[psmith2.0]

It would be like me - someone who knows/cares nothing about Twitter and Twittiot culture - buying it. Nothing good or healthy is going to come from that. I'd actively try to run it into the ground, but I don't have billions to blow on "let's see what we can mess with next!"

So weird.

He made an offer, they called him on it, he's stuck with it and I'm not convinced he really likes it, or wants to be. He doesn't act like someone who does. He's got too many irons in the fire, trying to make cars that don't blow up, putting celebrities into space, etc. How can the man be expected to run Crybaby/Handwringing/Snark Central™ with any attention/competency? So far, he can't.

[drewprops]

I don't know if any of you are fans of Cards Against Humanity, but this Thanksgiving they launched their own social network called "Yowza" which is of course a lampoon of all social media sites.

Several hours into the launch they texted this:

Originally Posted by Yowza 🎉 Good news, Yowzers! 🎉 You asked, we listened: you can now post images on Yowza. 📸 And that's not all! Get ready for Yowza Challenges, where you can win up to $1,000 each hour by competing for likes, follows, and more...starting right now! YOWZA! 💸💸💸 www.yowza.social

Funny thing is, when you upload a photo there it only posts one of several pre-made images with the word "Yowza" displayed on top - regardless of what you actually posted.

Several hours into the site's life they added the ability to get a black checkmark for just $1.

Originally Posted by Yowza 📣 Attention Yowzers! 📣 Take your social media experience to the next level with Yowza Black®! 😎 For just $0.99, you'll get an exclusive black check ✔ by your name and the ability to post a new word: "awooga." 🚨🚨🚨 Live now at www.yowza.social

Then the Black Friday deals began rolling in:

Originally Posted by Yowza 🚨🚨🚨 AWOOGA! Massive deals incoming! 🚨🚨🚨 Introducing the Yowza Store 🛒, where you can spend money to become the social media influencer you were born to be. Buy a million likes 👍👍👍 or 100,000 followers 👤👤👤 for just $0.99! And so much more! www.yowza.social/store

Yes, the site went down a few times from traffic.

The person who brought in the most followers was going to win $69k and change. I unsuccessfully tried to get folks on Facebook to join by posting a signup code:

Originally Posted by CaptainDrew I just joined #Yowza, Cards Against Humanity’s cool new social network with no lies, hate, or crypto enthusiasts. 😎 Get 25% off at the CAH store (and also help me win $69,420) by signing up with my code lanky-stone-blimp before 7:30 PT. #FuckXJoinYowza https://www.yowza.social/auth/sign_u...ky-stone-blimp

Anyway, it was just a lark poking fun at social media - which we might have all found amusing if we weren't all POST-POST-POST-MODERN at this stage.

You still have time to sign up to see it, if you're curious and want to play around with it. Just a game though

lanky-stone-blimp


...

[psmith2.0]

The real stuff is awful enough. Not sure they can be parodied when the real version is so goofy. In the same way that The Onion headlines are often impossible to distinguish from “real news” anymore.

When you parody/mock the absurd, it almost flips back on itself and sounds normal.

[drewprops]

You just want it all to stop.

Parody was once one of my absolute favorite things to do, but for all the reasons you have mentioned and the general sense that it's a dead horse, parody may need to take a generational vacation.

Perhaps it will be safe and fun again in a decade or five.

If you are reading this quaint comment in the far flung future, hi there - hope it's not too miserable.

Sorry that we're so grumpy.

...

[psmith2.0]

I've read your post three times and still don't fully get it. But that's probably on me too. I'm up later than usual...

Some stuff is still nicely, easily parodied because it hasn't gone completely around the bend. All I said above that when certain things have, it's hard to tell real life from the jokes. I look at/read the way people act on InstaFaceTwitTok and I don't know if there's much room left for parody/ridicule. They're kinda handling it all themselves already. Filming themselves crying/melting down (when did that become a thing?), trend-jumping, undertaking stupid "challenges" every week, whining about the latest perceived insult/injustice, being perpetually-offended on behalf of others for likes, seemingly putting all their eggs in the looks/appearance basket (if some of these "influencers" ever get in a bad accident or suffer a disfiguring illness, I fear they'll have nothing to live for, never having developed a brain or an actual personality). excessive celebrity worship (nobody needs to be crying/losing their shit over Lady Gaga, Chris Pratt, Beyonce, Prince Harry or that Wednesday chick dancing, ffs, nobody in Hollywood/showbiz is your $&@!%# “spirit animal” or “the thing you be didn’t know you needed, but you’re here for it”), etc.

See?

How do you parody any of that?!

[709]

TMW - still one of the best comics on the webs.

[psmith2.0]

Well, it's certainly an easy gig. Over six panels, only Musk's eyeballs moved. I believe I could handle that workload!

And, echoing what I said above, it's tough to parody this stuff - Musk, Twitter, X, etc. - because real life is already handling the heavy work. You have to make the parody/comic strip so over-the-top, otherwise...real life wins. Easily.

Working at The Onion in 2023 can't possibly be the fun it was a decade or so ago, before everything - and everyone - just ran completely off the rails for sport.