Newspaper's tweet about climate change (and Bubba Gump) is too relatable
Look, I get it. Temperatures are rising, leaders are getting dumber, and it seems like an apocalypse is nigh. We're all freaked -- including at least one member of the social media team at Charleston, S.C.'s paper, The Post and Courier.
How do I know? Just look at this tweet posted on Friday, linking to a story about Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.'s Charleston location closing.
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I called the paper on Saturday, both to see if there was any follow-up comment and to check in on the author of the tweet, make sure they're OK. Mostly the latter. And great news, folks: he's OK.
The tweet's author is one Matt Clough, engagement editor at The Post and Courier. I first spoke with one of his colleagues on the paper's digital team and asked how Matt is doing.
The response: "He's OK. He just gets a little nihilistic sometimes."
A few minutes later, Matt himself gave me a call back. We both had a good laugh about the tweet, which is undeniably funny in its own grim sort of way. Then Matt confirmed that yes, he's fine.
"I'm doing great, man. I'm having a lot of fun. It's that Friday feeling, man. Sometimes it gets to you," he said.
Matt didn't have anything to add to the tweet; "Quite honestly, it speaks for itself," he said. But he didn't post it just to be a killjoy. (Losing a local source of cooked shrimp is devastating enough, right?)
Really, the tweet is just Matt doing his job, which is to communicate with the paper's audience -- or to engage, as his title says outright. He said he's always looking for "fun, weird ways" to communicate with readers, and he's noticed that nihilistic messages tend to resonate.
"I guess everybody's feeling a little dark right now," he said.
Amen, brother.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
