Apparently, her re-tweet of a Tammy Bruce tweet is making news. What a lot of people are missing is that it’s possible to share the sentiment that Tammy expressed in her tweet and still oppose repeal of DADT and other issues. I don’t know Governor Palin’s opinion on the issue. However, I think it’s a stretch to claim that she is a proponent of repealing DADT based on one re-tweet.

I don’t believe Tammy was actually criticizing people who genuinely oppose repeal of DADT. After all, the most visible and vigorous opponent of repealing DADT was John McCain, someone who no one will mistake as a fanatic. The people Bruce is mocking are those on the right and the left who spend every waking hour of their day thinking about homosexuality.

I think they sort of hit the nail on the head here. First of all, it’s a retweet. It might well have been an accident, especially given the lack of follow-up. Assuming it wasn’t a mistake, though, the notion that Palin would criticize those who make gay rights a priority, either way, has basis in fact. Palin, herself, has spoken out against the repeal of DADT, and in favor of a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but hasn’t done so for a very long time. Since the 2008 presidential campaign, she has generally avoided gay rights issues.

She also made a point of bringing up a headline-making Facebook rant that featured several anti-gay slurs, but ignored the portion of the rant that actually made headlines.

When she did address the DADT repeal, in fact, it was to criticize President Obama for making it a priority:

Where I differ from C4P is that I don’t think it’s out of a differing sense of priorities, but out of a keen sense that this is a losing issue for her. Most of her fans know where she stands already, but beating that drum now would derive her little gain, and could only serve to alienate potential Palinistas. Even conservatives who oppose gay rights now do so with a ginger understanding that everybody knows, and loves, a few. Even in that Fox News clip, she didn’t bring it up, and pretty much avoided the central issue.

With that in mind, this retweet might simply have been a way for her to enter the debate, without really taking a stand, to let gay people (and their allies) know that it’s okay for them to like her, without actually taking a position that benefits them.

Of course, only Palin knows for sure, but I wouldn’t bet against Conservatives4Palin. For the time being, Palin fans can still oppose gay rights, until they get a clearer memo.

That is not to say that Palin’s tweet wasn’t newsworthy, or that people like our own Matt Schneider were off-base in reading into it. Absent a clear explanation, theirs was an intriguing interpretation, and I suspect that the rush to welcome Palin into the 21st Century might end up having a small shaming effect. If not on Palin, then perhaps some would-be supporters will wait for a pro-gay clarification, and drift away if it doesn’t come.

Update: As my friend Brad Friedman pointed out, C4P’s interpretation of Tammy Bruce’s tweet, to include those on the left who prioritize gay rights issues, makes no logical sense. Bruce is narrowly talking about those who “complain” about “the homos.”

That fact notwithstanding, I believe they still managed to come to a meaningful conclusion, even if accidentally.

Conservative radio host and proud lesbian Tammy Bruce joined the discussion about Navy Capt. Owen Honors and his controversially homophobic videos shown to his Navy crew, by tweeting, “But this hypocrisy is just truly too much. Enuf already–the more someone complains about the homos the more we should look under their bed.” Sarah Palin, who has not spoken out on the issue of “don’t ask don’t tell” or any gay issue really, re-tweeted Bruce’s message, thus leaving us to speculate about the meaning of this retweet heard ’round the world.

Bruce summarized the retweet accordingly, “I think [Palin's retweet of] my tweet is her first comment on DADT, treatment of gays & attempts to marginalize us–thank you Governor.” Some might be eager to criticize both Bruce’s use and Palin’s affirmation of the term “homo.” However, this looks like the surest sign yet that Palin is attempting to surprise people and to reach out for support amongst groups who have not been particularly fond of her in the past. Let’s see if Palin clears up her position in the coming days or if she’ll be too busy helping Bruce look under people’s beds.

Check out the mysterious retweet below:

Retweeting is familiar to members of the micro-blogging platform as a crucial piece of the service’s usefulness, in which followers pass on tweets, allowing wisdom and links alike to grow virally. But it’s important to remember that Twitter never imagined the force RT-ing would become; the feature was user-created and spread organically.

Now, it’s an example of a company embracing its user base, acknowledging their innovations or optimization and making steps to integrate the feature. It’s a truly commendable and savvy understanding of the way things move and grow online.

Here’s Stone’s full message about the gradual roll out:

We’ve just activated a feature called retweet on a very small percentage of accounts in order to see how it works in the wild. Retweet is a button that makes forwarding a particularly interesting tweet to all your followers very easy. In turn, we hope interesting, newsworthy, or even just plain funny information will spread quickly through the network making its way efficiently to the people who want or need to know.

You may remember that we shared the mechanics of this feature with developers a while back so they could think about how to work it into Twitter apps. Now we’re ready to start trying it on Twitter. The plan is to see how it goes first with this small release. If it needs more work, then we’ll know right away. If things look good, we’ll proceed with releasing the feature in stages eventually arriving at 100%.

(h/t WebNewser)

According to Zarrella, there are ways to maximize your exposure. Though the principles sounds simple, and dare we say, even inconsequential, it is crucial to realize the growing importance of spreading one’s ideas online, especially in the face of an uncertain future for journalism.

When layoffs hit a local paper last month, one newly jobless journalist was indignant as he wondered, “How is the fact that I don’t have a Twitter or Facebook account relevant to what I do?” But as circulations continue to fall and online readership rises, simple tactical adjustments must be made to ensure the proliferation of your news and ideas over others.

Based on Zarrilla’s report, Fast Company has a very detailed overview of the report, complete with charts and graphs so be sure to check that out here. But below is a quick breakdown of the steps you can take to increase the chances of being retweeted:

1. Use links, but be careful which URL shortener you use
2. “Please” and “retweet” are the third and fourth “most retweetable” words — so ask nicely!
3. Don’t actually use Twitter to tell people what you’re doing at the moment
4. Abbreviations and emoticons don’t cut it
5. Punctuation is good, but avoid semicolons
6. Be first with ideas and news
7. Utilize proper nouns
8. Negative emotions and complaints are to be avoided
9. The time and day you tweet on do make a difference

For the full list, as well as helpful charts and graphs, here’s the rundown.

Photo via Fast Company and Dan Zarrella