![Weird Twitter Weird Twitter](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/square/000/011/544/Screen_shot_2012-10-19_at_4.06.36_PM.png)
Weird Twitter
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![406.png ▼ y Follow brendle what @brendlewhat #howareyouathug i am good at hug Reply Retweet ★ Favorite 713 RETWEETSFAVORITES t竏卿 4:15 PM-24 Jan 11 Embed this Tweet](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/421/110/406.png)
About
Weird Twitter refers to a loosely connected group of Twitter users who are known to experiment with spelling, punctuation and format for humor or poetry. The style of writing can be considered surrealist by participants in the group, with subject matter ranging from creating absurd scenarios to attempting to describe abstract feelings by choosing words for their "verbal aesthetic appeal."[17] However, many of the accounts are grouped together by the same desire to reinterpret the "realness" of life in ways people do not always get to experience.[16][18]
Origin
One of the earliest Twitter accounts associated with these types of tweets belongs to Jon Hendren, a writer for Something Awful[2], who created his account @fart[1] in March 2008. As of October 2012, dozens of his tweets have been favorited or retweeted hundreds of times.[3]
i saw an ad on craigslist once that said “free firewood, u collect it” so i wrote the guy and said “bud you just wrote an ad for the woods”
— jon hendren(@fart) May 26, 2012
The term "Weird Twitter" was coined as early as March 2012 by @regisl[19] in a caps lock tweet.
DESTROY NON-WEIRD TWITTER
— REGIS (@regisl) March 2, 2012
Spread
In March 2011, Jon Hendren began cataloging his favorite tweets on Something Awful in a series called "Twitter Tuesday."[8] Though the phrase “weird Twitter” was never used to describe these tweets, many of the Twitter users he quoted would later be included in the group. In August 2012, PhD student Sebastian Benthall posted his first hypothesis about the phenomenon to his personal blog, Digifesto.[4] He argued that he saw the tweets similar to the spam poetry found in the Twitter account @Horse_ebooks, despite no interaction between eBooks Twitter accounts and this community, and that members valued the favoriting statistics provided by Favstar.[5]
![55e.png Weird twitter posts tend to be of the following forms: sincere statement of personal perspective, often A brutally philosophical and spiritual sentiment, but just as often profane nounal phrases referring to surreal compositions of objects . "sext.", followed by a declaration of attraction that is often only peripherally erotic (to humorous effect) norm-building posts on appropriate twitter behavior, the state of weird twitter, and discussion of 'favstars'](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/420/987/55e.png)
On October 3rd, 2012, a question inquiring about weird Twitter was posed to the Q&A website Quora,[6] where an anonymous user described it as “the Twitter equivalent of /b/,” 4chan‘s random board notorious for its outrageous content. Screenshots of this Quora page, along with Sebastian Benthall’s blog post, were tweeted out by @Mobute[7] on October 16th to nearly 10,000 followers. That day, “weird Twitter” was mentioned more than 1000 times[9] across the platform, followed by many users who typically post in this style complaining about the use of the term.
Thank you for ruining everything, nerds. i.imgur.com/mgPTm.png i.imgur.com/tN3WR.png
— Mobutu Sese Seko (@Mobute) October 17, 2012
Also on the 16th, Benthall posted a follow-up article on his blog[11] with a compilation of angry tweets from Twitter users who had perceived the concept of "weird Twitter" in a negative light. (example shown below). Two days later, Benthall posted a third article[10] explaining his academic interest in the study of online communities and his fascination with the amorphous "Weird Twitter community." He also noted that he was attempting to troll the community with the two previous posts, overusing scientific language to stir up controversy on purpose, which did lead to a large influx of hate messages.
help help the academics discovered us, we are a Thing now. get ready for the Gawker expose and the Huffington Post image gallery
— wreal wrad wraith (@bugbucket) October 17, 2012
On October 17th, a Twitter account named @WeirdTwiterTxt[15] was launched to parody stereotypical "weird" tweets associated with the community. The following day, @tropikoala[14] uploaded a map of 75 “Weird Twitter” users (shown below) that he felt reflected the many circles and sub-groups that existed within the small part larger community he had come in contact with. The image was intended to show just a portion of the vast co-existent universes within this type of tweeting. Also on the 18th, Slacktory[12] posted a collections of the staff's favorite Weird Twitter tweets. On October 19th, Uproxx[13] posted a similar article with more examples of tweets.
