#ThingsBlackPeopleDo is number one twitter trending
It's an interesting tag, this #ThingsBlackPeopleDo Mostly invoked by (if pictures are indicators) primary by black individuals. Some evocative, some ironic racism, some culturally self-referential. Any thoughts on this current organic real-time global conversation? Part of some of whole, yet individualistic. Where's Barry, would love to hear his thoughts on this. Example tweets: netty2189: #thingsblackpeopledo call each other nigga and think its cute less than 20 seconds ago from TweetCaster · Reply · View Tweet Upt0wntruths: #ThingsBlackPeopleDo own maddddd jewlery ...regardless if you live in the projects less than 20 seconds ago from Echofon · Reply · View Tweet JessicaLXY: RT @Sugarscamp #thingsblackpeopledo Go "mmmm-hmmmm" with pursed lips and eye roll << mmmmmm-hmmmmm!!! lmao. LilRalphLauren: #thingsblackpeopledo Become the president of the united states of america!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Twin2388: #ThingsBlackPeopleDo learn how to become track stars when they hear a gun shot 6 minutes ago from Twitterrific · Reply · View Tweet Kenni329: #thingsblackpeopledo Start immature dumb trending topics like this that make them look like ignorant fools! C'mon, can we get it together?! Cheers, @SharonG
There have been a lot of racially-focused hashtags on Twitter including #TooBlackForTwitter, #BlackPeopleDontDoThat, #BlackPeopleCussWords, #BlackHorrorMovies, #BlackMamaQuotes (on Mother's Day) and the memorable weekend when there was a competition between #TeamBlackGirls, #TeamMixedGirls, #TeamSpanishGirls & #TeamWhiteGirls for primacy. There is an even more intense discussion over gender roles and some commentary on class (i.e. #MiddleClassInsults) and what it means to be "real". Liz Pullen nwjerseyliz@yahoo.com
Liz is right - there have been several of these racial #hashtags on Twitter. I have a few thoughts about this. First, Twitter is more popular with African Americans than with whites ( http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-study-results-2010-4 although this study has been criticized for small sample size). So, there's (proportionally) more black folks hanging out there. The kind of trending topic that you mentioned is, as I see it, part of the "backstage" (using Goffman's concept) race-talk that black folks have always engaged in among family-and-friends encounters which serves to build community and Identity within a racially hostile social context. Only now, the technology allows that "backstage" conversation to move into the "frontstage." Secondly, white people notice the hashtags about race and for many whites (not all, certainly) this is the first time they "notice" race which is usually an unmarked category for whites (as Frankenberg, and then lots of other people, noted). So, for example, there's this piece by Paul Carr at TechCrunch recently, noting the hashtags about race ( http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/02/a-limey-writes/) and citing their appearance as part of his evidence that there's "self-segregation online." While I don't doubt that there is self-segregation online, I don't think the hashtags are necessarily the best evidence of this. To my mind, Carr's observation about the hashtags is sort of like the question "why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" question (see Beverly Tatum's book on this). Short answer: because they're friends, hanging out together and it only seems like "self-segregation" if you're white. I'm sure danah boyd and other folks on the list have different thoughts on these hashtags. ~ Jessie @JessieNYC * * * My latest book: Cyber Racism http://www.cyberracism.com On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 12:05 AM, live <human.factor.one@gmail.com> wrote:
It's an interesting tag, this #ThingsBlackPeopleDo Mostly invoked by (if pictures are indicators) primary by black individuals. Some evocative, some ironic racism, some culturally self-referential.
Any thoughts on this current organic real-time global conversation? Part of some of whole, yet individualistic. Where's Barry, would love to hear his thoughts on this.
Example tweets:
netty2189: #thingsblackpeopledo call each other nigga and think its cute less than 20 seconds ago from TweetCaster · Reply · View Tweet
Upt0wntruths: #ThingsBlackPeopleDo own maddddd jewlery ...regardless if you live in the projects less than 20 seconds ago from Echofon · Reply · View Tweet
JessicaLXY: RT @Sugarscamp #thingsblackpeopledo Go "mmmm-hmmmm" with pursed lips and eye roll << mmmmmm-hmmmmm!!! lmao.
LilRalphLauren: #thingsblackpeopledo Become the president of the united states of america!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Twin2388: #ThingsBlackPeopleDo learn how to become track stars when they hear a gun shot 6 minutes ago from Twitterrific · Reply · View Tweet
Kenni329: #thingsblackpeopledo Start immature dumb trending topics like this that make them look like ignorant fools! C'mon, can we get it together?!
