Anne Berkeley

Issue Five is here: andotherpoems.com/issue-five/

With a wide selection of #poems incl those by @NorthSeaNav @AnneBerkeley @Chadpie @clairecrowther_ @Michell70881630 @PoetSarahDoyle @NadineElEnany @zr_ghani @EClinski @lydiakennaway @nairnkennedy @amykingpoetry @TimLiardet @pagechatter @LauraMcKee_fyeh ninearchespress.com/shop#!/Under-t…

THREAD: How to make Twitter tolerable in 2024 SUMMARY 1. Decide why you're on Twitter. 2. Block problematic high profile accounts. 3. Curate private Lists reflecting your interests. 4. Block trolls and racists. Never mute them. This is a long tweet. Strap in. == 1. Why are you on Twitter? == Twitter has a lot of problems. Given the hot mess Elon Musk is making, it must be sorely tempting to quit the platform entirely. But it also does some things extremely well. And when things look grim, it's always good to remind yourself of that. For example: - It's a great source of breaking news, fresher than mainstream media sites, so long as you follow accounts you trust. Why? Because many journalists and citizen reporters turn to Twitter first to report what's going on, long before they type up an article or film a piece to camera. - It provides a means of keeping track of ongoing news topics, in depth, long after the media have grown tired of them. (For example, I follow about 50 accounts reporting on developments in Russia's war on Ukraine, meaning I know exactly what's happening there day by day to a degree I would never be able to if I relied on the press). - It offers unparalleled access to expertise, assuming you can distinguish experts from quacks. The quality of information in many threads is genuinely astonishing. All that knowledge, for free. Amazing. - It is a great way to interact with like-minded people who share your interests and passions. (If you use Twitter Lists, which we'll cover later, it's even better.) - It's a nice way to exchange banter or serious discussions with people who very broadly share your worldview. - It's a venue to combat disinformation, up to a point. (It's also an amplifier of disinformation, one of the main reasons being here can feel so toxic.) - It connects you with actors and singers and artists and poets and chefs and brain surgeons and people in so many, many walks of life who have interesting, amusing or humorous insights to share. Or maybe you're just curious about what they had for breakfast, or what they're doing today. That's fine too. - Above all, it keeps you connected with people you have never met, and may never meet, but have nevertheless become your friends. The above only scratches the surface of what's available on Twitter, so long as you are prepared to put in the effort to look for it. What you're probably not here for, though, is the racism and hate. (Unless you're one of the heroic, brave souls determined to win a virtual staring contest with every troll and troublemaker. We thank you for your courage and your effort. But we don't envy you that Sisyphean task. And most of us, if we're honest, aren't up for it. Not every day. Not for the long term.) That leads us neatly to point 2... == 2. Why you should proactively block problematic high-profile accounts == Before giving up on Twitter, why not see what it's like without obvious troublemakers polluting your timeline? Twitter's algorithm is tailored to put provocative tweets in front of you. Outrage means more clicks. Net result? Your mental health suffers. Your blood pressure skyrockets. And Elon gets more ad impressions. You can fight back by going on a blocking spree. It will only take a couple of minutes or so to block the accounts below. (The list is just a suggestion. You may wish to block some but not others.) REFORM MP @Nigel_Farage @ticerichard @LeeAndersonMP_ @RupertLowe10 @JamesReform @reformparty_uk EX TORY MPs @andreajenkyns @Jacob_Rees_Mogg @Bren4Bassetlaw @GullisJonathan @GregHands @markjenk @miriam_cates MEDIA (INDIVIDUALS) @IsabelOakeshott @CamillaTominey @AllisonPearson @JuliaHB1 @darrengrimes @danwootton @GoodwinMJ @THEJamesWhale @toryboypierce @thecoastguy @ThatAlexWoman @thecarolemalone @beverleyturner @tomhfh @alexarmstrong @MelanieLatest @PatrickChristys @DouglasKMurray OTHER @TRobinsonNewEra @LozzaFox @Cobratate @Miss_Snuffy @elonmusk @CatharineHoey @Fox_Claire @georgegalloway @benhabib6 @calvinrobinson @KTHopkins @EssexPR @Councillorsuzie @Arron_banks @toadmeister @BelindadeLucy @NileGardiner @RafHM @ABridgen IMPORTANT: You may find that you get "Temporarily Unavailable" errors if you try to block a large number of accounts at once. If so, pace yourself and do half a dozen or so at a time, leaving gaps in between. Blocking done? You will definitely start to feel better soon, if you haven't already. And don't worry, you won't miss anything important. If any of the above say something so outrageous that it breaks out of their narrow silo and gets more widely circulated, someone you follow is certain to retweet it. You will be able to choose to reveal that specific tweet if you want to. But you'll always be in control, not Elon. Besides, here's the real question: how is reading what any of them have to say going to enhance your life? If you're brutally honest, you already know that it won't. They will never ever ever change their minds based on any argument you can put to them. So it's a folorn hope to expect that to happen either. == 3. Curate private Twitter Lists that match your interests == You can set up a Twitter List that will track just the accounts you're interested in. (It's an alternative to following them.) Let's say your interest is knitting, and there are 100 interesting knitting accounts you come across from time to time. If you progressively add them to a dedicated Twitter List about knitting, you'll be able to see just the tweets from those accounts every time you load the List. You can make multiple lists for different purposes - you're not just limited to having one. I've got over 20, covering all sorts of topics. NOTE: Make the List private. If you make it public, people may object to being on it, or may piggy-back on it to cause trouble for the members of the List. How to add a Twitter account to a list: 1. Visit the profile page of the Twitter account you want to add to the List. 2. Click the 3 dots ("...") to the left of the envelope symbol. 3. Choose the "Add/remove from Lists" option. 4. Either pick an existing list to add the account to, or create a new list. If you're making a new list, don't forget to set it to private. Have fun curating! == 4. Block trolls and racists. Never mute them. == When dealing with trolls and racists, always use "block" not "mute". Why? Because they might have you on private Twitter Lists without you being aware of it. And that could help them orchestrate pile-ons you're unaware of, because your tweets keep coming up on their radar. Blocking removes you from all their Lists. It also means that they can't see what you tweet any more. If you mute them, they can still quote-tweet your tweets to their followers. Cue more pile-ons. Blocking puts a stop to that. == Conclusion == Phew! That was long, wasn't it? Sorry about that. Still, hopefully you'll have had a chance to focus on the good stuff Twitter still has to offer, even in its binfire state. And you have some idea of how to get the best out of Twitter, while blocking the worst of it. Hope you will make the decision to stay. It will be boring here with nothing but tumbleweed for company.

🚨 No one should spend 18 yrs in jail for trying to steal a coat or 11 yrs for stealing a mobile phone! I’ve signed a letter calling on new Justice Secretary @ShabanaMahmood to act urgently to end one of the most monumental injustices of the past half-century - the #IPPscandal

Join @TamarYoseloff with fellow poets Carmen Bugan (@imlcc) and @AnneBerkeley at the Cambridge Writing Centre @ARUWriting @AngliaRuskin on Thursday 11 July at 6pm. creativeshowcase.aru.ac.uk/research/cambr…