Twitter is my favorite hood in cyberville. Anything and everything can happen there. The news, the analysis of the news, twists and turns, the good fun, the mashups on issues are endless. Maybe it is that I follow funny, smart people, but you never know what might trend, or at least offer lively commentating on any given day.
Yesterday, thanks to my friend Erica (@swirlspice) I noticed some black folks on Twitter were starting to use all these fabulous, hilarious #browntwitterbird avatars. So I had to investigate.
Seems it all started when "How Black People Use Twitter" was posted on Slate. The article focused on the habits of *some* African American people on Twitter and especially the use of hashtags designed for play, such as #itsallfunandgamesuntil (currently trending as I type). And the article included this graphic of a #browntwitterbird.
Then it all broke loose, in the style of laser-sharp-hilarious-run-with-it variety, when @InnyVinny posted "…oh, Slate…" in response.
You must go to the post to see her full dissection of "How Black People Use Twitter" and what happened to #browntwitterbird, but here's an excerpt or two:
You must go to the post to see her full dissection of "How Black People Use Twitter" and what happened to #browntwitterbird, but here's an excerpt or two:
Slate decided to post an article about “How Black People Use Twitter” (shouts out to @ManAboutIt for providing the link).
Umm…yeah.
I’m sure this was all based on actual research (because we need to fund worthy research projects in this economy), and that the title of the article itself was meant to generate “discussion,” but damn. I’ve said it once and I will say it again:
BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOT A MONOLITH.
I managed to make it to the end of the article where a bail-out attempt is made in the “of course this isn’t all black people” vein.
Ahh, redemption…
I’m still not sure whether this is a surreptitious attempt to talk about class differences in America or if the writer really, REALLY thinks that what *some* black folks have to say on Twitter is THAT interesting…then again, I don’t usually participate in trending topics or do “the Twitter” into the wee hours of the morning, so what do I know...?
Then, this: (Again, go to the post to see them all - there are many, any variations - and the comments)
...Either way, I’ve taken the graphic used for the article, a brown bird holding a blackberry and wearing a fitted baseball cap, and altered it a few times over. I figure that if Slate and the world are really that intrigued (and because Twitter can’t provide empirical data on who is who), those individuals who want to be identified as a black person using Twitter should be able to do so with a brown bird wearing a fitted cap in a color that best represents them.
UPDATE: I seem to have gotten a bit carried away…birds now available in more than fitted caps! ON SPINNING RIMS EVEN!!
(The #browntwitterbirds here are just a sample, and many folks have contributed their own)
Brilliant.
It didn't take long for Black folks on Twitter to take the ball and run with it with tweets and graphics. (Follow #browntwitterbird for more. Also found at #blacktwitterbird). It's become a meme!
Like these (via @LidiaAnain)
And then #howwhitepeopleusetwitter broke out. Hil-ar-ious. Check it out.
So what's a white girl like me to do with all of this. Just sit back and enjoy/learn from the sidelines? Not me. I posted a comment, of course, on …oh, Slate…:
"How bout a #browntwitterbird for white people who profess to 'get it,' feel left out, and want to appropriate!"
Oh, and then I blogged about it.
Update: I took @InnyVinny up on her invitation in her comment below to find a #browntwitterbird to call my own. It's up at @dancingdiva and here. I took the light skinned one even though I don't look cute in ball caps, because, as my five-year-old (light skinned) granddaughter says, "Grandma, you're the lightest skinded in the family." And I am.
I missed the trend, Ann, so thanks for pointing it out. I haven't been in Twitter much lately.
ReplyDeleteAs a white person who feels more allied with people of color than a lot of white folks, and who grew up around lots of folks of color, I like hearing these conversations. They feel familiar, and in-group (and I *feel* like a member of the in-group), but I avoid participating because I am not a member of the group. Does that make sense?
I love that Twitter allows for this kind of connection across networks.
Great comment, Amanda. Thank you! I often feel the same way - comfortable and familiar, yet not "of." So the question often is when to sit on the sidelines, and when to participate. I call it living on the intersection(s).
ReplyDeleteFor example, when I was at Mich Fest there was a hilarious African American comedian -- Karen Williams -- and sometimes it felt like I was the only white person laughing (loudly) at her jokes along with all the other black/brown people there. She even called me out - "the blonde!"
It really pains me that you guys have to sort of "live on the sideline." I can't imagine how that must feel. =(
ReplyDeleteI say join in! Somehow I think that if we all were able to share things across the board and find more commonalities, things would get better. That a lot of this racial nonsense (because a LOT is nonsense...or not really racial) can be seen for what it really is.
Then again, I'm an idealist.
Great post and feel free to appropriate all you want. A few of my non-brown friends are sporting brown twitter birds. =D
I agree and try not to be in the sidelines whenever possible! In fact the whole point of my blog is about joining in and being "a part with" as compared to "a part from" or a "a part of" I accept your invite to grab a brown twitter bird to call my own. Watch for it on Twitter! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post, Ann! I love your take as a non-black, White lady on all of the shenanigans born of the article on Slate. I honestly think this was the best thing to happen on Twitter in a long time. ~@thepbg
ReplyDeleteThank you! I agree that this might be the best Twitter meme ever!
ReplyDeleteThis was very funny to read! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete