Meet Shani Hilton, the youthful conscience of Buzzfeed News.
January 8, 2015 9:59 AM Subscribe
"I like to like things, and it's nice that I work at a place where our default stance is to like things." More about Shani Hilton the news manager at Buzzfeed.
"I like to like things, and it's nice that I work at a place where our default stance is to like things... sometimes it's exhausting to sneer all the time."
Lord, are we from different generations.
posted by entropicamericana at 10:19 AM on January 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
Lord, are we from different generations.
posted by entropicamericana at 10:19 AM on January 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
"But sometimes it's exhausting to sneer all the time."
"It's not nearly as exhausting as trying to give a fuck about twelve alpacas who have the Israeli-Palestinian conflict all figured out," he said with a sneer.
posted by dortmunder at 10:22 AM on January 8, 2015 [13 favorites]
"It's not nearly as exhausting as trying to give a fuck about twelve alpacas who have the Israeli-Palestinian conflict all figured out," he said with a sneer.
posted by dortmunder at 10:22 AM on January 8, 2015 [13 favorites]
I don't have any firm opinions about the quality of Buzzfeed's journalism, but I am heartened whenever I visit their site looking for a dumb listicle to pass the time and I see some serious ongoing story with relevance for social justice foregrounded at the top of the page. It makes me less despairing of the youths, at least until I scroll down and see half the listicles are about how perfect Taylor Swift is.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:35 AM on January 8, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:35 AM on January 8, 2015 [6 favorites]
I like to like things, and it's nice that I work at a place where our default stance is to like things
This is commentary on what is congenial to the reader, not on what is important or helpful or relevant. This is what journalism looks like when it's driven entirely by what might be called market forces, in a market where the competitors have sharply and dramatically rationalized the process of capturing fragmented attention (e.g., the banality of Upworthy's "THIS CLIP WILL MAKE YOU CRY, THEN MAKE YOU STAND UP AND CHEER" and its vacuous ilk).
posted by clockzero at 10:37 AM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is commentary on what is congenial to the reader, not on what is important or helpful or relevant. This is what journalism looks like when it's driven entirely by what might be called market forces, in a market where the competitors have sharply and dramatically rationalized the process of capturing fragmented attention (e.g., the banality of Upworthy's "THIS CLIP WILL MAKE YOU CRY, THEN MAKE YOU STAND UP AND CHEER" and its vacuous ilk).
posted by clockzero at 10:37 AM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well, this explains why mefites are so antagonistic to Buzzfeed: the default stance at metafilter is to hate things.
posted by happyroach at 11:04 AM on January 8, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by happyroach at 11:04 AM on January 8, 2015 [11 favorites]
I thought the default stance on MetaFilter was to inquire about whether or not it was okay to eat things.
posted by oulipian at 11:10 AM on January 8, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 11:10 AM on January 8, 2015 [10 favorites]
I made this FPP because I thought it was awesome that a young black woman is doing her level best for the less listy parts of Buzzfeed. I think she's smart, engaging, and awesome. I know once you post your FPP the conversation is out of your hands, but I'd hoped for more than this.
posted by Kitteh at 11:11 AM on January 8, 2015 [23 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 11:11 AM on January 8, 2015 [23 favorites]
It's really cool that Hilton has been responsible for what has been (IMO) some damned good hires and editorial decisions at Buzzfeed. And yes, it's a shame that everybody's still all HERF DERF LISTICLES, because they've been pretty consistently on point with social and political issues. When amazing writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates are talking you up, that's a pretty good sign you're doing something right.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:21 AM on January 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 11:21 AM on January 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
Kitteh, I am delighted you posted this--while I do not think " the default stance at metafilter is to hate things" it is closer than I sometimes want to admit. There sometimes is a world weariness about MetaFilter that is tiring, if not provocative. I just assume the world "is"--and our experience of it is a blend of situation, biochemistry, experience, values and what have you. I would characterize Metafilter as having atypical depression with occasional anxiety, paranoid ideation, bursts of brilliance and periodic hypomania. God Bless it.
posted by rmhsinc at 11:23 AM on January 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by rmhsinc at 11:23 AM on January 8, 2015 [5 favorites]
It makes me less despairing of the youths, at least until I scroll down and see half the listicles are about how perfect Taylor Swift is.
If you were to ask my husband (who is 30), he would tell you that having a high number of listicles about how perfect Taylor Swift is indicates that they are on the side of the angels.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:26 AM on January 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
If you were to ask my husband (who is 30), he would tell you that having a high number of listicles about how perfect Taylor Swift is indicates that they are on the side of the angels.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:26 AM on January 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
Somedays happy people just make other people angry.
posted by graventy at 11:26 AM on January 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by graventy at 11:26 AM on January 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
As someone who admittedly sneers a lot, I've never found it to be 'harder' than being nice or liking things.
