The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
the b-side
Thursday, January 19, 2017 — 3B
The first time I saw that
specific permutation of symbols
— “@fart” — was on a Headline
News Network chyron. Someone
had sent me a link to what he
claimed was “the funniest shit
I’ve ever seen.” Sure enough,
it was; this stunt was peak
performance art in the age of
social media, a brilliantly stupid
and stupidly brilliant confluence
of the 24-hour news cycle and
pure absurdism. The man behind
it all is more tastefully known as
Jon Hendren, a Bay Area-based
web developer specializing in a
fairly new field called DevOps.
But that “@fart” handle proved
too intriguing for me. Relatively
naive to Twitter, I took a deep
dive into Hendren’s hilarious,
wonderful profile and everything
that came with it — the infamous
shoe roast is another golden
moment — and thus, I was
converted: I was now a Weird
Twitter devotee. I managed to
get ahold of Hendren and ask
him a bit about his craft — he’s a
personal hero of mine, so having
him respond was quite the thrill.
What’s
a
bit
of
your
background, and how did you
get into “Weird Twitter”?
I’m
just
some
dude.
I’m
not
particularly
interesting
or well-educated, but I’ve got
a background in writing for
websites and sometimes mobile
games. Now I do marketing.
Interestingly enough, the guys
who hired me did so in part
because when you google me, one
of the first results is an article
where I talk about how much I
hate marketing.
“Weird Twitter” is primarily
made up of people who came
over
from
SomethingAwful
around 2008-2010. There are a
handful of reasons people made
the leap, but I think the big one
was that Twitter was just easier
to use on smartphones at that
period, and most of us had jobs
so it was just a better place to
post our dumb things. Then along
came style-biters with cartoon
avatars and names like Random
McBaconspoon and now I hate
Twitter.
So how did you come up with
your Twitter handle (which is
an all-time great)?
Honestly, I just typed it in and
it worked. I never really planned
to “use” Twitter for anything, so
I was goofing off, and it said the
name was available and I jumped
on it.
In your own words, what
characterizes
the
specific
“Weird
Twitter”
sense
of
humor?
A lot of it I think has its root in
some of the old SomethingAwful
stuff. If you go back and read
some of the front page and
the FYAD (Fuck You And Die)
subforum from like 2000-2010
you’ll probably notice a lot of the
same themes and tone. A lot of it
hasn’t held up over time, but some
of it is really good still. Lots of
diapers, if you’re into diapers.
The first time I read about
you was the HLN Edward
Scissorhands
stunt,
which,
for the record, is one of the
funniest
things
I’ve
ever
seen. Can you give a little
background behind that — how
it happened, the logistics, what
you think was the point of it,
etc.?
I still don’t know how it
happened. I got a pretty short
email the day before from a
producer or someone with just
a couple lines like, “Hey, want
to come on via Skype and talk
about Edward Snowden joining
Twitter?” and I immediately
replied “yes” before even fully
thinking it through. I think
there was also a bit in there
suggesting I might be having a
back-and-forth
with
someone
who was anti-Snowden, so I was
mentally preparing myself for
that. But I didn’t really have a
plan at all because I didn’t know
the structure of it for sure, I just
thought it’d be funny to make
it sound like I was there to talk
about Edward Scissorhands. I
figured they’d hang up on me as
soon as I said something weird,
but they didn’t and it kept going
for like 2 minutes. I asked my
friend Jesse Farrar to record it
in case it ended up being funny,
and as soon as the thing ended I
was convinced it was going to be
bad. I asked how bad it turned
out and he said, “No dude, this is
really good.” Then I went to work
and opened my laptop and there
were trending topics about it and
whatever else. Really weird day.
Has
that
whole
episode
changed anything for you?
Every couple months someone
recognizes me somewhere, which
is basically horrifying because
I’m usually doing something
dumb or dressed like shit.
How do you come up with
tweets? Does it come easily to
you?
I don’t know, ideas just sort of
happen as I go about my business.
I don’t really work on them unless
I have to get the wording into
shape. Some guys really enjoy
workshopping their tweets and
posting revisions to see how they
perform and whatnot. That’s not
for me. I just have to get a funny
idea out before I stop thinking it’s
funny and before I bother anyone
I know in real life with it.
Do you think Twitter is
legitimately an art form?
I think it is if you treat it a
certain way. Like, if you want to
convey an idea or a concept or get
some sort of result or reaction in
just this small space, I think that
and (a bunch of other uses) are
legitimate art. But at the same
time, you also will come across
folks who are just re-engineering
worn-out concepts and line-
break tweets in a desperate bid to
get the favs and RTs. That part is
sad and not artistic.
Given that, what are some
of
your
favorite
Twitter
accounts?
I love @dogboner, @dril, @
degg, @bronzehammer, and all
my other wonderful boys.