Cheers, @SharonG _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
A small note: Is it possible that this has arisen within the same continuum as the apparently financially successful Stuff White People Like blog? (Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuff_White_People_Like & blog: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/) I don't know that this would be construed as similar "race talk" by Goffman (IANA Sociologist), but it would seem to be a similar online phenomenon.) Best, pml On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 7:50 AM, Jessie Daniels <jessiedanielsnyc@gmail.com> wrote:
Liz is right - there have been several of these racial #hashtags on Twitter.
I have a few thoughts about this. First, Twitter is more popular with African Americans than with whites ( http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-study-results-2010-4 although this study has been criticized for small sample size). So, there's (proportionally) more black folks hanging out there. The kind of trending topic that you mentioned is, as I see it, part of the "backstage" (using Goffman's concept) race-talk that black folks have always engaged in among family-and-friends encounters which serves to build community and Identity within a racially hostile social context. Only now, the technology allows that "backstage" conversation to move into the "frontstage."
Secondly, white people notice the hashtags about race and for many whites (not all, certainly) this is the first time they "notice" race which is usually an unmarked category for whites (as Frankenberg, and then lots of other people, noted). So, for example, there's this piece by Paul Carr at TechCrunch recently, noting the hashtags about race ( http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/02/a-limey-writes/) and citing their appearance as part of his evidence that there's "self-segregation online." While I don't doubt that there is self-segregation online, I don't think the hashtags are necessarily the best evidence of this. To my mind, Carr's observation about the hashtags is sort of like the question "why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" question (see Beverly Tatum's book on this). Short answer: because they're friends, hanging out together and it only seems like "self-segregation" if you're white.
I'm sure danah boyd and other folks on the list have different thoughts on these hashtags.
~ Jessie @JessieNYC
* * * My latest book: Cyber Racism http://www.cyberracism.com
On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 12:05 AM, live <human.factor.one@gmail.com> wrote:
It's an interesting tag, this #ThingsBlackPeopleDo Mostly invoked by (if pictures are indicators) primary by black individuals. Some evocative, some ironic racism, some culturally self-referential.
Any thoughts on this current organic real-time global conversation? Part of some of whole, yet individualistic. Where's Barry, would love to hear his thoughts on this.
Example tweets:
netty2189: #thingsblackpeopledo call each other nigga and think its cute less than 20 seconds ago from TweetCaster · Reply · View Tweet
Upt0wntruths: #ThingsBlackPeopleDo own maddddd jewlery ...regardless if you live in the projects less than 20 seconds ago from Echofon · Reply · View Tweet
JessicaLXY: RT @Sugarscamp #thingsblackpeopledo Go "mmmm-hmmmm" with pursed lips and eye roll << mmmmmm-hmmmmm!!! lmao.
LilRalphLauren: #thingsblackpeopledo Become the president of the united states of america!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Twin2388: #ThingsBlackPeopleDo learn how to become track stars when they hear a gun shot 6 minutes ago from Twitterrific · Reply · View Tweet
Kenni329: #thingsblackpeopledo Start immature dumb trending topics like this that make them look like ignorant fools! C'mon, can we get it together?!
Cheers, @SharonG _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
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Are you saying Anthropologists and others in the social sciences only notice things about other races because of their very own race? Not because, you know, it's inherent in their discipline? ;)
Secondly, white people notice the hashtags about race and for many whites (not all, certainly) this is the first time they "notice" race which is usually an unmarked category for whites (as Frankenberg, and then lots of other people, noted).
It's an interesting tag, this #ThingsBlackPeopleDo Mostly invoked by (if pictures are indicators) primary by black individuals. Some evocative, some ironic racism, some culturally self- referential.
Any thoughts on this current organic real-time global conversation? Part of some of whole, yet individualistic. Where's Barry, would love to hear his thoughts on this.
Example tweets:
netty2189: #thingsblackpeopledo call each other nigga and think its cute less than 20 seconds ago from TweetCaster · Reply · View Tweet
Upt0wntruths: #ThingsBlackPeopleDo own maddddd jewlery ...regardless if you live in the projects less than 20 seconds ago from Echofon · Reply · View Tweet
JessicaLXY: RT @Sugarscamp #thingsblackpeopledo Go "mmmm-hmmmm" with pursed lips and eye roll << mmmmmm-hmmmmm!!! lmao.
LilRalphLauren: #thingsblackpeopledo Become the president of the united states of america!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Twin2388: #ThingsBlackPeopleDo learn how to become track stars when they hear a gun shot 6 minutes ago from Twitterrific · Reply · View Tweet
Kenni329: #thingsblackpeopledo Start immature dumb trending topics like this that make them look like ignorant fools! C'mon, can we get it together?!
Cheers, @SharonG _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http:// aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
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participants (4)
-
Jessie Daniels -
live -
Liz -
Pete[r] Landwehr