See, (and I'm not addressing you personally, 99_), I think she means that it's the other way around - being pessimistic, hater-y, and angry is 'easier' than being the other way around. But it becomes exhausting, in that it takes over your life.
I too don't want to hate things, and I don't like talking with people who hate things. It's equally important to listen to those who are angry, because it's like a symptom / warning symbol of where people are feeling anxious/pressured/wronged.
But more often than not, I find that the people who are actually doing things, who are actually changing things do it out of a sense of excitement / justice / joyousness, not out of a prolonged, persistent sense of negativity.
TL;DR: Haters gonna hate; likers gonna change things.
posted by suedehead at 12:29 PM on January 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
See, (and I'm not addressing you personally, 99_), I think she means that it's the other way around - being pessimistic, hater-y, and angry is 'easier' than being the other way around. But it becomes exhausting, in that it takes over your life.
I too don't want to hate things, and I don't like talking with people who hate things. It's equally important to listen to those who are angry, because it's like a symptom / warning symbol of where people are feeling anxious/pressured/wronged.
But more often than not, I find that the people who are actually doing things, who are actually changing things do it out of a sense of excitement / justice / joyousness, not out of a prolonged, persistent sense of negativity.
TL;DR: Haters gonna hate; likers gonna change things.
posted by suedehead at 12:29 PM on January 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
I want to clarify that my problem isn't with Shani Hilton as a person, or a journalist. She seems perfectly nice, and good at what she does. My problem is with Buzzfeed, and it's policies. I think the business folks there should look at the FPP directly above this one from the Cluetrain Manifesto Guys where they state:
64 Also: Please stop dressing up ads as news in the hope we'll miss the little disclaimer hanging off their underwear.
65 When you place a "native ad," you're eroding not just your own trustworthiness, but the trustworthiness of this entire new way of being with one another.
66 And, by the way, how about calling "native ads" by any of their real names: "product placement," "advertorial," or "fake fucking news"?
67 Advertisers got along without being creepy for generations. They can get along without being creepy on the Net, too.
posted by dortmunder at 12:31 PM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
64 Also: Please stop dressing up ads as news in the hope we'll miss the little disclaimer hanging off their underwear.
65 When you place a "native ad," you're eroding not just your own trustworthiness, but the trustworthiness of this entire new way of being with one another.
66 And, by the way, how about calling "native ads" by any of their real names: "product placement," "advertorial," or "fake fucking news"?
67 Advertisers got along without being creepy for generations. They can get along without being creepy on the Net, too.
posted by dortmunder at 12:31 PM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
"But sometimes it's exhausting to sneer all the time."Well, that could be why I resist clicking on the numerous links to Buzzfeed in my Facebook timeline. I don't see much there that's not to sneer at. If Buzzfeed does actual news at all, it's certainly not obvious to the casual observer.
posted by dg at 12:50 PM on January 8, 2015
I will gladly admit it here because it seems like a good place. Buzzfeed, has become one of my go to while I'm on a break at work site, because it has a mix of plain silly and stupid things and actual news and more and more good articles of the day. You can have your brainless 20 DIY hacks for you bathroom lists on one column and if you feel like it's time for more serious business check out the other.
I learned about the attacks in Paris when I went for a few minutes of brain rest for instance.
It hasn't happened over night but more and more I've been reading some pretty great non-fluffy stuff there. And I kinda like being able to read something really serious and sometime upsetting and taking a breather to look at funny cakes. Some days I have a hard enough time keeping up with crap that goes on in the world without it really getting overly depressing.
The in article advertising 'brought to you by' thing doesn't bother me really. The things they're on are so stupid and superficial that it's really 'meh' whatever. The new Lady in Black Move sponsored some list of types of ghosts. It was brief, fairly silly, but did cover some types from other cultures I hadn't heard before. If we must have advertising on sites or media I'd much rather it be like this. Much better then blarly pops ups and stupid video things that come on whether you want them too or not. At least 'brought to you by' is really obvious. Not like it's being hidden.
posted by Jalliah at 12:50 PM on January 8, 2015 [3 favorites]
I think she means that it's the other way around - being pessimistic, hater-y, and angry is 'easier' than being the other way around.
Fair point. And maybe it's just the hater in me, but I don't think the 'well we just like things' attitude is value neutral, given that simply refusing to mash the heart button for literally everything in your social media feed is 'being a hater.'