Can
you
speak
a
little
bit about DevOps and your
involvement in it?
Without getting too far into the
weeds, DevOps is a methodology
software
developers
and
IT
admins can use to create their
software better and faster. It
is a good thing, but incredibly
boring and irrelevant to 99.99%
of people. (Like me)
The software my company
makes deals with a lot of what
makes DevOps hard for people,
so I have to think about it a lot.
What we make is actually useful
for people interested in DevOps,
but it’s practically impossible for
anyone to cut through the sea of
buzzwords and self-appointed
“Thought Leaders’” meaningless
blog posts, so I figured I should
just tell everyone I’m one of those
thought leaders now, and also
the best one. And it worked. I’m
the best one now. Smartest, most
handsome, highest libido. Most
of the “real” thought leaders hate
me for it, which is how I know
it’s good. I don’t really mention
the company on my Twitter
account or tie it back in, I mainly
just enjoy making self-righteous
people mad.
So is DevOps work a career
path that sprung out of your
Twitter usage?
Yup, it’s absolutely something
I never would have learned
anything about otherwise. I’m
extremely lazy.
Because of the election, a
certain subset of Weird Twitter
has become identified with the
Chapo/”Dirtbag Left” crowd.
Do you think there’s a political
utility to Weird Twitter? And
if so, is it worthwhile?
Yeah, and it is worthwhile. I
think people in that Dirtbag Left
community are usually seen as
outspoken and even credible(!)
on matters of politics. From what
I’ve seen they typically don’t
roast someone unless they can
back it up. They criticize a wide
range of things and people, but
do it eloquently and lay out their
arguments pretty well. It gives
them a certain type of credibility
that’s in short supply lately. Of
course, this will all come back
to bite me as soon as we find out
one of them is a serial killer or
something.
But like, if the world’s most
popular celebrity tweets, “Hey,
mango-flavored
chapstick
is
great, maybe get some next
time you’re at the gas station,”
I’ll think, “hey fuck you pal,
mind your business,” but if
Larry Website says to join the
Democratic Socialists of America
and yourself get involved in
politics, well shit, I will join the
DSA (and I have, along with
thousands of other people). I
think there’s a huge amount of
potential in people like that so
long as they keep pushing into the
mainstream and don’t just peak
with a successful podcast.
That said, I don’t know any
of the Dirtbag Left people on a
personal level, but they seem to
be doing something good at an
important point in time, so I like
‘em and think they’re good.
So what do you see as the
future of this subculture?
We’re moving the whole thing
into VR as soon as Big Toilet
Simulator
2018
is
released.
DLC will let you choose from 4
different pee stream colors.
This might still be a sore
spot, but want to talk about
the infamous shoe roast at
all—what the whole deal was,
were you actually pissed, etc.?
Another one of my favorite
Twitter moments.
Nah, it was cool. Greg and Dave
and used to work together at a
weird startup where we had way
too much time on our hands, and
we roasted each other constantly.
That particular day I was fairly
busy and didn’t see a lot of it until
later. I deserved it though, the
shoes were bad. I dropped them
off at a thrift store I lived near at
the time, which then closed a few
months later. Totally unrelated
probably I hope.
NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT
Senior Arts Editor
UNSPLASH
An example of a clothing showroom
The uneven crossroad of Twitter
and the modern fashion zeitgeist
The role of‘Fashion Twitter’ and its unique space on the expansive website
The
corner
of
Twitter
dedicated to fashion, or “Fashion
Twitter,” is a weird place. It has
never really been a place for
in-depth exploration of fashion
trends or to share what’s hot this
Spring/Summer, but is more of a
space for surface-level content.
I think this is primarily due to
the fact that other social media
platforms
have
much
more
pointed communities for serious
fashion talk, leaving Twitter to
be the home of more superficial
discussion.
Fashion Twitter has many
different facets, but at its roots, it
primarily serves two purposes:
First as a medium for people to
vent and second, to post fashion
memes. Both of these uses of
Fashion Twitter have attracted
fashion snobs and marginally
attached
fashion
consumers
alike.
While the brands themselves
don’t have a hold on the Fashion
Twitter market, designers from
Kanye West to Hedi Slimane
have used the site to express
their
various
troubles
with
the industry. Slimane’s since-
deleted rant started with the
following tweet:
“FACT CHECKING / THERE
HAVE BEEN INACCURATE
STATEMENTS ON RECENT
ARTICLES REGARDING HEDI
AND THE USAGE OF THE YSL
HISTORICAL LOGO”
It
then
snowballed
into
an
in-depth,
third-person
account that I call “YSL: FOR
THE RECORD,” highlighting
Silmane’s long history of using
the YSL logo in his two different
tenures at the helm of the
fashion house (first as Menswear
Ready-to-Wear director, then as
Creative Director).
