The Internet Strikes Back With Real Time Commentary

Online, June 25, 2014 (Newswire.com) - For all of the great opportunities that social media provides for people, it unfortunately comes with a dark side. Even though it may seem impossible, thanks to all of the questions that have to be answered when signing up for new social media apps or wanting to take part in an online discussion, it is possible to still maintain a protected level of anonymity while online. This secrecy lets people join in open format conversations for the sole purpose of saying hateful things and making inciting comments, designed to anger and offend people without opening up the original poster to any backlash. The commonly accepted name for these people is "Trolls" but at least one website that specializes in hosting open forums and interactive discussions is doing what it can to help stop that practice.

"For all the talk that people make about an 'open internet', it seems like a lot of websites are unwilling to do what it takes to keep this anger and offensiveness in check," said Andrew Goldstein, a well-known and respected commentator on social media and the affects it has on society. "That is why I have embraced the set-up presented by Tawkers.com when I want to reach an audience. Not only does the interactive discussions allow me to conduct interviews with some of the leading people in the field for no cost, the real time commentary feature that is part of every one of the conversations, or 'tawks' as they are called, allows the people who are following along to become part of the discussion. Just as importantly, the openness keeps the trolls away so we aren't spending most of the conversation distracted and focused on the angry ranting of someone who is just trying to stir the pot with no regard to the topic at hand."

The old saying goes that any publicity is good publicity, and it seems like there are many websites with online discussion formats that embrace that motto a little too well. They seem okay with the fact that someone with a hateful message is good for business because it draws traffic to the website in question. Ironically, one of most talked about topics when it comes to interactive discussions is first amendment rights. Thankfully some websites are moral enough to believe that because you can say something doesn't mean that everyone wants to hear it.

For more information on real time commentary and Tawkers.com, visit www.tawkers.com

Jack Terry is a writer and blogger who writes extensively about social media and online discussions.