Black Culture and Twitter: A Response
By now you’ve probably seen Farhad’s Manjoo’s article, “How Black People Use Twitter,” which created quite a bit of controversy when it was published in Slate last Tuesday. I’m also willing to bet that you’ve probably read a few of his critiques (if not, try here and here), written your own (insert link here), and spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out which #blacktwitterbird is perfect for you (mine is “on a horse) or how it’s best grilled. And, while last week’s Twitterverse and blogosphere dialogue was quite rich—especially amongst those who are “blogging while brown”—I believe we missed a very important point. In an effort to avoid even the briefest thought that Blacks use social media differently, we spent too much time negating Manjoo’s article. Consequently, we failed to recognize that maybe there are some unique aspects of Black culture that are directly responsible for the fact the “hashtags that originate with Black youth consistently reach the level of trending topics on Twitter.” This, as Jessica Faye Carter so aptly points in her blog response, was Manjoo’s real question.
I believe that the “blacktags,” as Manjoo somewhat irresponsibly dubs the hashtags generated by these youth, do not reveal something unique about the way Blacks use the medium; instead, they reveal distinct practices within Black youth and hip-hop cultures (note: the two are not the same) that the medium facilitates and generates awareness of. Hashtags created by Black youth frequently rise to the top because:
Blacks are serial trendsetters and probably spend more time proactively trying to create Twitter trends.
We should not be surprised to learn that a segment of the Black population is setting trends in the online space because Blacks have generated many of the ideas that have become a part of pop culture in the offline space. This is not an accidental reality. Blacks have a well-established history of consistently developing new trends that are adopted by the mainstream, which is a direct product of the Black experience. It is ultimately the product of what happened when Blacks had their African traditional tribal cultures systematically ripped away. They were forced to become innovative and creative in order to generate a new culture around some imagined notion of “blackness.” It is also the consequence of a people who have spent so much time on the “have not” side of life that they were forced to use the little they had in a creative way to do more than just survive.
The end result of this unique experience is that Black people have developed a unique culture of innovation, creativity and improvisation that has led them to become serial trendsetters. Consequently, when it comes to purposefully trying to create new trends—whether it is the newest way to rock skinny jeans, creating a word for someone you don’t respect, new directions in music, or Twitter hashtags—Blacks try harder. As a whole, Blacks are not waiting for a major event or a celebrity to give them an opportunity; they are constantly and proactively trying to create new trends, both on and offline.
Blacks are early adopters and value the process of identifying and sharing new trends.
Blacks and Hispanics have always placed high social currency on “being the first to know.” According to Yankelovich, “75% of both Blacks and Hispanics (versus 56% of Non-Hispanic Whites) believe strongly or moderately that ‘being among the first to know about new ideas, trends, or things that are happening in today’s world’ is a sign of success and accomplishment.” In Black culture, being the first to spread something new is almost as good as being the one to create it. Given the prestigious upside associated with “being the first,” Blacks are more likely to accept new ideas or try new things before they are adopted by the mainstream (55% of African Americans compared to 46% of Non-Hispanic Whites, agree with the statement “I am usually one of the first people in my group of friends to accept new ideas or try new things.”). Similar to the innovation phase, Blacks spend more time living in the early adoption phase of the adoption curve. Thus, not surprisingly, Twitter caters very well to this cultural practice, as the technology provides increased speed in being able to identify, try and share new things.
The nature of Twitter is so close to the nature of hip-hop music that it is likely to spur high participation amongst those who identify with hip-hop culture.
Unlike my previous arguments, this point is all about hip-hop and less about Blacks. Nevertheless, it is relevant because the Black youth segment that Manjoo “observed” probably makes up a nice size portion of those who identify with hip-hop music and culture. In hip-hop music culture, the artist (also known as the lyricist) must be “deft” because he is evaluated line by line for his imagination, wordplay, craftsmanship, showmanship and ability to deliver punch lines. Hip-hop artists are expected to deliver brilliant thoughts, every time, in a very short space. Sound familiar? Perhaps a little like Twitter? Thus it should be no surprise that there may be a higher participation in the hashtag games (such as #wordsthatleadtotrouble, #annoyingquestion and #wheniwaslittle) that piqued Manjoo’s interest from those who are hip-hop. For them, the challenge of delivering creative, hot lines, 140 characters minus a hashtag at a time, is right up their alley. After all, in hip-hop, the artist with the best creativity and verbal acrobatic skill set wins the respect and admiration of the community.
I appreciate the healthy conversation that Manjoo’s article has generated over the last few days. And I agree with much of the world’s response in that Black people do use Twitter just like everyone else. However, I do not believe Manjoo’s exercise is futile because the “phenomenon” that actually captured his attention (the prevalence of Twitter trend topics created by a population that is less than ¼ of the user population) does reveal something interesting and unique about Black and hip-hop culture. In this instance, Twitter is not being used differently from one ethnic or cultural group to another, but rather, for insiders, the technology is facilitating certain cultural behaviors (serial trendsetting, the early adoption and sharing of new trends, and creative linguistics) and enabling them to happen at an increased rate. For outsiders, Twitter is giving everyone a window into what was already taking place offline, so now the world has new access to the process because, as Manjoo said, they are now “only one click away.”
