That’s so Cringe – Week 2

One of the greatest triumphs of yesteryear was a viral video and all the accolades that came along with it. Notoriety, money, and a segment on Ellen. Though the path was uncommon, it was predictable. Say or do something funny, post a dog (cute or comedic take your pick), or sing a song but while not being conventionally attractive and you were set. Once your post hit a high enough threshold, it would be picked up by an online news source; Buzzfeed ran this operation as top dog for quite some time. Then the invitations would come to speak with a daytime talk show host. Eventually the fame would die off and maybe every few years someone out there would think “Whatever happened to Sophia Grace and Rosie?”

So much of what we have consumed has been borne of a structure. From presidential communications to TMZ breaking stories, there was someone behind the curtain following a tried-and-true method, occasionally trying something new, only to produce the new norm. Other than a diary, writing is meant to be shared, and that means writing for an audience. Typically, we try to understand the audience we write for. When I write an essay for a class I try to avoid any AI hallucinated references or may try to throw in a semi-colon or two to seem smarter.  We have collectively learned to make subconscious choices about how we present ourselves and what we create, beyond writing. Videos and Instagram posts now represent everything we are from our aesthetics to political party. But what about the conscious choices we make? How are people going to see my video? How am I going to edit it to seem less like I have parents who work for Lockheed Martin and more like I live off of two pennies and a mushroom?

The world demands curation and decries any evidence of effort to provide it. People shame the scripted apology video and the media-trained celebrities. So, what are we supposed to do now? If we can’t show that we tried really really hard on this project, but it also needs to meet the expectations of an audience that will do with it as it pleases, what are the next steps? Though there is no answer good enough to please all areas of creation, there are some ideas that may help.

Go beyond just knowing who your audience is; Everyone knows your Facebook post will be liked by your mom. Try understanding the future lifespan of your work and what the consequences, good and bad, may be. This is a daunting task with an internet as expansive as the one we inhabit now, but it is still worthwhile. If you make a video and someone clips it, what would they clip and why? What point would they be trying to make? Are you going to end up the first part of a stitch or a screenshot on Twitter/X? How long will this be relevant, if it does happen?*

None of these questions solve all problems, and they aren’t even fully my questions. This information is explained way more in depth in *Ridolfo and DeVoss’ work about the recompositon of text.