Dataclysm: Love, Sex, Race, and Identity--What Our Online Lives Tell Us about Our Offline Selves

by Christian Rudder

In some ways, that kind of corporate intrusion is better than brands actually trying to “relate.” Last summer, a Jell-O marketing campaign co-opted (tagjacked?) the hashtag #fml, which is Internet shorthand for “fuck my life.” Their social media people began responding to tweets that contained the tag with an unsolicited offer to “fun” the person’s life instead, with coupons. Thus people in extremis received jaunty offers from a gelatin, as in this exchange: Pyrrhus Nelson @suhrryp Seeing my bank account disappear at the dr office #fml JELL-O @JELLO @suhrryp Fun My Life? Of course we will. In fact, we’d be happy to. prmtns.co/dkTq Exp. 48hrs This kind of unwanted intercession is all too easy on social media because everything is so quantified. The hashtags jump right to the brand manager’s screen; he dives in with the discounts. At least the same technology that allows them into our lives allows us to fight back. A few years ago, McDonald’s sent out a couple tweets, feel-good stories about their suppliers, with the tag #McDStories, and they got #fml’d in reverse. This is just one of many responses: MUZZAFUZZA @Muzzafuzza I haven’t been to McDonalds in years, because I’d rather eat my own diarrhea. #McDStories McDonald’s had paid to promote the hashtag and pulled the campaign after only a couple hours when it quickly spiraled out of their control. A week later, the repurposed #McDStories was still going strong. Their social media strategists should’ve known what to expect: ...