[Air-L] #ThingsBlackPeopleDo is number one twitter trending

Pete[r] Landwehr plandweh at cs.cmu.edu
Sat May 22 07:03:09 PDT 2010


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 at 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 at 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
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