Summer Smith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
somethingwithturquoise) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomtownies2018-09-27 07:35 am
somethingwithturquoise) wrote in fandomtownies2018-09-27 07:35 am
Entry tags:
Community Center Class: 21st Century Social Media, Thursday Evening [09/27].
Sleeping in that day had done wonders to help Summer bounce back to normal, and she was feeling very much herself again by the time class rolled around, with the slight exception that she was thinking she could probably be fine skipping anything pumpkin spice related for a while.
A while, in the case, would turn out to be about two days.
"Hey, everyone," she smiled from her usual spot leaning against the front of the desk with her phone in hand, projector screen fired up and ready. "Tomorrow starts Parents Weekend over at the school, where everyone's family and friends show up to visit and see how they're doing and, if they're anything like my family, make a big old embarrassment of themselves, which is why I figured today would be a good day to teach you about Facebook, which is basically the Parents Weekend equivilent of social media."
And onto the projector screen appeared a Facebook page belonging to one Jerry Smith, complete with a dumb profile pic, supremely stupid and deepfried memes, sacchirine bullshit, enraging politics, something weirdly and unexplainably meta that he somehow misinterpreted as a good thing, and some real gems of deep observations like "No one ever just whistles anymore, have you noticed that?" and "google where find chiropractic socks discount," all of which Summer slowly scrolled through to highlight that this. This was your average, typical, every day Facebook user.
Turn back now, while you still could.
"This is my actual father's Facebook page," she explained, "and as you can see, it's terrible. It almost seems too terrible to be true, or almost, perhaps, that this is an exception of stupidity in a sea of better things, but that's where you'd be wrong. This is what your average Facebook user looks like today, more or less, though your mileage may vary on the particular flavor of the stupidity.
"It didn't always used to be this way. Back in the olden days of social media, Facebook was created by some college bros who wanted to try to use their nerd skills to pick up chicks, and it was exclusive to their school. There's movies about it and everything. But then they slowly opened it up to other area schools, and then to all universities and colleges, and eventual to high school students, which is a little gross if you think about it too much, but it turned into this big social network of students kind of sounds like it would be cool if that was all you had because, back then, it kind of was."
She had probably just been starting kindergarten at this point in the history, so cut her some slack for being convinced that they were practically speaking about the Dark Ages right now.
"Eventually it opened its doors to anyone over the age of thirteen, and a massive social media platform, arguably the mother of our current social media world, was born. And things were okay for a while, but then 2012 happened, when the company, which had made billions at this point, went public. And from there, it was a slippery slope into the garbage that it is today."
"I'm not even just talking about content, either. There are billions of people on Facebook, and the majority of those billions are complete idiots. Let's toss that in with the fact that Facebook uses a complex network of algorithms--remember that word?--and data collection to tailor and manipulate the content that you view to reflect certain ideas and products and media that basically turn it into a big echo chamber where people can post whatever stupid shit they want, and people glomp onto it and run with it, and, apparently, in this dimension, it means things like people who believe the world is flat and in alternate medicines actually start to think that they're legit, and Russian hackers and slip in and make enough people believe that a gross and creepy reality TV star should be president of the United States that it actually happens, and I'm supposed to believe my dimension is the messed up one? Uhhhh, no."
So...that was a rant.
"So, in conclusion, Facebook is a garbage place for garbage people that collects all your data and tries to manipulate you, which is fine if you're smart enough to not take anything on Facebook seriously, but since most people aren't, it sucks. But it's important in, like, a historical sense? So we're still going to talk about, because we probably wouldn't have Twitter or Instagram or Snapchat without it. Feel free to make a Facebook if you want to? It can kind of be useful for organizing events for some people, especially people who like to change plans at the last minute, and it's nice to have because it makes your normal, non-sociopathic grandparents really happy when you like and make comments on their fifty million blurry vacation pictures. But it's pretty much a dinosaur for old people, probably on its last gasping breath before extinction."
And here she smiled sweetly, as if that death could seriously not come swiftly enough.
"So, any questions? I'm sure we're all fine with a light week this time around, anyway."
A while, in the case, would turn out to be about two days.
"Hey, everyone," she smiled from her usual spot leaning against the front of the desk with her phone in hand, projector screen fired up and ready. "Tomorrow starts Parents Weekend over at the school, where everyone's family and friends show up to visit and see how they're doing and, if they're anything like my family, make a big old embarrassment of themselves, which is why I figured today would be a good day to teach you about Facebook, which is basically the Parents Weekend equivilent of social media."
