This weekend, John Mayer caused a flap in the echo chamber of Twitter and blogs by appearing to pitch products in his Tweets, the first being for Cambell's Soup. Even though many people on Twitter are already promoting something -- whether it's an article, a blog post, or an event -- if it's true Mayer is 'selling ad space' in his Tweets, I think that is an unwelcome leap to the blatantly commercial. And, though I'm not convinced this isn't satire from Mayer, he does raise an interesting point, "How can you sell out when the high art in question is Twitter? Can you be the Bob Dylan of Twitter?"
I would argue: Don't bet against it. There was a time when the 3-minute pop song was considered disposable, now we celebrate The Beatles alongside Mozart. Likewise, the graphic novel (nee comic book). Graffiti. Rap. Blue jeans. There are countless examples of the uncouth, the profane, and the utilitarian evolving into art.
I think it's only a matter of time before we find the next great filmmaker working on YouTube, the next great author writing a blog, or the next Bob Dylan posting tracks to MySpace.
4 comments:
This reminds me of the time John Mayer ruined blues guitar, balladry and pop music.
Wow, that's a level of bile you usually reserve exclusively for the GOP, feminists, or commentors on your blog.
Ha hahahaha
Look, is there anyone out there who really feels that Mayer somehow violated the artistic medium of Twitter?
Rather than asking "How can you sell out when the high art in question is Twitter?" isn't the real question "How can you sell out when you're John Mayer?"
If anything, this proves my point that Twitter has a lot to do with voyeuristic celeb-following.
The "debate" over selling out is an old and boring one.
All Mayer did was deflate his followers illusions of what life as a celeb is like.
No one thinks of Twitter as art - although I will grant that in the future, they might. What pisses people off is Mayer behaving in ways that defeat their expectations.
Also, people like Twitter primarily as a communication tool and don't want to see it become primarily a marketing tool.
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