It\u2019s been a while since I managed to get onto my soapbox and talk about something that\u2019s been irking me a bit. So let\u2019s see what I can do\u2026.<\/p>\n
Wait a moment\u2026<\/p>\n
*digs through random pile of crap behind him*<\/p>\n
Hmmm\u2026.where is it?<\/p>\n
*pulls out\u00a0Shilo\u2019s\u00a0old mask*<\/p>\n
Nope\u2026<\/p>\n
*throws the old message boards over his head*<\/p>\n
Ah! There it is!<\/p>\n
*grabs old soapbox, dusts it off and throws it down in front of him*<\/p>\n
Now, with that out of my way, I\u2019ve\u00a0been wanting\u00a0to discuss this for a while. I\u2019ve wanted to let people know my thoughts on what has become almost standard in the game we call e-fedding. But I\u2019ve always hesitated. Where is it really my place to do it? It\u2019s harmless. It\u2019s an extra. You don\u2019t need to do it. You don\u2019t have to do it. It really just is supplementary. But then it started to affect storylines. It started to be brought up in\u00a0roleplays. It started to mean something. And after one of the latest storyline points here in SCW, the Regan Street injury and subsequent SCW World Championship and Women\u2019s Championship announcements, I just found myself shaking my head. Yes, that\u2019s right\u2026.TWITTER.<\/p>\n
I am going to rant on Twitter.<\/p>\n
Now let\u2019s get a couple of things out of the way early. I realize some people are going to say, what the hell are you caring what we do on twitter. You can ignore me. Go for it. It really doesn\u2019t affect much in terms of pure wins and losses, but it can become a hindrance and a problem and I\u2019ll go into it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll also make clear a personal opinion of mine: I think the use of Twitter in e-fedding\u00a0has hurt the game significantly.<\/p>\n
There are plenty great things about it. It can be used to promote feds. It can be used for recruiting. It can be used to quickly update some of the big news in a given fed. It can allow immediate response to an event (I\u2019ll get to this later) and it can allow further interaction between characters. All of those things, in and of themselves, are great. The problem is\u2026I\u2019d say only 5% of people do those things. And that\u2019s if I don\u2019t know math, I round up, and I think 5 is less than 3.<\/p>\n
The majority of people have used it as a way to vicariously live through this character. They have full conversations. They update each other. I\u2019ve seen people have DATES over twitter. I think people need to be reminded what Twitter itself is. It\u2019s a format that allows someone to give a 140 character (or less) blurb, reaction, message about something.\u00a0140 characters.\u00a0Let me stress that again.<\/p>\n
140 Characters!!!!<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, I see people writing the equivalent of full damn promos on Twitter. I\u2019ve seen people have comments that span six or seven twitter posts just so they can rant about something.<\/p>\n Between these promo-like posts, between people using twitter as significant character development, between people seemingly ALWAYS being online on the damn thing, and between people knowing they aren\u2019t judged on it, I think a lot of people have misused this wonderful invention. Allow me to explain some of my issues with these things in my usual whimsical (and cynical) fashion.<\/p>\n I LOVE YOU! YOU\u2019RE MY SOULMATE! GOD I CAN\u2019T WAIT TO SEE YOU NAKED! WHO CARES IF WE\u2019RE IN THE SAME BED RIGHT NOW! I WANT TO TWEET INSTEAD!<\/strong><\/p>\n Have you ever been out and you get annoyed when the individual you\u2019re out with pulls out their cell phone to check a text message or to tweet or check their profile on some social website? I always laugh when I open up the SCW twitter and see people essentially detailing their entire date, or plans or what have you. Sharing some flirting is not what I\u2019m getting to. But I\u2019ve seen people write characters tweeting their flirting when one of those characters has established THEY ARE IN THE SAME GOD DAMNED ROOM!<\/p>\n This is just beyond stupid.<\/p>\n People have full character development pieces that they could use for\u00a0roleplays\u00a0happening NIGHTLY on Twitter. They are using twitter to essentially provide these pieces. And in the process, they are making people sick of them quickly. Why not just have\u00a0a\u00a0\u00a0couple\u00a0of messages with some flirting? That\u2019s fair. But then I come up with another thought\u2026.Do people not swap phone numbers anymore?