And onto the projector screen appeared a Facebook page belonging to one Jerry Smith, complete with a dumb profile pic, supremely stupid and deepfried memes, sacchirine bullshit, enraging politics, something weirdly and unexplainably meta that he somehow misinterpreted as a good thing, and some real gems of deep observations like "No one ever just whistles anymore, have you noticed that?" and "google where find chiropractic socks discount," all of which Summer slowly scrolled through to highlight that this. This was your average, typical, every day Facebook user.
Turn back now, while you still could.
"This is my actual father's Facebook page," she explained, "and as you can see, it's terrible. It almost seems too terrible to be true, or almost, perhaps, that this is an exception of stupidity in a sea of better things, but that's where you'd be wrong. This is what your average Facebook user looks like today, more or less, though your mileage may vary on the particular flavor of the stupidity.
"It didn't always used to be this way. Back in the olden days of social media, Facebook was created by some college bros who wanted to try to use their nerd skills to pick up chicks, and it was exclusive to their school. There's movies about it and everything. But then they slowly opened it up to other area schools, and then to all universities and colleges, and eventual to high school students, which is a little gross if you think about it too much, but it turned into this big social network of students kind of sounds like it would be cool if that was all you had because, back then, it kind of was."
She had probably just been starting kindergarten at this point in the history, so cut her some slack for being convinced that they were practically speaking about the Dark Ages right now.
"Eventually it opened its doors to anyone over the age of thirteen, and a massive social media platform, arguably the mother of our current social media world, was born. And things were okay for a while, but then 2012 happened, when the company, which had made billions at this point, went public. And from there, it was a slippery slope into the garbage that it is today."
"I'm not even just talking about content, either. There are billions of people on Facebook, and the majority of those billions are complete idiots. Let's toss that in with the fact that Facebook uses a complex network of algorithms--remember that word?--and data collection to tailor and manipulate the content that you view to reflect certain ideas and products and media that basically turn it into a big echo chamber where people can post whatever stupid shit they want, and people glomp onto it and run with it, and, apparently, in this dimension, it means things like people who believe the world is flat and in alternate medicines actually start to think that they're legit, and Russian hackers and slip in and make enough people believe that a gross and creepy reality TV star should be president of the United States that it actually happens, and I'm supposed to believe my dimension is the messed up one? Uhhhh, no."
So...that was a rant.
"So, in conclusion, Facebook is a garbage place for garbage people that collects all your data and tries to manipulate you, which is fine if you're smart enough to not take anything on Facebook seriously, but since most people aren't, it sucks. But it's important in, like, a historical sense? So we're still going to talk about, because we probably wouldn't have Twitter or Instagram or Snapchat without it. Feel free to make a Facebook if you want to? It can kind of be useful for organizing events for some people, especially people who like to change plans at the last minute, and it's nice to have because it makes your normal, non-sociopathic grandparents really happy when you like and make comments on their fifty million blurry vacation pictures. But it's pretty much a dinosaur for old people, probably on its last gasping breath before extinction."
And here she smiled sweetly, as if that death could seriously not come swiftly enough.
"So, any questions? I'm sure we're all fine with a light week this time around, anyway."
Sign In - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Re: Sign In - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Re: Sign In - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Listen to the Lecture - 21st Century Social Media, 09/21.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - 21st Century Social Media, 09/21.
But he was, at least, looking appropriately disturbed about it.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - 21st Century Social Media, 09/21.
She couldn't help wondering if having radio to herself that morning helped her not get too overloaded or if it harmed her because radio would have been a preparation of sorts.
Class Discussion - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Kaidan's birthday tonight- Can cut out a little early for what's left of class if it's important, but I warn you, I'm wearing leather pants.
Well. He was wearing them well
Rebels stick-figure character builds be damned.Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Permission to crash said birthday requested. If denied, consider this a formal demand for pictures. If this demand is not met, all further supplies of caf into T&C will be officially terminated.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
I can't invite people to Kaidan's birthday- if you got an invite, get over here. If you didn't... are you asking for me to take a selfie of my butt, Summer?
Because Kanan was having difficulty processing how he was going to get this photo otherwise.
