We’ve all done it, clicked the YouTube tab on our browser, and proceeded to get lost within the viral videos for hours. One thing leads to another. Keyboard Cat sends you to Dramatic Chipmunk, then Sneezing Panda, a shocking SNL skit or two, and before you know it an hour has flown by. The rules of comedy are constantly changing. What is considered funny, who is considered funny, and where you are hearing it first changes as often as the fashion industry.
Embracing the class clown: Find your role outside the classroom
As with anything, social media takes figuring out where you fit in, how your voice will make the most impact. Comedy has naturally fallen into the YouTube and social scene. YouTube along with Hulu and various video sites cater to sound, visuals, and easy play back, all essential parts of comedy currently.
What once were moments vaguely remembered as being funny or taped onto VHS tapes, have gone viral. We no longer have to sit through two hours of Saturday Night Live on the weekend, or clear a schedule to make it to the comedy clubs. We can hop onto Hulu to see the latest skits, visit YouTube to see Chelsea Handler’s newest celeb interview, or watch Ricky Gervais’ Golden Globes fiasco, and feel completely up to date. The one’s worth memorizing are shared across various platforms and before long, icons are made and comedic geniuses emerge. Take Jay Pharoah for example, he was discovered through his YouTube channel, and now he is a new cast member for the powerhouse that is Saturday Night Live.
Daily One-Liners
What’s more? Comedians have realized the beauty of Twitter and it’s 140 character one liners. Seeping into followers’ daily news feeds in the hopes of a laugh, maybe even a retweet. It’s one of the best ways at the moment to humanize a character. Most comedians are easy to relate to, commenting on the odd parts of our lives and saying what we all want to blurt out. This provides another outlet that goes straight to the interested fans.
I think Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island put it most eloquently in their latest hardcore-rap-music-video-parody:
“Lonely Island, we started this fake rap sh**, the world needs us”
