https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Jewhealer 2026-05-23T20:54:56Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1239:_Social_Media&diff=44073 2013-07-17T21:41:02Z

<p>Jewhealer: fixed typo</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1239<br /> | date = July 17,2013<br /> | title = Social Media<br /> | image = social_media.png<br /> | titletext = The social media reaction to this asteroid announcement has been sharply negative.Care to respond?<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> This comic parodies how people tend to focus on social networking. Specifically in the case of revolutions, social media is given a lot of weight, even in countries with limited internet access. A direct parallel is made to the so called Twitter revolution.<br /> <br /> On {{w|Twitter}} you can send text messages at a maximum of 140 characters. This means that there could be not much content at a single post, but often many people ''follow'' the people doing this ''tweets''. People who are not on social media tend to react like Cueball and come to the conclusion that twitter makes press coverage more stupid, just because those messages lack of many essentials. Cueball is also annoyed about the fact that nobody is interested in his initial statement: ''...the asteroid is heading directly for us.'', which could cause a mass extinction on Earth.<br /> <br /> The title text continues the joke. The negativity on twitter concerning an earth bound asteroid has nothing to do with twitter but rather with the negativity of wiping out life on earth in general. Again, undue weight is given to social media.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Cueball at a press conference]<br /> :Cueball: NASA has confirmed that the asteroid is heading directly for us.<br /> :Cueball: ...Yes, a question?<br /> <br /> :Audience member 1: What role has social media played in this asteroid's orbit?<br /> <br /> :Cueball: *''sigh''*<br /> <br /> :Audience member 1: Has twitter changed the way we respond to asteroid threats?<br /> :Cueball: Well, it's made the press conference questions stupider.<br /> :Audience member 2: Fascinating!<br /> :Audience member 3: What about Facebook?<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> The comic may also parody an actual interview [http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/02/12/deb_feyerick_to_bill_nye_is_asteroid_2012_da14_connected_to_global_warming.html Is asteroid 2012_DA14 connected to global warming] in which {{w|Bill Nye}} was asked if the approaching asteroid {{w|2012_DA14}} was a result of global warming.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> &lt;!-- Include any categories below this line. --&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Social networking]]</div>

Jewhealer