Like asking someone? Bah.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
See, and now that was killing some sort of other bird with a similar stone.
And if not her, i seriously doubt there's anyone who wouldn't do it in her stead.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Kanan could not in a million years picture himself actually asking Hera to snap a photo of his ass.
And so he did the unthinkable and threw himself under the bus.
Kaidan has video.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
That works. Get that video and send it to me. Better yet, give Kaidan my number and have him send it to me.
Speaking of birds and stones...
Also tell him I said happy birthday.
Which totally reminded her that she'd completely forgotten to pick up those phones from him yesterday, but she wasn't really good for anything yesterday, anyway.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Not really. He was doing some of that Jedi leaping stuff in it.
For gummy bears.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Which was...not entirely true. She wouldn't be Summer if she didn't feel a compulsion to impose, but, at the same time, she could also now see how that might be awkward or weird in the long run. And she'd rather have the video anyway, if this couldn't be a perfect world where she could score both.
In the meantime, she'd just be satisfied to settling into teasing him, which she felt was totally deserved and necessary.
Since when did you become such a fan of leather pants anyway?
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
A few moments later; It's better now.
Sometimes he forgot that he had to specify these things.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
I guess there are worse ways to score a pair of leather pants.
Summer...very actively decided not to think too much about the used part of these leather pants.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
I'm having trouble thinking of any. They fit weirdly well, either way.
Which was odd, since he was pretty sure the guy he'd peeled them from hadn't been quite so close a match to him, physically.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Good thing he was being sparse with the deets, because Summer would be side-eying him so hard right now if she had the bigger picture.
I guess I'll have to wait and see for myself, which I shall do, with bated breath.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
And some salt.
... And a nasty summoning sigil made from blood.
Aaaanyway.
I'm sure the anticipation is killing you.
The pants were properly clean now, and Kanan hadn't been mutilated further by creepy little waist-high demon creatures, and that was what mattered, okay?
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
It's torture, really
And honestly, that wasn't too far from the truth, because it definitely was a certain kind of FOMO-induced torture knowing that BDG was out there doing something in ill-gotten-gained used leather pants right now and she was not there to witness it.
But she managed to soothe over that wound with the fact that she shouldn't have to strain too hard trying to put together a situation that would make up for it.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Hang in there, Summer. I'll have Kaidan send the video your way.
...
On a very loosely related note, how do you feel about gummy bears?
He had so many. Please save him from himself.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
She knew who she was talking to, here, and she did not trust the nature of this non-sequitur.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Possibly both.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Summer really did have a weird gauge for that sort of thing.
But if you're wondering if I'll help you get rid of them, you know I will. I may already have a vaguely disturbing new jello in mind.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
He'd absolutely eat it. Because Kanan was forever going to be a trashfire.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
They were green and orange pillows, and they were perfect.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
...
What's wrong with the couch? I used to sleep on it fine when Cecil was staying there.
Jedi butt here was just as happy on the floor, mind.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
And i get the distinct feeling youd be fine sleeping on the ground which makes sense because that couch is like a marginal step up from the ground. it might work for your old ass back but it is not my drunk ass's friend.
And she narrowed her eyes a moment before deciding whether to ask about the other part, but she felt she really did need an explanation if BDG was being sent to the couch for him.
Who's Cecil?
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Cecil was my first roommate on the island- long gone before you or Hera ever showed up. Had a pet.... flamingo thing. Nice guy. Weird guy.
Left a lot of pink feathers in the bed.
And yeah, okay. I've slept in some pretty strange places. I'm sure we're in the market for some new furniture at some point anyway and that is officially the most domestic thing I have ever typed with my fingers.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Just wait until I get you talking about carpet sample and paint swatches!
One day, maybe.
Re: Talk to Summer - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.
Stance had more toys than Kanan had worldly possessions, period. Sometimes that was painfully obvious.
Text from Kaidan
Re: Text from Kaidan
And also incredible in the fact that, just when Summer was convinced that BDG couldn't be any more of a dork, he proved her spectacularly wrong.
Once Summer stopped giggling and thinking about different ways in which this footage could be used to her advantage in the future, she shot off an excited text back:
omg, this is amazing. T H A N K Y O U.
Also happy birthday!!!
Re: Text from Kaidan
Kaidan was terrible at texting. This is why he normally just sent Kanan pictures with no text attached.
OOC - 21st Century Social Media, 09/27.