The paper “What Julian Smith Hates (and Loves) About Facebook: Social Media Parody as Self-Promotion”  has been accepted for the Humor in the Digital Age Session at  South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference. Presiding: Pete Kunze. November 8-10, 2013. Atlanta, Georgia.

Here is the Abstract:

In the video “25 Things I Hate About Facebook” (2009) comedian Julian Smith parodies the annoyances of the most successful social network (e.g., poking, birthday notifications).  In order to criticize Facebook, Smith portrays two people chatting and interrupting each other in ‘real life’ just as if they were using Facebook. This study argues that what makes the clip successful (with over seven million views on YouTube) is Smith’s specific generational target and his deep understanding of social networking dynamics. There is no doubt that Smith’s concerns are very much shared by teenagers and twenty-somethings. At one point he emphasizes the generational divide and the fear of older ‘intruders.’ This clip also reveals Smith’s digital media self-awareness as a Facebook user, since he employs the social networks to spread his clips (the info for “25 Things I Hate About Facebook” simply reads: “Add me on Facebook”).  Throughout his career, Smith has been masterful at driving traffic to his videos through his Facebook page (with 360,000 likes) where he also gains feedback about his creativity. He frequently posts pictures from upcoming videos, advertises for crew and acting positions he needs filled and at times even gives fans glimpses into his personal life. In short, “25 Things I Hate About Facebook” not only reveals a deep and early understanding of Zuckerberg’s platform, but for us represents a case study of how to turn social media parody into shameless self-promotion.

NOTE: This study is part of a collaborative digital humanities project titled “Pioneering YouTube” which seeks to investigate and analyze YouTube comedians/entrepreneurs.