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Twitter's Stenciled San Francisco Street Tweets Illegal Graffiti, City Says (sfchronicle.com) 108

Posted by msmash from the backfire dept.
For the better part of a year, Twitter has been trying to rebrand itself as a safe place for healthy conversations -- rather than a social network rife with bullying and racism. But its latest advertising campaign, one that involves stenciling city sidewalks with users' tweets, might brand the site as a scofflaw instead. From a report: Earlier this week, Twitter users started posting pictures of the stencils popping up around the downtown corridor, part of the campaign running in San Francisco and New York through early October. Some were strategically placed. "Twitter is like running up the down escalator," said one, neatly sprayed in front of an escalator leading to a BART station. "Twitter is garbage and I am a raccoon," said another near a trash can.

Apt or not, the stencils, created using a spray-paint-like chalk, are illegal, according to Rachel Gordon, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works. "That's not the use of the sidewalks," she said. "We can go and document them. If they don't remove them immediately, we'll send a crew to remove them and charge them."
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Twitter's Stenciled San Francisco Street Tweets Illegal Graffiti, City Says More

Twitter's Stenciled San Francisco Street Tweets Illegal Graffiti, City Says

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  • But it's OK . . . (Score:4, Funny)

    by PeeAitchPee ( 712652 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @11:08AM (#59190866)
    . . . to have needles and human shit all over the street. WTG San Fran!
    • You're not wrong. This story is fucking aggravating. It'a as if SF reads their list of priorities through a kaleidoscope.

      • Absolutely you are now wrong. It's a well known fact that all resources are fungible and cities are able to direct everything to solve one problem leaving everything else in limbo.

    • Just means you need a media change (Score:5, Insightful)

      by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @11:16AM (#59190918)

      Twitter should have paid a homeless person to reshape human street feces into the tweets, instead of using paint. Then SF would have been totally cool with it.

    • Trash isn't okay (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Firethorn ( 177587 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @11:27AM (#59190994) Homepage Journal

      Given that I've read that they've created a multi-million effort to try to remove the needles and human shit, I'd say that it isn't "okay", and the city is trying to deal with the ongoing problem, even if it's way overspending in my opinion for too little in the way of results.

      The difference here is that Twitter has money that can be profitably extracted, bums and homeless people don't. You can threaten Twitter with a $2M fine and possibly get it. You can't threaten a bum with a $2 fine and expect to get anything but a handful of shit.

      Also, there's commercial purpose behind this, unlike say, children manually using chalk to make a hopscotch pattern or such. The city already charges for advertisements in the facility, this is avoiding that.

      Honestly, if I was (evil) twitter, I'd drag my feet just a smidge and have my people clean it up just before the city would dispatch cleaners. Job done, they weren't intended to last long anyways.

      Though "spray paint like chalk" makes me wonder how durable it would be compared to normal chalk. If it's in a sheltered area, it could last quite a long time depending upon the surface. I'd imagine that unlike normal chalk, it'd get into the crevices better and thus last a lot longer.

      • Given that I've read that they've created a multi-million effort to try to remove the needles and human shit, I'd say that it isn't "okay", and the city is trying to deal with the ongoing problem, even if it's way overspending in my opinion for too little in the way of results.

        Sy the name "San Francisco", and some Fox News viewer is going to start yapping about turds and needles. I think they kinda like turds or something.

      • Somebody used it in my town and it lasted months, and in the end they paid the fine because it requires a pressure washer to remove it quickly. Otherwise you'd be scrubbing it off. It did wash off in a few days of hard rain.

        In a driveway, used by kids, it would seem easy to clean, just hose it down and call it good enough, or hose it down again later after it has time to soak.

        Much more durable than "normal" sidewalk chalk that children use.

      • You can't threaten a bum with a $2 fine and expect to get anything but a handful of shit.

        Or you could, you know, throw them in jail or institutionalize them like they did before there was shit and needles all over the streets. The city has enabled this bad behavior and absolutely deserves to be mocked for it.

        • Alright, so throw them in jail, and not only do you still not get $2, you are also now forking over upwards of $100/day minimum to keep that person in jail. Doesn't seem like a good financial choice.

          Perhaps jailing people isn't a solution to all of our societal problems.

          • Not jail. Mental wards.

          • Perhaps jailing people isn't a solution to all of our societal problems.

            Neither is endless handouts and moronic soft-hearted 'compassion' that still leaves these people on the streets to rot, destroying tourism, and driving businesses out, and creating a horrific health issue.

            Maybe you've never worked downtown of a major city and have had to deal with this shit-show of human tragedy on a day-to-day basis, stepping past junkies taking shelter in doorways, and riding in parking garage elevators that smell like urinals. Maybe you haven't had to grow the callouses that comes with w

    • Actually, the "cleanup crews" washing away the ads will go around the needles and shit, very neatly, I might add, so as to not displace them.

