Freedom of Tweet?

Elaine Gantz Wright is a social media coach and consultant — providing the practical tools and action plans you need to survive and thrive in the brave new media world. She is a listener, writer, blogger, speaker, actor, and mom. Contact her ellagantz@sbcglobal.net.

I was just listening to the Diane Rehm Show on NPR and KERA/90.1. The discussion was a recap of the State of the Union Speech – #SOTU on Twitter. I embraced much of what President Obama said last night – particularly his statement about celebrating the winners of the Science Fair, as well as the winners of the Super Bowl.

I just did a quick search to confirm that the discussion is still chirping around the speech, and indeed, it is. There are tweets from Obama, the White House, elected officials, listeners from all over the world, news publications—and the list goes on. Communication and dialogue are the lifeblood of a healthy democracy, and I am heartened to see the banter.

The panel on Diane Rehm was discussing some of ostensibly incendiary tweets that flew during the actual speech. Rehm posited, “Should tweeting be banned during the State of the Union Speech?” I love Diane, but I truly believe she was showing her generational bias.   Conversation ensued that questioned the appropriateness of speaking out in real time. Hmm?  The question took me aback.  Rehm was concerned about the respect level of these Representatives (no matter where they were sitting) in deciding to “tweet the speech.”  Is tweeting during a speech disrespectful? Or is it actually the sincerest form of engagement?  It’s participation without yelling out disruptively, which the infamous elected official did not so long ago.

This is where the mobile rubber meets the road. It’s the clearest indication that new media is redefining the practice of communication from almost every perspective — not just the medium, not just the message, but the mores.  Just what is acceptable behavior? How must our behavior and associated social tolerance shift in conjunction with our morphing media modus operandi? Diane, I think this IS the new political dialogue.

Here’s the rub—our media revolution touches every aspect of our lives. If we are to reverently honor freedom of speech, shouldn’t we preserve the slightly  irreverent “freedom of tweet”? What do you think?

“The moment we are living right now, this generation, represents the largest increase in expressive capability in human history.” – Clay Shirky, NYU