It’s something I’ve always aimed for but feel like I often miss. Do you remember when or how you moved into doing this?Ĭ/S: I’m glad you see that as a style. It’s like your feed is a stage for other characters. SH: I find you very formally experimental-there’s a lot of dialogue and conversation in your tweets, almost like little plays. It’s managed to be a brand that hasn’t really held me down to any obligations of character. Sadvil and imply a certain sadness, but I don’t think it necessarily envelops my tweets or predetermines anything I say. I still joke along with formulas, but I don’t think it was until April that I felt like I could make a tweet that was original enough to stand on its own.Īll that being said, I’m happy to not have a “voice” like some people do. After that, I began to follow the “Twitter comedian” accounts, those whose comedy work-though many wouldn’t call it that-consists mainly of tweets, and began to make jokes along formulas. My account went public in February of that year, and I think for the first month it was mostly observations about my daily life. And while they weren’t depressing in themselves, I figured that Twitter could become a more positive influence in my life, so I began following comedy accounts. I recall deleting some others I think have been archived. I don’t know what’s left of my tweets from before this point. You’ll notice my avatar is the cartoon blob from the Zoloft commercials-this came before I even though of “sadvil,” “crylenol,” or being funny. It was at that point I had come home from college and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. SHEILA HETI: Did you take to it right away, or did it take some time to find your “voice”?Ĭ/S: So I didn’t start making jokes on my Twitter account until January 2013. The account started under a different, more personal username. SHEILA HETI: What made you join Twitter in August 2009?ĬRYLENOL/SADVIL: I joined Twitter thanks to peer pressure haha. Part of the enjoyment I take in this feed, unlike with the celebrities or friends I follow, comes from knowing absolutely nothing about this user’s age? What else does C/S do with his or her life? I chose not to ask questions that would puncture the mystery-and in fact C/S indicated to me that his or her preference (though I’ve always assumed C/S is a he) was for anonymity, too. Here is our conversation, conducted over email. Some days, I retweet five of C/S’s tweets in a row, no doubt annoying everyone (and pleasing everyone else).
The tweets are often structured like mini-plays, and there is an undertone of misery to the whole entire thing, which gives the humour some of its meaning and gravity. Nothing personal, nothing political, no links.
This week features the magnificent who has among the most funny, entertaining and bizarre feeds I’ve ever read. Welcome to Week 8 of What Would Twitter Do? where I interview ten of my favourite people on Twitter about their Twitter philosophies, behaviour, and what they make of the medium in general.