      • I wouldn't pick up a needle I saw on a street in SF without protective gear and hazard pay.

        I don't blame them.

        • What they need is a Zamboni machine.

          • Or maybe just some of these? [duckduckgo.com]

            But I'm not sure how those would deal with human waste and needles. That might be a good design challenge for SF's best and brightest. It could also serve as a roving soy latte dispenser!

            • But I'm not sure how those would deal with human waste...

              Rotating knives and heavy soundproofing... then the blood comes out this chute here, into the dispenser, while the meat is lifted by a conveyor to a catering truck driving alongside.

    • No, that's bad too.

    • Note to self: never visit that dumbass city.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Megol ( 3135005 )

      Logic clearly isn't one of your strengths: If someone were proudly labeling each pile of shit and every needle with their name as an advertisement SF would know who to squeeze for the cleanup. And who says anybody thinks it's OK? Idiots like you.

    • . . . to have needles and human shit all over the street. WTG San Fran!

      I wonder if it is illegal to stencil a turd?

    • But they know who put the graffiti there since Twitter isn't trying to even hide it. However they don't know who put the other stuff on the sidewalk.

    • First trip to SF last december. Nice place, but the comments about human waste, and wasted humans littering the downtown area are not exaggerated. There are two worlds going on there, more so than I've seen in any other city (haven't been to NY though).

  • I am certain that Twitter knows full well the legality of their marketing campaign and will gladly pay any bill from the city and call it money well spent for the buzz generated.

    • I'm not sure I own the easement in front of my home and am responsible for the upkeep on it mowing fixing the sidewalk etc... I can even put up signs so long as they don't block the sidewalk and people who have security system have signs that are little more than adverts for their security company in the easement by the sidewalks. Houses with kids have chalked in hopscotch boards... Could I not allow twitter to advertise in my easement? I mean I would understand if they didn't ask the owner for permission

      • Okay, this can be a touch complicated.
        1. You still own the land that the easement is on. Somebody else can own the actual "easement".
        2. An easement is basically a defined right. So the power company can have an easement on your property to run power lines within a defined corridor, for example. You are restrained from screwing with their power lines or their ability to maintain said power lines, they're restrained in how much they can screw with your property even within the defined limits, pretty much

  • Twitter just stenciled my front lawn! I haven't checked the backyard yet.

  • If you are going to advertise you need to pay. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @11:11AM (#59190886)

    Advertising when done correctly will need to support someone or a group of people.

    The Billboard on the road, the property owner will get paid to have the billboard available
    But websites, Radio, TV that offer a service for free will have advertisement to pay for its operations.

    If Twitter did this and paid the City for the rights to do such, to help pay for overall street cleanup, or offer some services, then fine. Otherwise it should be illegal, and considered graffiti because it is just like Spam Email. Just a one way form of advertisement.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by emc ( 19333 )

      If Twitter did this and paid the City for the rights to do such, to help pay for overall street cleanup, or offer some services, then fine. Otherwise it should be illegal, and considered graffiti because it is just like Spam Email. Just a one way form of advertisement.

      It's freaking chalk. The next time someone vomits or pees on it, it'll disappear. Paying the city for this would be like SF charging someone for skywriting.

      San Francisco — the city that steals your rights, and sells them back to you.

      • It's freaking chalk. The next time someone vomits or pees on it, it'll disappear.

        Shit? What about shit?

      • I am trying to figure out what crazy side streets Slashdotters travel in LA. While nearly all big cities have streets and blocks that should be avoided, it seems that Slashdotters just intentionally travel to these streets in LA because they want to make fun of California.

        Or is it they never been there, and are just taking their source from Fox News?

        But go to any large city, Liberal or Conservative. There is going to be an area that really isn't that good, and should be avoided.

        • Where did LA come into this? The article - and the comments - are about San Francisco.

        • It's SF, not LA.

          As for which street - EVERY FUCKING STREET in the downtown area is beset by crazy street people. (They're not all homeless. A good number live indoors at City expense. But still run wild on the streets.). Back when I lived in SF it was pretty commonplace to see human shit on the sidewalks. It's been a while, and friends tell me it's only become worse.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by PCM2 ( 4486 )

        It's freaking chalk. The next time someone vomits or pees on it, it'll disappear. Paying the city for this would be like SF charging someone for skywriting.

        You can't pay the City for this. There is no advertising space on sidewalks. This is just illegal graffiti. This has happened over and over when companies want to promote some crap, usually around trade shows downtown. That Twitter is getting its hand slapped for it now is nothing new. They've been slapping hands over this garbage since the 90s.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Khyber ( 864651 )

        "It's freaking chalk."