<\/p>\n Like seriously, the amount of personal crap I\u2019ve seen broadcast on Twitter, I all of a sudden realized a number of the wrestlers on the roster (male and female) are a\u00a0selfie-picture scandal waiting to happen. Some people broadcast some intimate details about their relationship with someone on twitter\u2026and I\u2019m talking something they\u2019d share with their boyfriend or girlfriend (or wife\/husband\/mistress\/flavour of the week)\u2026and my reaction is\u2026do they not have text messaging? This really is just a form of escapism and a little of it to me is not a problem. I think a lot of people however take it too far.<\/p>\n SOMEONE GOT A SHOT I WANTED! I LOVE\/HATE THAT PERSON\u2026WAIT A MINUTE\u2026I KICKED THEIR DOG\u00a0AND\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0JUST SAID IT\u2019S A SHAME\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Go back to when Rachel Foxx was announced as the challenger for the World Championship. Look at how many people were so sympathetic to Regan Street. Look at how many people congratulated Rachel wholeheartedly. Look at how many people took their characters and through them out the window.<\/p>\n Seriously, as someone who reads virtually everyone\u2019s\u00a0roleplays, very few people actually acted like their characters should have acted AS THEY ESTABLISHED THEM. And this is an isolated incident. But I see it happen all the time. Everyone is friends with everyone. Everyone wants to sleep with everyone. The problem is that when you establish your character\u2019s twitter is IN CHARACTER, you can\u2019t all of a sudden break that just because you like someone.<\/p>\n Go back five years ago. Before Twitter was \u201ca thing.\u201d Immediate reaction was captured in character development posts on the \u201cOwner\u2019s Office\u201d or on the Character Development Board. You\u2019d have a couple paragraph long posts, with quick responses, either asking for a match, wanting to challenge for a title, wanting revenge, what have you. In one of the benefits of twitter, this has been removed in favour of moving it to that platform. However in the\u00a0process ,I\u00a0think a lot of people forgot to think like their characters. People will be civil to sworn enemies. They\u2019ll all of a sudden go on a tirade. They\u2019ll bash someone who technically is their ally. Are these OOC feelings coming? I don\u2019t know. Are these just people thinking that\u2019s the best and then not realizing\u2026oops\u2026Or is it people feeling they HAVE to respond because well, there\u2019s a twitter account my character has? I think a lot of people need to think through some of their tweets. And this gets me to another related point.<\/p>\n HOLY CRAP YOU PEOPLE ARE SO DAMN UNLIKEABLE.<\/strong><\/p>\n Half the time, after I read twitter after major events, I honestly would get the idea that 98% of the\u00a0roster are\u00a0horrible people. People that deserve to have garbage thrown on them at every show. So many people are just bitter and complain all the time. So many people bash and attack and insult. So many people belittle and only promote themselves. It\u2019s one thing if they\u2019re a massive arrogant heel. But so many faces just become downright unlikeable. I don\u2019t want to cheer them. I want to see them get slaughtered in the ring and shut up. That\u2019s not good. That\u2019s not a good sign.<\/p>\n Again, to illustrate this point, go back to when Rachel Foxx was announced as the new challenger for the World Championship\u2026go through some of\u00a0\u00a0the reactions. How many people just come off as the\u00a0same.\u00a0Most people\u00a0react\u00a0the same (immediately criticize, yell, scream, cry foul, demand title shot and then eventually come to terms. It\u2019s like they\u2019re mourning)\u00a0And\u00a0then pull up Katie Steward\u2019s. I\u2019m going to commend the handler. Her reaction to Rachel on twitter was arguably the most true to character tweet I read all day (a few people calmed down and remembered they\u2019re playing a character far later in the evening). But read it. Katie Steward has been a \u201cgood guy\u201d for only a couple of months. But she gave two logical\u00a0tweets, that\u00a0showed a tension with Rachel Foxx and in the process made me applaud the character. Well done. I wish more people would think things through on the platform.