Twitter Users Rise Up Against Promoted Tweets and Ads with ‘Weird Twitter’ Mockery
Want to surround yourself with sarcastic people with rapier wits and a general disdain for corporate culture? All you have to do is hop online. Better yet, head over to Twitter and witness the Weird Twitter phenomenon. For the uninitiated, Weird Twitter is a loosely connected group of Twitter users who play with grammar in sometimes odd ways to gain a few laughs. Or, in some cases, to rage against the corporate machine, as they're doing now.
You may have noticed there are "promoted" tweets, or ads, in your Twitter feed. They target you with a brand or service, sometimes asking you to retweet and/or spread the word, creating a win-win situation for businesses and Twitter, but not necessarily for you, the viewer. This is where the Weird Twitter shenanigans come into play.
To rage against ads encroaching what had been a hip playground filled with witty tweets, Weird Twitter users retweet corporate posts in ways that might reflect poorly on the company, such as injecting spelling errors, using poor grammar, or adding nonsense into the post.
"Loving this all-natural Sierra Mist...RT if u have ever touched or seen a dog," a rather tame Weird Twitter post reads.
The idea is to make the brand look silly while simultaneously driving up advertising costs. One such user tells The Wall Street Journal that he knows his posts likely amount to just "fractions of pennies" and he's well aware of the "juvenile" aspect, "but it's still satisfying," he explains.
Have you seen any comical Weird Twitter posts? If so, feel free to share them in the comments section below!
You may have noticed there are "promoted" tweets, or ads, in your Twitter feed. They target you with a brand or service, sometimes asking you to retweet and/or spread the word, creating a win-win situation for businesses and Twitter, but not necessarily for you, the viewer. This is where the Weird Twitter shenanigans come into play.
To rage against ads encroaching what had been a hip playground filled with witty tweets, Weird Twitter users retweet corporate posts in ways that might reflect poorly on the company, such as injecting spelling errors, using poor grammar, or adding nonsense into the post.
"Loving this all-natural Sierra Mist...RT if u have ever touched or seen a dog," a rather tame Weird Twitter post reads.
The idea is to make the brand look silly while simultaneously driving up advertising costs. One such user tells The Wall Street Journal that he knows his posts likely amount to just "fractions of pennies" and he's well aware of the "juvenile" aspect, "but it's still satisfying," he explains.
Have you seen any comical Weird Twitter posts? If so, feel free to share them in the comments section below!