        Spray-on chalk is way more durable than regular street chalk, and often needs a pressure washer to fully remove. That costs money and means having to hire someone to do it as this stuff is rain resistant for several hard downpours. It's what's used on football fields and baseball diamonds and temporary parking lots.

  • Bullying and Racism (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The opening sentence of that article:

    For the better part of a year, Twitter has been trying to rebrand itself as a safe place for healthy conversations — rather than a social network rife with bullying and racism

    LOL. So how's that working out? Mr. Bullying-and-Racism is the #1 reason Twitter is still even relevant.

    • You're a NAZI!!!!

      (did I do it right?)

    • LOL. So how's that working out? Mr. Bullying-and-Racism is the #1 reason Twitter is still even relevant.

      What about for establishing the pecking order in the grievance hierarchy and woke virtue signaling by blue checkmarks?

      'safe place for healthy conversations'

      More like safe space for leftist approved ideas only, unless you have enough political clout where getting shadowbanned or kicked off is more trouble than it's worth.

  • It's fucking *CHALK* for cying out loud (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mark-t ( 151149 ) <markt AT nerdflat DOT com> on Friday September 13, 2019 @11:21AM (#59190952) Journal

    It will be gone with the next rainfall. No cleanup crew required.

    Take a pill, for crying out loud. Holy shit, of all the things to complain about.

    If it had been obscene, or done with something more permanent, I could understand it, but this is harmless, and it's a CHALK-based substance.

    Children draw on the sidewalk in chalk all the fucking time.

    Hell, there's even a legal precedent for it from 2013 [itsartlaw.org].

    • Re:It's fucking *CHALK* for cying out loud (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Sneftel ( 15416 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @11:25AM (#59190978)

      Great. Hang on while I cover your house with Twitter ads. Don't worry, they'll be gone with the next rainfall! Don't worry, I'll be back with more after the next rainfall!

    • Re:It's fucking *CHALK* for cying out loud (Score:4, Interesting)

      by kirkc99 ( 2882627 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @11:49AM (#59191130)
      From TFA: "A hose may be in order if the city decides to rid itself of the tweets. Spray chalk, according to manufacturers’ websites, is harder to remove than regular chalk. Erasing the ads may call for a concentrated spray of water, light brushing and sometimes household cleaners."
    • You're not seeing a difference between children painting on the ground, and a corporate entity contracting workers to do so en masse? If allowed, companies will plaster every bit of common area with their ads.

      I've lived in cities with stringent billboarding and advertising laws, and it's much more pleasant to drive and walk about.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by g01d4 ( 888748 )

        You're not seeing a difference between children painting on the ground, and a corporate entity contracting workers to do so en masse? If allowed, companies will plaster every bit of common area with their ads.

        So clearly there's a line to be drawn and the question is where. Are the few(?) artsy-clever(?) stencils with a somewhat durable(?) chalk part of the slippery slope?

        • The line is commercial encroachment into the public space. Just like all these goddam scooters laying strewn about at every corner.

    • Hell, there's even a legal precedent for it from 2013 [itsartlaw.org].

      That was art. This is spam.

    • This is an advertisement, so they should be required to seek permission or permit for the business entity to use public resources.

      It is a public nuisance akin to graffiti. If you have a driveway, would you want me scribbling chalk messages onto it without your permission? It's just chalk...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Nkwe ( 604125 )
      Perhaps it not that much of a problem if one company does it as a one-time publicity stunt, as you say it will be gone with the next rainfall. For the first company to do it, it's kind of creative. However, what about when thousands of companies start doing it and continue to do it all the time? I wouldn't want to constantly see sidewalks and walls covered with endless advertising.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by laxguy ( 1179231 )
      we're talking about California... it's legally not allowed to rain there.

    • This is San Francisco, so it hardly ever rains [wunderground.com].

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PCM2 ( 4486 )

      It will be gone with the next rainfall. No cleanup crew required.

      So, uh ... next January?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kalpol ( 714519 )

      The stuff I've seen them use here is not just chalk, it seems to have some mildly waxy component to it that resists wear through a rainstorm or too. Seeing as how it doesn't rain for weeks or months on end here, they stay put for quite a while.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MikeKD ( 549924 )

      It will be gone with the next rainfall. No cleanup crew required.

      Take a pill, for crying out loud. Holy shit, of all the things to complain about.

      If it had been obscene, or done with something more permanent, I could understand it, but this is harmless, and it's a CHALK-based substance.

      Children draw on the sidewalk in chalk all the fucking time.

      Hell, there's even a legal precedent for it from 2013 [itsartlaw.org].

