New York Times bans 'silly' tweet

happygeek 1 317 Views

What do you, dear reader, call a posting on Twitter? I'm guessing the chances are high that you call it a tweet, like pretty much everyone else I know. Apart from the editorial elite at the New York Times that is, which has just banned the word 'tweet' from being used in conjunction with anything other than birds making chirpy noises, on the grounds that it is a silly word amongst other things.

According to reports the New York Times has sent a memo out to contributors asking them not to use the word tweet, in which a man with the title of 'standards editor' says: "outside of ornithological contexts, “tweet” has not yet achieved the status of standard English" and insists that "standard English is what we should use in news articles".

Phil Corbett, the standards editor in question, then goes on to justify his assertion with some nonsense about favouring established usage over jargon, and how regular people using Twitter would not use the word. Really? I think Mr Corbett might be surprised, if he actually bothered to ask a bunch of Twitter users about this, as to just how many of them do. However, the really telling bit, I feel, comes towards the end of the memo when Corbett admits that "Of course, it doesn’t help that the word itself seems so inherently silly".

The official advice from the New York Times appears to be to use the words 'say' or 'write' which is odd, if the standards editor really wants to avoid confusion, as I don't think anyone actually 'says' anything on Twitter unless you include offsite links to Audioboo recordings...

Dani AI

Generated

A quick framing note for context: ’s post surfaces the 2010 internal guidance at The New York Times that urged staff to avoid the informal term “tweet” in straight news copy. That memo kicked off a predictable debate about whether newsrooms should police emerging tech language or simply reflect how people actually speak. (techcrunch.com)

Two points of context that matter when judging the memo. First, other journalism authorities (notably the AP Stylebook) were already treating “tweet” as an accepted noun and verb for Twitter messages, so the Times’ caution was more a stylistic stance than a universal rule. (wired.com) Second, lexicographers formalized the social-media sense of “tweet” later on—the Oxford English Dictionary added the Twitter sense in 2013—showing how usage can move from slang to standard entry over a few years. and are right to note how quickly that uptake happens in everyday media. (cbsnews.com)

Practical takeaways for writers and marketers (short, usable rules):

  • For formal news or press copy: prefer “Twitter message,” “posted on Twitter,” or (“said”/“wrote,” once you’ve established the medium) to avoid confusing less-social readers.
  • For social, promotional, or community-facing writing: use “tweet” freely—it reads naturally and saves characters.
  • When quoting or attributing: link to the original tweet, give a timestamp/handle, and — in formal contexts — include a short parenthetical explanation if the audience might not know Twitter.
    These are stylistic choices, not spelling tests; match tone to audience and distribution channel.

Language changes. What looks “silly” in one decade can be standard in the next—editors aim for clarity for their readers, while marketers aim for naturalness with their audience. Use the right register for the right reader. (cbsnews.com)

Member Avatar for data-struction
data-struction 0 Light Poster

I think Mr. Corbett would certainly be surprised how pervasive the Twitter language is. I don't even use Twitter and I can't help but hear this language all over the media, in my personal life, and in passing. Thanks for sharing.

Member Avatar for happygeek
happygeek 2,411 Most Valuable Poster

What a difference a year and four months makes? That news story was posted 16 months ago, Twitter has become more pervasive since then...

Member Avatar for SHNOOKY
SHNOOKY 0 Light Poster

Its probably closed to tripled since then, if not more. Twitter is a monster of a social media, its like global texting and everyone has the same number.

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