I'd rather the default stance would be (esp for a journalism outfit) 'we are neutral and thoughtful and fair.' Whether or not they post too much Taylor Swift YAY posts is simply a distraction -- there is a real issue of how much skepticism is required for good journalist. Is their default stance that they "like" the NYPD?
posted by 99_ at 12:52 PM on January 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
Fair point. And maybe it's just the hater in me, but I don't think the 'well we just like things' attitude is value neutral, given that simply refusing to mash the heart button for literally everything in your social media feed is 'being a hater.'
I'd rather the default stance would be (esp for a journalism outfit) 'we are neutral and thoughtful and fair.' Whether or not they post too much Taylor Swift YAY posts is simply a distraction -- there is a real issue of how much skepticism is required for good journalist. Is their default stance that they "like" the NYPD?
posted by 99_ at 12:52 PM on January 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'd rather the default stance would be (esp for a journalism outfit) 'we are neutral and thoughtful and fair.'
It's a good point. And I definitely would have to say that one doesn't just have to like everything. Rather, ideally healthy journalism consists of "not liking the NYPD" but also "liking good things as well". Letting yourself feel those small victories.
To expand on my original comment:
I have some activists/social justice-oriented friends in various degrees of involvement. Some work themselves into an angry, anxious, knot in which everything is exploitative. For example: Not allowing gay marriage? 'Bad.' News legalizing civil unions? 'Denigrating a population to second-class citizens by not allowing full marriage rights.' Legalizing gay marriage? 'Ratifying normative modes of partnership' or 'just a ploy for capitalism to rake in the disposable income of the 'childless gay married couple' demographic.'
I understand them, but I also see how they're not letting themselves rejoice in any small victories, or good things. And more often then not, they're not the ones really protesting, on the streets, organizing non-profits, etc, because they're too self-defeating about any possibility of change.
The friends who are really trying to make things change, I find, are elated. They make puppets or banners for a protest, and are overjoyed by a good protest afterwards. They're critical and angry sometimes, but make sure to keep up energy by being optimistic and joyous. Or they establish non-profit organizations and try to work with good people to put up a fight, and are continuously hopeful and interested. They're activist, or they call themselves social entrepreneurs, or they're journalists, or community organizers, or public defenders, but it's more often than not constructively creative, which requires a kind of optimism.
I have no question that both kinds of friends (the pessimists vs. the optimists) would completely agree on the core issues; X makes for a good society, Y is bad, Z is a harmful policy, etc. But their attitudes are completely different.
So, from a media perspective, I want journalism that sounds like those latter friends. It doesn't mean that it's all happy and bright news, but rather that it's constructive; constructive criticism, constructive optimism, constructive reporting, etc.
Whether or not Buzzfeed actively does that is another question, of course..
posted by suedehead at 1:27 PM on January 8, 2015 [10 favorites]
It's a good point. And I definitely would have to say that one doesn't just have to like everything. Rather, ideally healthy journalism consists of "not liking the NYPD" but also "liking good things as well". Letting yourself feel those small victories.
To expand on my original comment:
I have some activists/social justice-oriented friends in various degrees of involvement. Some work themselves into an angry, anxious, knot in which everything is exploitative. For example: Not allowing gay marriage? 'Bad.' News legalizing civil unions? 'Denigrating a population to second-class citizens by not allowing full marriage rights.' Legalizing gay marriage? 'Ratifying normative modes of partnership' or 'just a ploy for capitalism to rake in the disposable income of the 'childless gay married couple' demographic.'
I understand them, but I also see how they're not letting themselves rejoice in any small victories, or good things. And more often then not, they're not the ones really protesting, on the streets, organizing non-profits, etc, because they're too self-defeating about any possibility of change.
The friends who are really trying to make things change, I find, are elated. They make puppets or banners for a protest, and are overjoyed by a good protest afterwards. They're critical and angry sometimes, but make sure to keep up energy by being optimistic and joyous. Or they establish non-profit organizations and try to work with good people to put up a fight, and are continuously hopeful and interested. They're activist, or they call themselves social entrepreneurs, or they're journalists, or community organizers, or public defenders, but it's more often than not constructively creative, which requires a kind of optimism.
I have no question that both kinds of friends (the pessimists vs. the optimists) would completely agree on the core issues; X makes for a good society, Y is bad, Z is a harmful policy, etc. But their attitudes are completely different.
So, from a media perspective, I want journalism that sounds like those latter friends. It doesn't mean that it's all happy and bright news, but rather that it's constructive; constructive criticism, constructive optimism, constructive reporting, etc.