<\/p>\n And there\u2019s a reason why I wish this\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s simple\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n If it\u2019s fair game for character development or promos, it should be for shows and the problem is that I do legitimately want to try and work in some things on twitter in to the shows. I want to use it more widely and give it a presence that embellishes feuds, rivalries, characters and the like. The problem is that there is often so much crap to just wade through.\u00a0\u00a0And often, it motivates me to come up with situations where people who are best friends, but really shouldn\u2019t be because of given storylines, to put them in a situation that FORCES them to react. People use twitter too often to converse with other characters, often that they have no business conversing with. And on top of that, it muddies the waters only too much.<\/p>\n Take the CHBK\/Trinity Street attack where the match with Simon Lyman for Rise to Greatness X was set up. Kennedy Street and Dawn\u00a0Lohan\u00a0were buddy-buddy with Regan Street, David Helms, Tommy Valentine, etc. on Twitter.\u00a0After\u2026not anymore.\u00a0It\u2019s not that I am critical of casual conversation and even\u00a0an indifference\u00a0amongst people (even if you hate that one creepy guy at work, you still probably say hi when you pass by him in the hallway). It\u2019s more that people who are established good guys are dating bad guys and making it clear. Again, it comes down to what the twitter is used for. If you\u2019re using it for character development and based on your character and you\u2019re selling storylines, you have to realize the issue it creates. Especially since if I note one thing on twitter on the show and even make it a part of a storyline, just as notable, I may be forced to mention something else (especially if you\u2019re opponent makes it a big deal).<\/p>\n And all of this comes down to some fundamental changes in the game. Twitter has most notably allowed feds to move away from those threads that involve people challenging for matches on the Character Development Board.\u00a0Roleplays\u00a0are now almost always for matches. There\u2019s little character development outside of matches and shows because Twitter allows one to do that so well.<\/p>\n However\u2026<\/p>\n It has also I think changed the game negatively. It waters down characters. It burns through ideas. It can even ruin characters, but it also can lead to problems between handlers (If they have a fight on twitter, and it becomes serious, should it then be explained in\u00a0roleplays?\u00a0On a show?\u00a0Technically, it\u2019s fair game\u2026etc.). But I think it has led to a further problem.<\/p>\n A lot of people spend an obscene amount of time on Twitter. And I\u2019m talking hours, possibly all 24 of them in a given day, tweeting. They\u2019re responding to other characters. They\u2019re having full conversations. They\u2019re cutting promos. They\u2019re establishing a new sexual relationship. They\u2019re\u00a0cultivating\u00a0\u00a0important\u00a0business contacts. I don\u2019t know. They are. Some people are seriously on there all the time. It\u2019s great. They\u2019re living vicariously through their character and having some fun. But there are some problems with it.<\/p>\n 1) You can become burnt out about the character. You\u2019re putting on a hat and trying to think like that character. If you have multiple characters, you\u2019re jumping around. It can be fun, but it can also be tiring.<\/strong><\/p>\n 2) Think about how much time some people spend tweeting\u2026and then consider what could happen if that time was spent writing a\u00a0roleplay.<\/strong><\/p>\n What would happen if two people who are exploring their new found relationship on twitter took time away and wrote some of that for a\u00a0roleplay.\u00a0What if people took that seven tweet post that was a promo about how they hate someone and turned it into part of a promo. What if people didn\u2019t get into twitter wars daily and then essentially go through a promo battle in an hour and held those ideas for a promo war in a match.<\/p>\n When people have come to me with issues of burnout or a lack of ideas, sometimes it is what it is. But I do think that Twitter can have a role to play. I think that there are some people who burn through so many ideas, even just how they interact with people, or how they respond, they don\u2019t know how to\u00a0roleplay. Add that I honestly feel a lot of people don\u2019t adequately vet their tweets, to make sure it\u2019s true to their character or that, hey, if it comes up in a promo against me, I can deal with it. Or I can have some fun with it. I see it being a drain on people\u2019s creative juices. As someone who spends time trying to get into character\u2019s heads when I write a promo on a show or what not, I know how tiring that can be. I can only imagine what it can do over time.