![Weird Twitter PEOPLE WHO MAKE TRILLO POLIS 69 420 TOXES @ cyberhiter @Sack.as. heck ARENTFUN ·OTHER END OFWORMHOLE @ the furlinator omehins, alko 9/11) PURE COOL TABLE ges、JOKE WRITERS @werd @Insh.Dinosaurんgs W.T. FAMOUS PPL @hell-homer enice, mustard g @dogbaner @othersame EEP ORIGINAL COLO NISTS @brendlewhat @ woodmuffin @ ley awn/ DECEASED @UH!汁Yumb @tee.bro 」키 (e @randeezydogge @Dido Hitier @dataisplural @urfavoriteJoel eTsau NED @nobodyman3 . ur-Ae· Qain @bugbucket @Sciemboat @g@m | @f(oghammer@rev-reover @Pissnfle . HIEY ATUAUN MADE The @erarberrysause cakemittens FAMOUS IR ehc. etc.etc ︿OTHER SHIP some OFFICIAL f---, don't even know RaFF vinceness these are supposed ho be clauds) (NOT AT @cocemed Mom69 ochaiMANdork @vrunt @ Coliflower- epudegasn @ petfurniture @ MissChristinaD @hella- brad Qcastne DUELEERS AND THE LIKE RELATED) 3UST PLAINN @tastefactary @beebee890 @notoriouscas e @trillbin TRULY @jackyegh77Y #CLaD. CELEBRInes INON THE JOCE AISUNDERSTOOO COLLEGE STuDENTS WITTER FAME NORMAL PEOPLE BUT HONORAR MEMBERS FOR BN HELLA WESOME@rare. basemen @dudehugs @bug.hugs @radiomary ORHIGH SCH THE REAL WAREZ @ pphfadit Ft @ snughugs? A LOTTA PEOPLE THEY DO NOT EXIST ON THE SAME PLANE NORMAL TWITT (WE HOPE)](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/421/041/923.jpg)
Twitter's Response
On August 4th, 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported on the growing subculture of Weird Twitter in an article titled "Some Twitter Users Push Back on Ads," describing the trend as a reactionary movement against the influx of corporate brands and advertising campaigns on the popular microblogging network. The article, which specifically focused on how the group has attempted brandjacking of promotional tweets sponsored by corporations, also contained a quote from Twitter's spokesperson Jim Prosser:
As for Weird Twitter and the conflicted feelings of early adopters as Twitter's usership grows, Mr. Prosser says, "To me it's the eternal battle people have over hipsterdom." "Twitter can feel cheesy sometimes, so promotional and self-aggrandizing," says John Manoogian III, a tech entrepreneur in San Francisco who joined Twitter in 2006, its inaugural year. "It's experiencing Eternal September."
Notable Examples
![35e.png ▼ y Follow helloween homer @hell_homer i)sit in toddler seat of a shopping cart. 2)tip over til feet touch the ground. 3)stand up. you're now a grocery turtle. no one can stop you Reply Retweet ★ Favorite 1,4531,633 RETWEETS FAVORITES 1:10 PM-24 Jul 12 Embed this Tweet](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/421/117/35e.png)
![a4e.png ▼ y Follow wint @dril hm lets see.. *Logs On To Dark Net* bomb recipes... voyeur upskirt.. snuff vids..DILBERT?? WHo thef f--- put dilbert on dark net Reply Retweet ★ Favorite 148 RETWEETS FAVORITES 9:56 AM-10 Feb 11 Embed this Tweet](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/421/103/a4e.png)
![a70.png ▼ y Follow brendle what @brendlewhat Hello sir, I-*briefcase full of jellybeans falls Reply Retweet ★ Favorite 1,3581,682 RETWEETS FAVORITES 10:02 PM- 3 Feb 12 Embed this Tweet](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/421/109/a70.png)
![e51.png ▼ y Follow kimmy @aRealLiveGhost your body is a ghost factory that takes one lifetime to produce a ghost ← Reply Retweet ★ Favorite 970 823 S FAVORITES 1:16 PM -2 Apr 12 Embed this Tweet](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/421/069/e51.png)
![b89.png ▼ y Follow leanna pupp @leannapapp SEXT: YOUREA SILVER MEDALIST AND I AM THE SILVER MEDAL. YOU ARE DISAPPOINTED TO SEE ME BUTI DON'T CARE BECAUSE I AM A PRECIOUS METAL Reply Retweet ★ Favorite RETWEETS FAVORITES 2:50 PM-7 Aug 12 Embed this Tweet](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/421/075/b89.png)
![4a8.png bandit @UtilityLimb ▼ y Follow i'm not racist, but, *cranes neck to see if anyone's around. keeps craning. head unscrews entirely. out of the hole pour jewels & mysteries* Reply Retweet ★ Favorite 784 RETWEETS 720 FAVORITES .鼎1 惸鎬 11:59 AM - 27 Sep 11 Embed this Tweet](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/421/076/4a8.png)
Brandjacking
Search Interest
External References
[2] Something Awful – Jon Hendren's Posts
[4] Digifesto – Field notes and PSA: Weird Twitter
[6] Quora – Twitter: What is the "weird Twitter"?
[8] Something Awful – Twitter Tuesday
[9] Topsy – Tweet results for "Weird Twitter"
[10] Digifesto – “Weird Twitter” art experiment method notes and observations
[11] Digifesto – Weird Twitter: The Symbolic Construction of Community through Iterative Reification
[12] Slacktory – “Weird Twitter” explained
[13] Uproxx – OK, What The Hell Is ‘Weird Twitter’?
[14] Twitter – @tropikoala's map
[15] Twitter – @WeirdTwiterTxt
[16] Twitter – @tropikoala | Most of us really don't have anything in common at all besides a desire to lose touch with the Realness of life and interpret it our own way
[17] Twitter – @tropikoala | others do it by looking at abstract ideas and turning them into things of beauty in the form of beautiful words for verbal aesthetic appeal
[18] Twitter – @Munq | i would argue that "we" are trying to touch on some Realness that is frequently denied to us (communally) in daily life
[20] Wall Street Journal – Some Twitter Users Push Back on Ads
Top Comments
Cyber6x Moderator
Oct 20, 2012 at 12:17AM EDT
Oct 20, 2012 at 11:19AM EDT