Should You Be Penalized for Twittering During a Performance?
Now that the Green Bay Packers have implemented a policy of fining a player $1,701 for using Twitter during work hours, should other organizations—and we’re talking in the classical music community—follow suit? [Total disclosure and plug: Strings has a Twitter account, http://twitter.com/StringsMagazine.]
Twitter—the real-time short messaging service that people use on their computers, mobile phones, and other devices with access to the Internet—wields a kind of power akin to, but much more dramatic than, the popular social website Facebook. Users’ 140-character blasts can even be powerful enough to ignite or fan the flames of revolution, as witnessed after the hotly contested Iranian presidential election just months ago, in which crowds of protestors organized and kept the rest of the world abreast of the situation via tweets.
If there were questions before (and there certainly were) of Twitter’s practical applications, this event proved its effectiveness at amassing mobs—a concert promoter’s dream.
As classical-music organizations hobble along the super-information highway, more and more of them are slowly taking note of Twitter. But on this route, more and more questions of ethics are being raised, one of which has stirred the most emotion from columnists, artists, patrons, and publicists alike: Is it proper to Twitter during a concert performance?
My knee-jerk reaction is no, you shouldn’t light up (cell-phone screens, of course) during a performance, just as you shouldn’t open a novel, pick your nose, or spit on the people sitting in front of you.
But there are opposing opinions, such as those expressed by Washington Post classical critic Anne Midgette. She makes a great argument in parenthesis in her blog about similar concert habits: “Some people listen with their eyes closed, others follow a score (is that inherently less distracting than reading a Twitter screen? I sometimes feel I miss things about the performance when I focus on reading along in the printed music), others focus on the conductor.”
Hilary Hahn weighed in recently on the subject in her publicist’s blog, which was later partially reposted and caused a flurry of excitement over at Violinist.com. Her publicist, Amanda Ameer, had a troubled conscience after she twittered through and “missed” a performance by one of her clients. “If you are tweeting, then you might as well check your e-mails, and then you might as well just turn on the camera and make a recording for YouTube, and then you might as well have a little chat online while you’re at it, or play a game of Tetris or Scrabble, or write down ideas for that presentation you have to give next week,” Hahn writes in her response. “In that case, really, the question is, why are you here?”
So, should members of the audience, symphony, or press be fined for using Twitter during a performance? Share your thoughts on this subject, but keep it to 140 characters or less.
Twitter—the real-time short messaging service that people use on their computers, mobile phones, and other devices with access to the Internet—wields a kind of power akin to, but much more dramatic than, the popular social website Facebook. Users’ 140-character blasts can even be powerful enough to ignite or fan the flames of revolution, as witnessed after the hotly contested Iranian presidential election just months ago, in which crowds of protestors organized and kept the rest of the world abreast of the situation via tweets.
If there were questions before (and there certainly were) of Twitter’s practical applications, this event proved its effectiveness at amassing mobs—a concert promoter’s dream.
As classical-music organizations hobble along the super-information highway, more and more of them are slowly taking note of Twitter. But on this route, more and more questions of ethics are being raised, one of which has stirred the most emotion from columnists, artists, patrons, and publicists alike: Is it proper to Twitter during a concert performance?
My knee-jerk reaction is no, you shouldn’t light up (cell-phone screens, of course) during a performance, just as you shouldn’t open a novel, pick your nose, or spit on the people sitting in front of you.
But there are opposing opinions, such as those expressed by Washington Post classical critic Anne Midgette. She makes a great argument in parenthesis in her blog about similar concert habits: “Some people listen with their eyes closed, others follow a score (is that inherently less distracting than reading a Twitter screen? I sometimes feel I miss things about the performance when I focus on reading along in the printed music), others focus on the conductor.”
Hilary Hahn weighed in recently on the subject in her publicist’s blog, which was later partially reposted and caused a flurry of excitement over at Violinist.com. Her publicist, Amanda Ameer, had a troubled conscience after she twittered through and “missed” a performance by one of her clients. “If you are tweeting, then you might as well check your e-mails, and then you might as well just turn on the camera and make a recording for YouTube, and then you might as well have a little chat online while you’re at it, or play a game of Tetris or Scrabble, or write down ideas for that presentation you have to give next week,” Hahn writes in her response. “In that case, really, the question is, why are you here?”
So, should members of the audience, symphony, or press be fined for using Twitter during a performance? Share your thoughts on this subject, but keep it to 140 characters or less.
Tags: audience, etiquette, performance, rude, twitter
Comment
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Comment by Gretchen Saathoff on January 11, 2010 at 5:38pm
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Yes, Twittering should be banned at concerts. If someone's phone lit up while I was performing, I would be distracted. And the person w/the phone would be distracted from the music.
In a recent college chorus concert, one of the student singers checked his phone while walking onto the stage!
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Comment by Mary Catherine Dieter on September 16, 2009 at 5:06am - How can one perform to their best ability if we are constantly changing which side of the brain we are using...it would be like a fast game of ping-pong! Personally, after years of multi-tasking, I find it a needed discipline for myself to "be there"...whether that be at a performance, in a conversation with someone, enjoying a walk, etc. I find it rude and sel-important always trying to do 2 or more things at once.