\u00a0\u00a0Add that in some cases, it can lead people to get disenchanted with a character\u2026it can be a\u00a0timesink\u00a0in the worst way and worst of all\u2026there\u2019s no gain in terms of success or failure in terms of\u00a0roleplays. It\u2019s just garnish. It\u2019s extra.<\/p>\n Twitter is a drain in many ways. People naturally like getting the last word. People expend a lot of time. People hurt their characters. But this is not to say this can\u2019t change.<\/p>\n A lot of people may have an issue with me taking issue with something that I\u2019ve noted is extra. And that\u2019s fine. It\u2019s a hobby, a game, and it is extra and\u00a0feel\u00a0free to ignore me. It\u2019s more that as someone who does use Twitter to augment storylines, I am giving you a glimpse into some of my concerns. Add that people have used Twitter in their\u00a0roleplays, it only goes further to the point that people use whatever they think can help them in a\u00a0roleplay\u00a0(the shows, the bio, previous posts, and now twitter).<\/p>\n So do I have any suggestions to perhaps make Twitter more beneficial?<\/p>\n 1) Limit your time. For those who are on their regularly, I realize many may check it at work. But for those who do it when they\u2019re home, see if you may be encouraged to spend that time to write a\u00a0roleplay. Who knows? You may post earlier. We may have fewer requests for deadline extensions. We may have more promo wars and people who have tighter schedules may realize they have more free time.<\/strong><\/p>\n 2) Limit how many posts you make.\u00a0Seriously.\u00a0I will normally, if I become active on it with a character, I\u2019ll only respond if I feel the character would have something great to say about it, or his words help. Otherwise, I often will make a couple of posts and return to just watching my feed or doing something else.<\/strong><\/p>\n 3) Realize that the limit is 140 Characters. Avoid cutting promos. Use\u00a0those character\u00a0well and you may find yourself saving ideas for later.<\/strong><\/p>\n 4) Think logically about what people ACTUALLY use twitter for. I\u2019m not talking your characters or even businesses. I\u2019m talking normal everyday people. Do they have full conversations? Do they read love poems? They often make some observations, have some casual meaningless conversations, or post randomness. You may find yourself saving ideas for\u00a0roleplays.<\/strong><\/p>\n This whole rant is more about me trying to take what I see is a big problem people don\u2019t realize they have. I see promos wasted, characters hurt, and time that could be spent for roleplaying (or hell, even taking some time off! Something I think people forget about!) being spent on responding to fourteen million tweets or hoping people ask them pointless questions so they can have a fake shoot interview over twitter (Don\u2019t get me started on that ridiculous trend).<\/p>\n Twitter should be fun. But it can also enhance. I think a lot of people are having fun\u2026but they don\u2019t realize that if they want twitter to be a big thing in e-fedding, they need to ensure that that second thing happens. To put it another way, I see other feds\u00a0retweeting\u00a0other people\u2019s tweets to help promote storylines, feuds, shows and the like. How often have you see the SCW twitter account do the same?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s been a while since I managed to get onto my soapbox and talk about something that\u2019s been irking me a bit. So let\u2019s see what I can do\u2026. Wait a moment\u2026 *digs through random pile of crap behind him* Hmmm\u2026.where is it? *pulls out\u00a0Shilo\u2019s\u00a0old mask* Nope\u2026 *throws the old message boards over his head* […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supremecw.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supremecw.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supremecw.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supremecw.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supremecw.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.supremecw.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supremecw.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supremecw.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supremecw.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}