Harris Wittels, Humblebrag
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One of our funniest comedians reveals the fine art of Twitter boasting
Twitter has made great strides in the field of famous/non-famous-people relations. Now not only can we make our tiny voices heard – in 140-character-or-fewer bursts – by the once-unreachable movie stars, rock gods, athletes and models we adore and despise, we can also hear directly from them, often utterly unprovoked and unfiltered.
It’s there that Harris Wittels – a very funny comedian and a writer for Parks & Recreation – first noticed the phenomenon he’s come to refer to as the humblebrag. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a ridiculous boast disguised as self-deprecating complaint. Here’s a classic from Snooki: “Damn sick mansion party! Huge lights and I forgot to wear white @ a white party. Just my luck. You here Ludacris?”
Tweets like that are a goldmine to Wittels. His book, Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty, contains hundreds, if not thousands (OK, probably just hundreds) of these self-promoting-slash-effacing mini-missives along with some hilariously deadpan retorts. His quips rarely come off as mean-spirited, just funny and frank. When supermodel Trisha Cummings humblebrags about modeling a wedding dress but not having any real marriage prospects, Wittels is consoling: “Aw, c’mon, Trisha. There’s someone out there for everyone – even models.”
Wittels finds humblebrags are funniest when they’re tweeted by red-carpetbaggers and VIP partiers, though hangers-on have produced some gems, to be sure. Among those who take their lumps in the book are Greta Van Susteren, Dane Cook and Kevin Smith – plus some likeable people, too.
