blowing up in one's face. For example:
Someone might highjack your hashtag:
No matter how great your intentions, unless you choose a really specific hashtag people will find a way to abuse it. McDonald's #McDStories campaign was one such casualty. Tweeters didn't talk about good experiences like the fast food giant intended; instead they tweeted about getting food poisoned, bad smells and low wages.
Unsurprisingly, the staff member was suspended and the company was forced to apologise.
One tweet can cause a media storm (and not the kind you want):
If you're a layperson, it's unlikely anyone will take notice if you tweet about your allegiance to some cult or make fun of a popular celebrity. But if you've a big following, anything you say can and will be used against you if you offend enough people.
Take American fashion designer Kenneth Cole and this failed attempt at humour:
Cole quickly deleted the tweet when, surprise surprise, people started calling him insensitive.
Not tweeting the right thing is about as bad as tweeting the wrong thing:
When a web designer claimed that Urban Outfitters had stolen an independent design, the company addressed the claim by tweeting: "Hey guys, we see your tweets regarding the I Heart Destination necklace. Please know that our accessories buying team is looking into this." People weren't happy with their response: their account quickly dropped by 17,000 followers and #urbanoutfitters and #thieves both trended.
Tweet images from Business Insider.