Kanye West has had his fair
share of Twitter diatribes, as
well: He (questionably) took
to Twitter to ask Facebook
founder, Mark Zuckerberg, to
invest in him after pointing out
how many fashion houses have
shot down his ideas because he
is considered an outsider.
West also used the site to
complain about how so many
houses were biting the designs of
Slimane rather than pushing the
envelope, which is something
that has been seen over the past
few years.
It is interesting to me how
designers and artists on the level
of Slimane and West have used
Twitter as the choice outlet for
their frustrations. To me, the
value of Twitter has always been
the ability to send small tidbits of
information to a large audience,
so from that perspective it makes
perfect sense to use it to express
discontent with a situation. At
the same time, however, the
Twitter demographic does not
seem to align perfectly with
the group that someone like
Slimane would be looking to
reach through his self-defense.
A couple fashion blogs will
pick up the story and run with
it, which is where it will gain
traction, but it’s extremely rare
to see Fashion Twitter having a
serious conversation about the
tweets themselves.
On the other end of Fashion
Twitter are accounts like Four
Pins. Since shutting down its
blog in late 2015, Four Pins
Twitter account has continued
in high spirits. They can be
found talking trash about Roshe
Runs.
Or providing plenty of content
to tag “your most swagless
homie” (i.e. your only other
friends interested in fashion on
Twitter) in.
These tweets are lighthearted
jokes that people who are
interested in fashion can relate
to, just like any other Twitter
community but on a much
smaller
scale
(compared
to
Four Pins who has 200,000
followers).
Something that I’ve asked
myself is what value does Fashion
Twitter add to the fashion scene
as a whole? Facebook is great
for buying and selling highly
sought-after items, Instagram is
a fantastic platform (for better
or worse) to “flex“ the latest
pickup and for the proliferation
of trends in general and then
there’s Twitter. Besides memes
and the occasional tirade, I don’t
think that Twitter adds much
else, but paradoxically that’s
what makes it so useful.
For something that many
people view as a hobby, fashion
can be terribly competitive:
Competition shows itself on
Facebook
through
people
constantly seeking the most
iconic (and expensive) garments
from a designer, and it shows on
Instagram with users always
trying to post outfits in the most
exclusive pieces. This sense
of
competition
comes
from
the sense of urgency that has
plagued the fashion industry.
While everyone from designers
to Instagram users are working
so hard to be perceived as
trailblazers in their own ways,
Fashion Twitter hangs back and
provides a place for people to
complain from time-to-time
and to post dumb jokes. For
people like myself, this can be
a much-needed break from the
competitive scene.
NARESH IYENGAR
Daily Arts Writer
Young Thug’s known for the
outrageous shit he does. He
wears women’s clothing. He
doesn’t eat, like, anything. He
takes molly regularly.
Etc., etc. The dude
just doesn’t care. And
apparently, he didn’t
give enough to show
up to the filming of
his “Wyclef Jean”
video. But that didn’t
stop director Ryan Staake from
making one anyways. And, while
the end result isn’t necessarily a
music video, that’s kind of what
makes it the greatest music video
ever.
The video opens on a
black screen that features text
through which Staake introduces
himself to us: “I don’t have any
of what I planned to film. So, I’ll
just explain how this video fell
apart,” the screen reads at one
point. He goes on to humorously
chronicle the day’s events via this
text on the screen, where we’re
told they continued shooting
without Thug, under
the impression he
would eventually
arrive. We see shots of
girls in bikinis, shots of
girls smashing bikinis,
shots of girls eating
hot dogs, but not shots
of Thug. And this does not go
unmentioned by the director.
He tells us, too, that
his only interaction with Thug
was via an audio recording sent
to him, in which Thug details
the premise for the video. This
recording goes on to narrate the
entire video. For example, over
the audio sample Thug says, “I
want like, police cars. I want kids
in the adult car,” and we see a
shot of just that: kids dressed in
police uniforms sitting in a police
car. This continues throughout.
And the humor is not subtle, as
Staake adds his own little quips
throughout. One scene features
“bitches” hitting the police car
with bats, in which he comments:
“This scene actually worked out
pretty well. It even feels like a
real video.” There’s commentary
on artistry, and wealth and
celebrity, as well, with Staake
concluding: “Maybe that’s the
moral of the story: None of this
matters. This video costs over
$100,000 and the artist never
showed.”
But this is a rap music
video, and we don’t have time for
that shit. Just keep the girls in
the bikinis coming.
- RACHEL KERR
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW
“Wyclef
Jean”
Young Thug
ARTIST
PROFILE
IN
@fart: Hendren talks Twitter and
making a career out of absurdity
JON HENDREN
The man behind Twitter user @fart
This sense of
competition
comes from the
sense of urgency
that has plagued
the industry
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