I think social media is well suited to observe the ordinary
for a couple of reasons. First, social media is used mainly by people that are
themselves ordinary. This means that
they can relate. Their ordinary lives easily recognize the ordinary and
appreciate it (ordinarily). Another reason is that other forms of media aren’t
concerned with the ordinary. Except maybe a 15 second segment in the news about
a cat fashion show that they might use when time is abundant, TV and other
mainstream news sources use more fantastic and sensational pieces to attract an
audience. You don’t see people rubbernecking on the highway when someone is
walking their dog alongside, but you do seem them rubbernecking when there is a
major accident. Why? An accident is much more sensational and people will
always slow down for a closer look, hoping to see something horrifying.
Ordinary Student, Extraordinary Scholar: Travis Raymond
Travis appears to be like any other BYU student, a sweater wearer, a mac lover. But wait...WHAT'S THAT ON HIS FACE?! Oh don't mind that, it's just his AWESOME beard. If you have to ask why his beard is awesome, press ALT+F4 right now, then go drink bleach.
He works hard for the money, so you better treat him right. Travis loves Madonna, and has taken her lyrics upon himself as a sort of credo to live by.
He won't be distracted from his studies, even by me putting a camera in front of his laptop and taking pictures. He just tap-tap-taps away at his work, like the 8th litte dwarf.
GREAT JOB TRAVIS!
[sigh]
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh pretty friggin' hard. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteAll hilarity aside, I think you make a great point early on about how social media resonates with people because viewers are as ordinary as the creators. That identification is a strong uniting force, and keeps social media enticing for millions of ordinary people. Although we all seem to like sensational stories and events, I think we all connect better to ordinary stories and events because we identify with them; those things could really happen to us too.
ReplyDelete