Vocabulary
sentient Because if you're a normal, sentient being who's noticed in yourself a constant, low-grade irritation over the past year, you know what I'm talking about.
unmitigated
That's because it's become less a place for exchanging ideas and events and more and more an unmitigated, unapologetic opportunity for public relations.
ubiquitous
These are boasts that are loosely disguised as self-deprecation — "Spilled coffee inside my Maserati. What a dope!" — and they've become so ubiquitous there's even a book collecting some of the best examples from Twitter.
Structure
Three one-pointers, then a three-pointer.
In the middle column, Daub gives plenty of examples... but there's this cool trick where she does one paragraph about "humblebrag," another paragraph about "empowerboast," another paragraph about "travel brag" (which demonstrates that this bragging thing is a problem), then very quickly lists a bunch of other types of brag, making it seem as though she's an expert and could write on and on, adding to both logos and ethos:
"Some are so common they're trite: the mom brag, the meal preparation brag, the posting-of-hot-photos-of-yourself brag."
Many people have commented on this before me...
Saying that others have talked about this is a great technique. Daum does it with style and wit. Instead of saying "Lots of people complain about Facebook's effects," Daum efficiently dramatizes that by saying:
"It's passe to complain about the wearying, navel-gazing, time-wasting, occasionally ego-bruising effects of Facebook and its ilk."
An explanatory metaphor right before the conclusion
is it important that it's towards the end? Does that "seal the argument"? She uses a metaphor to help explain the brag problem in a way that makes a complex thing (the humblebrag) understandable by relating it to a common thing (someone talking over everyone else.
"Posting a brag, humble or otherwise, and then waiting for people to respond is the equivalent of having a conversation in which all you do is wait for your turn to speak."
Style
(1)Maybe this data means X? Maybe this data means Y? Maybe this data means Z?
(2) Tricolon telling it like it is
The top of the 3rd column is really interesting. First, there is a "naysayer" paragraph that's a series of rhetorical questions (maybe this data means X or Y or Z), second, there's this rhythmic paragraph that's a "tricolon" (three sentences in a row, growing in length and intensity) (rhythmic b/c of repetition of We/We/We)
Maybe there's a metaphysical factor to all this. If something good happens to you and no one knows it, did it really happen? Moreover, if you don't publicize your accomplishments and good fortune are you essentially saying you don't care about them? Is bragging about yourself actually a form of appreciating — or even respecting — yourself?
Maybe, but here's what I think is really going on. We're a culture that can't distinguish positive thinking from hubris. We tell ourselves we're not bragging, just putting out good vibes. We're not putting the spotlight on ourselves, but rather spreading the light around so that others, too, will flourish in the glow.
Find this article on the web: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/03/opinion/la-oe-daum-facebook-brag-20130103
sentient Because if you're a normal, sentient being who's noticed in yourself a constant, low-grade irritation over the past year, you know what I'm talking about.
unmitigated
That's because it's become less a place for exchanging ideas and events and more and more an unmitigated, unapologetic opportunity for public relations.
ubiquitous
These are boasts that are loosely disguised as self-deprecation — "Spilled coffee inside my Maserati. What a dope!" — and they've become so ubiquitous there's even a book collecting some of the best examples from Twitter.
Structure
Three one-pointers, then a three-pointer.
In the middle column, Daub gives plenty of examples... but there's this cool trick where she does one paragraph about "humblebrag," another paragraph about "empowerboast," another paragraph about "travel brag" (which demonstrates that this bragging thing is a problem), then very quickly lists a bunch of other types of brag, making it seem as though she's an expert and could write on and on, adding to both logos and ethos:
"Some are so common they're trite: the mom brag, the meal preparation brag, the posting-of-hot-photos-of-yourself brag."
Many people have commented on this before me...
Saying that others have talked about this is a great technique. Daum does it with style and wit. Instead of saying "Lots of people complain about Facebook's effects," Daum efficiently dramatizes that by saying:
"It's passe to complain about the wearying, navel-gazing, time-wasting, occasionally ego-bruising effects of Facebook and its ilk."
An explanatory metaphor right before the conclusion
is it important that it's towards the end? Does that "seal the argument"? She uses a metaphor to help explain the brag problem in a way that makes a complex thing (the humblebrag) understandable by relating it to a common thing (someone talking over everyone else.
"Posting a brag, humble or otherwise, and then waiting for people to respond is the equivalent of having a conversation in which all you do is wait for your turn to speak."
Style
(1)Maybe this data means X? Maybe this data means Y? Maybe this data means Z?
(2) Tricolon telling it like it is
The top of the 3rd column is really interesting. First, there is a "naysayer" paragraph that's a series of rhetorical questions (maybe this data means X or Y or Z), second, there's this rhythmic paragraph that's a "tricolon" (three sentences in a row, growing in length and intensity) (rhythmic b/c of repetition of We/We/We)
Maybe there's a metaphysical factor to all this. If something good happens to you and no one knows it, did it really happen? Moreover, if you don't publicize your accomplishments and good fortune are you essentially saying you don't care about them? Is bragging about yourself actually a form of appreciating — or even respecting — yourself?
Maybe, but here's what I think is really going on. We're a culture that can't distinguish positive thinking from hubris. We tell ourselves we're not bragging, just putting out good vibes. We're not putting the spotlight on ourselves, but rather spreading the light around so that others, too, will flourish in the glow.
Find this article on the web: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/03/opinion/la-oe-daum-facebook-brag-20130103