      So, they'll be around sometime until November, probably. Perhaps you should read up on rainfall and the Mediterranean climate [wikipedia.org]before trying to make a hOt BuRn!

    • It will be gone with the next rainfall. No cleanup crew required.

      Just like that billboard on the side of the highway only shows ads for a little while and then disappears? The only reason you are defending this is because it's rare. The chalk isn't the issue the transient nature is. Now when Twitter is done, what happens when Facebook comes in? And Linked In after that? May we can start allocating days of the week to specific companies and they can pay for slots to plaster things which would wash away on the sidewalk all in an attempt to sell you more shit.

      Children draw on the sidewalk in chalk all the fucking time.

      For profit?

  • For the better part of a year, Twitter has been trying to rebrand itself as a safe place for healthy conversations -- rather than a social network rife with bullying and racism.

    Yes , rebranding. In other news Twitter has suspended a wide range of Iranian, Russian, Cuban, Venezuelan and Chinese accounts. And Catalan accounts. Because they care about healthy conversation and we wouldn't want to be all confused by viewpoints which are not endorsed by US government.

  • The images show tweets that have exactly 1 or 2 likes. Not insanely popular tweets. So it looks like someone at Twitter had to read each tweet that started with "Twitter is ..." to cull out the ones for this campaign. I suppose we could help them out and add our own suggestions. En masse. And help out Facebook, Tumblr, Slashdot as well... (BTW, per the surprise of @TinaBShaffer, Twitter didn't tell the authors that the tweets were going to be used)

  • Twitter is an outrage platform (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sinij ( 911942 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @11:33AM (#59191034)
    What healthy conversation? The format explicitly prevents nuanced conversation (no conversation threads, strict limits on characters). Twitter is a platform for delivering sound bites and venting outrage. By design. If they want healthy conversation, they need to redesign the platform.
  • This reminds me of a IBM campaign where they were pushing linux open source many moons ago.. https://www.zdnet.com/article/... [zdnet.com]

  • #TwitterIsACesspool

  • "Twitter has been trying to rebrand itself as a safe place for healthy conversations -- rather than a social network rife with bullying and racism"

    So the implication is that Twitter had previously been branding itself as a social network wife with bullying and racism? I don't understand this sentence.

  • This was happening in Austin too during SXSW (Score:5, Informative)

    by kalpol ( 714519 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @01:15PM (#59191536)

    People were spray-chalking their crappy band logos and startups all over walls and sidewalks. Yeah it's not permanent, but it also doesn't just wash off the next time it rains.

  • "Twitter is like running up the down escalator"
    "Twitter is garbage and I'm a raccoon"

    Those are advertising messages *for* twitter?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MikeKD ( 549924 )

      "Twitter is like running up the down escalator" "Twitter is garbage and I'm a raccoon"

      That's actually fun. Useless, but fun.

  • IBM tried that once - with Peace/Love/Linux logos. (Score:3)

    by sbaker ( 47485 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @02:05PM (#59191714) Homepage

    IBM did this for a while too - spraying Peace/Love/Linux signs all over various city streets.

    They got in trouble for it too - don't businesses ever learn lessons?

    https://d3nuqriibqh3vw.cloudfr... [cloudfront.net]

    https://www.sjbaker.org/wiki/i... [sjbaker.org]

    I guess it's a lot cheaper than actually paying for advertising space!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MikeKD ( 549924 )

      IBM did this for a while too - spraying Peace/Love/Linux signs all over various city streets.

      They got in trouble for it too - don't businesses ever learn lessons?

      https://d3nuqriibqh3vw.cloudfr... [cloudfront.net]

      https://www.sjbaker.org/wiki/i... [sjbaker.org]

      I guess it's a lot cheaper than actually paying for advertising space!

      Yes; they learned the advertising ROI is still positive because the fines are laughably low. (cf. Uber's constant breaking of laws)

  • History doesn't repeat itself, but... (Score:3)

    by cutecub ( 136606 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @02:39PM (#59191822)
    It seems Twitter has been taking lessons from IBM circa 2001:

    https://slashdot.org/story/01/... [slashdot.org]

  • I'm getting tired of the people and corporations who instead of respecting public spaces as a common good believe they are entitled to occupy/vandalize/steal/use as a unpaid billboard.

    • "Whose streets? Our streets!
      Whose streets? OUR STREETS!"

      There is no public space according to them. Forget about freedom of speech or the right to peacefully assemble. The same type infest these silicone valley corporations, so what else can you expect.

  • I remember when IBM did the same thing in 2001! Slashdot carried the story [slashdot.org].

    Quote:

    They claim their ad campaign is done in "bio degradable chalk" but that, even after a rain storm, "the penguins were still there ... smiling broadly."

    An IBM employee got 30 days community service in Chicago. [slashdot.org]

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