Whether or not Buzzfeed actively does that is another question, of course..
posted by suedehead at 1:27 PM on January 8, 2015 [10 favorites]
"I like to like things, and it's nice that I work at a place where our default stance is to like things ...
I'm reminded of that line from Henry Miller's magazine The Booster, "We like to boost, and of course to begin with we are going to boost ourselves."
posted by octobersurprise at 1:52 PM on January 8, 2015
I'm reminded of that line from Henry Miller's magazine The Booster, "We like to boost, and of course to begin with we are going to boost ourselves."
posted by octobersurprise at 1:52 PM on January 8, 2015
Shani Hilton sounds awesome and I want to work for her! The idea that positivity can have social capital is something I am a fan of. I don't think it is generational. I am myself a Millennial (I'm 24) but part of the reason why I enjoy the "silly lists"/"pictures of foods with cheese on them" part of Buzzfeed in addition to the "serious and engaging longform journalism" part is because I feel like "being cool = disdain for everything" thing that people my age were into in the late 90s/early 00s is still hanging around and it frustrates me. This ties in nicely to the Trek article from yesterday which I enjoyed quite a bit, the one that noted that ST:TNG has an overall highly optimistic view of the future, which is refreshing in today's dystopia-filled media.
posted by capricorn at 1:57 PM on January 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by capricorn at 1:57 PM on January 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
I would characterize Metafilter as having atypical depression with occasional anxiety, paranoid ideation, bursts of brilliance and periodic hypomania. God Bless it.
Also there's the nigh-daily crippling fits of existential angst, don't leave that out.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 2:38 PM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also there's the nigh-daily crippling fits of existential angst, don't leave that out.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 2:38 PM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'd say the default stance at MetaFilter is skepticism.
With a widely-distributed assortment of most of the things rmhsinc mentioned above: world weariness, atypical depression with occasional anxiety, bursts of brilliance, existential angst (as YCTaB added). Or is that my default stance?
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:57 PM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
With a widely-distributed assortment of most of the things rmhsinc mentioned above: world weariness, atypical depression with occasional anxiety, bursts of brilliance, existential angst (as YCTaB added). Or is that my default stance?
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:57 PM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Taylor Swift is awesome. There are days when "Shake it off" is what gets me through the day. It's far more positive and uplifting than my historical use of "Still Alive" since I'm no longer a sadistic, murderous robot when I sing along. Self-care and not becoming burnt out and hopeless can be a real challenge, and I'm more and more appreciating sources of joy which try to be good-hearted and kind.
I am impressed in particular by her approach to the beheading and how to show it - and I remember Rachel Maddow struggling with that same moment, where it is clearly important but it is also clearly gratuitous and meant to inspire incandescent rage. It sounds like she is seriously considering the balance of news and ...I don't think I even have a word for it; I'd describe it as a vague scaremongering by focusing on showing traumatic or dramatic images over and over again for the purpose of encouraging people to continue to watch those images. It's a difficult balance point because "free speech" but also I'm increasingly thinking we need better ways to limit what is focused on; re-watching horrifying things or spending a lot of time criticizing people for things a lot of people do both seem like poor uses of time and attention.
posted by Deoridhe at 4:19 PM on January 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
I am impressed in particular by her approach to the beheading and how to show it - and I remember Rachel Maddow struggling with that same moment, where it is clearly important but it is also clearly gratuitous and meant to inspire incandescent rage. It sounds like she is seriously considering the balance of news and ...I don't think I even have a word for it; I'd describe it as a vague scaremongering by focusing on showing traumatic or dramatic images over and over again for the purpose of encouraging people to continue to watch those images. It's a difficult balance point because "free speech" but also I'm increasingly thinking we need better ways to limit what is focused on; re-watching horrifying things or spending a lot of time criticizing people for things a lot of people do both seem like poor uses of time and attention.
posted by Deoridhe at 4:19 PM on January 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
If you were to ask my husband (who is 30), he would tell you that having a high number of listicles about how perfect Taylor Swift is indicates that they are on the side of the angels.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 2:26 PM on January 8
I turned 31 over a month ago! Sheesh. Taylor Swift recently turned 25 and, incidentally, is actually perfect.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:51 AM on January 9, 2015
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 2:26 PM on January 8
I turned 31 over a month ago! Sheesh. Taylor Swift recently turned 25 and, incidentally, is actually perfect.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:51 AM on January 9, 2015
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As someone who admittedly sneers a lot, I've never found it to be 'harder' than being nice or liking things. Maybe it's time to have Tumblerssiance for haters, a la introverts ('How to care for your hater!' 'How not to be a dick to haters!').
posted by 99_ at 10:14 AM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]