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Comment by Royce Faina on August 30, 2009 at 2:47pm - Yes You Should!!!!!
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Comment by Erin Shrader on August 24, 2009 at 12:15pm - As an audience member, what I find most distracting is trying to ignore a sea of flickering little screens between me and the performer. I like to watch the musicians (or the movie). Device users forget that in a darkened room everybody behind them sees the light of their screen, however small.
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Comment by stu on August 18, 2009 at 6:19am
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fining the audience? you gotta be kidding. that's a fine way to build audience.
However an electromagnetic field strategically deployed over the performance venue intended to block cell phone waves might be in order.
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Comment by Stacey Burwick on August 17, 2009 at 7:48pm - I wouldn't pay to see a performance and then Tweet...that's essentially like paying to Tweet for an hour and a half, and why pay when you can do it any other time for free?
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Comment by Birdy on August 8, 2009 at 6:46am - Why would you waste your time with Twitter while at a performance? Maybe I just don't get the "importance" of Twitter in peoples lives. Enjoy what your are there to experience at the performance, then Tweet away after. It's just not that big a deal. Your life will not end if you have to wait.
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Comment by Pete Chen on August 7, 2009 at 2:31pm -
the "penalty" is as Ameer observed, she "missed" her client's performance and thus, did not do her job (a publicist) well. Athletes, actors, musicians, we're all entertainers and like live blogging, social media introduces a new dimension/media to the experience. If you can't perform your job as expected, you shouldn't do it (Ameer). If it pushes or drives the medium (say like a live radio/TV broadcast or webcast does) then, by all means.
The performance issue raised by the NFL with regards to Chad Ochocinco and others has less to do with on the field performance (I still can't text w/o putting my bow down) and more so about in-game communication. Coaches are more concerned about signals and play information being given away/stolen by opponents than they are about the distraction (although that is part of the issue) and social media represents a drippy faucet. They don't like it in game or in practice because there's less PR control, less playbook control.
And that's only the issue of the player/entertainer twittering, not someone in the audience. We know in stadiums of 80,000+ writing a text message is the least of distracted things audience menbers do already.
But if the issue you're trying to take on is whether people in the audience should, it's just two fundamental issues. 1) Are they disrespecting the performer and 2) Are they creating a problem for others?
Answer 1) No. They paid their money, so the only disrespect an audience member is paying is to themselves, who are obviously missing something good, and to their closest neighbors who shouldn't have to deal with that irritable glow. But basically, as a performer, if you paid, as long as you don't disturb my performance and the experience for others, I could care less if you spent the whole time in the bathroom or outside the hall blogging away - you missed out but I got your money.
2) As stated above, the greater issue is whether it creates a distraction for others and obviously yes it does so until you can text without moving - or until we create stadium boxes set aside for live bloggers and texters - don't do it. . In classical music, etiquette dictates that audience members sit quietly with few distracting movements save for the occasional cough which-by-all-means-please-try-and-save-it-for-the-breaks-but-I'll-forgive you-once-or-twice-should-you-really-have-a-problem. IMHO, I'd prefer a looser environment for listening but I wouldn't want to disrespect another audience members experience so really, the lowest common denominator fits.
[Side note: When I was in high school, I remember when the "band" learned the etiquette of applauding after a solo in jazz performances and then automatically decided to apply the same rule to cadenzas in classical performance. It irritated me to no end that people weren't learning the "proper" etiquette. But that's many years past so , oh well... It's like people applauding after a movement - they just don't know better. ]
I'm so reminded by the PDQ Bach bit "New Horizons in Music Appreciation for orchestra & commentators Beethoven's Fifth Symphony"
So the 140 character answer to your question is: Duh no to fines, but like any distraction such as talking aloud or dancing in the aisles, escort them out quietly. Don't ruin it for others.
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Comment by eddymontreal on August 7, 2009 at 12:09pm -
I think when you're doing a job and you are paid for it, it's your duty to respect the rules and stick to the work in progress. Even if you are not paid for it, you're there to play and concentration is crucial and you need to respect your colleagues, your public and yourself.
I strongly believe messenging, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. are great social networks but can hurt when people tend to abuse them: If they cough, they need to say it to the world! I came across a friend downtown at some point and when I asked how things, she replied:"You gotta check my Facebook for updates!" What about the old phone call and get together for a cup of coffee? Internet is part of our lives today and that's fine but it really bothers me to see people's lives displayed simultaneously to the world and the lack of interpersonal face to face interactions (when possible of course). And please don't send me a "hug", a "poke", a "flower" and some "virtual gift" that is nothing more but an open door from some business to my personal data.
Moderation and common sense is important when using those networks. Sorry Rory, I didn't respect the 140 characters or less ;--) (oups, a virtual smiley!)
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Comment by Colleen Schoneveld on August 7, 2009 at 8:25am - I agree with Hilary. Everyone at a concert has already been asked to turn off their cell phones for good reason. Your phone would have to be on wouldn't it? Why go to a concert if you want to be somewhere else? Live music is such a wonderful treat. The cell phone is ever present. Plus there is the 'filming' done on cell phones... I am not allowed to carry in my camera equipment unless I have been hired to do so...
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