An Ode to Badgalriri, Jose Canseco and Azealia Banks

A lot of money and time is spent on maintaining "on brand" and "on message" social media accounts that are run by so called social media experts.  These are meant to inform, not offend and rarely do they entertain.  Rihanna, Jose Canseco and Azealia Banks employ no such experts.  They are coming at you unfiltered, without premeditation and sometimes possibly drunk...AND IT IS GREAT.

Rather than slick planned photo ops and "hey guys, catch me on SNL on this date" they give it to you raw.  Rihanna, aka Badgalriri posts pictures of herself smoking weed and memes proclaiming her love for weed and cock.  She is accused of being a bad role model daily, and she doesn't dispute it.  Azealia Banks seems to tweet every thought that enters her head, PC, appropriate or not. She recently had the entire internet pissed at her for calling Perez Hilton a "messy faggot."  While the violent and horrible history of that word cannot be argued, one has to look at context.  It is one of those words that has been reclaimed and used by the gay community, the community it was intended to hurt.  They have taken back the word in order to diminish it's power. This girl is a 21 year old out and proud bisexual who attended La Guardia High School for the Arts.  She lives in the gay community.  That word most likely has been a part of her lexicon since she was fourteen. She is taking the way she speaks in her daily life and broadcasting it to her audience at large, rather than filtering it through a PR machine.  I'm not necessarily condoning her use of the word.  Calling Perez Hilton, an out and proud gay man, a faggot reinforces the original hurtful intentions of the word...but also brings up the dialogue of evolving meanings and context.

Jose Canseco was a nearly forgotten baseball player from my childhood whose star has reignited from his insane twitter rants.  Currently he is attempting to  fight Shaq and aiming to get a reality show and hosting spot on The View. He has already forayed his tenuous connection with reality, grandiose claims and poor spelling into a column for Vice and selling his paintings of Donald Trump...so all his dreams might just come true.

Good for you Jose.  Keep spewing that crazy and the world will keep Retweeting.

Your week according to Instagram

Selfie Sunday: Post a picture of yourself...but isn't everyday really selfie sunday?

Mancrush Monday:  Lots of pictures of Ryan Gosling

Transformation Tuesday:  Lots of "fitspo" photos with the hashtag #cleaneating, like a current picture of sixpack abs on one side in contrast to the former fatty on the other side. BECAUSE NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS SKINNY FEELS.

Womancrush Wednesday: Like Mancrush Monday, but replace Ryan Gosling with Jennifer Lawrence.

Throwback Thursday: Pictures from when you were a cute baby/surly teenager, or from a year ago when you were thinner/tanner/younger/had better hair.

Flashback Friday: See Throwback Thursday

Saturday: Doesn't seem to have a universal theme, but lots of pictures of brunch

In Search of An Emily Post for the Digital Age

Any situation involving human interactions brings up questions of etiquette.  As a child I was raised to always say please and thank you, address any adult as Miss or Mister until instructed otherwise, and always send a thank you note...even for a less than generous Bat Mitzvah gift.  I've recently returned from a family Jewneral (6 noodle kugels, no alcohol, and the only coffee was decaf.  It was a trying time for all of us, especially those who prefer their carbohydrates in fermented, liquid form), and having spent time with my mother and grandma, the women who taught (forced) me to always send a thank you note, I realized they are as lost as I am, probably more so, in the realm of "internet etiquette."

Some questions that have arisen:

Should I approve my mother's friend request? What about my grandma/aunt/teenage cousin? Is it more rude to expose them to whatever material they may see on my page and deem "inappropriate" or shield them by rejecting their friend request?

If someone follows me on twitter/instagram do I have to follow them back?

How many hashtags is too many hashtags? How many selfies is too many selfies? (Same question for food/pet/baby photos)

What is a valid hashtag?  What is just indulgent, excessive and a transparent, desperate cry for attention in the form of followers?

Can you post an old picture if it's not "Throwback Thursday" or "Flashback Friday?" What is the difference between Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday?

At what point do you stage a "Social Media Intervention" for someone whose postings have gotten out of control; in terms of oversharing details of their personal lives, excessive selfie postings with seven or more hashtags such as #me or #girl, or continually ranting political conspiracy theories?  It walks a fine from "live and let live" to "You are making a complete ass of yourself in a public forum that lasts forever, please stop because I care about you but also can't support you if you become unemployable due to your insane social media presence." Where is that line?  I think most people can agree that posting underwear pictures is a bad look, but what about bikini ones?  There exists a grey area.  

Coming soon: Your week according to Instagram.  I will be asking my teenage cousin for help with this one.