It's no secret that Odyssey articles constantly circulate on your Facebook newsfeed. Between FB friends who write for Odyssey, share others' Odyssey articles, have their relatives share it too, and everything in between, we can all acknowledge that Odyssey has become a staple in our Facebook culture. However, not everyone is a fan.
A friend of mine showed me a parody twitter account called Odyssey Offline (@Op3nL3tt3r). The account basically mocks everything under the sun about the Odyssey and everything they think it stands for. I will admit that the account has some pretty funny tweets, however a lot of it is over-exaggerated and full of misconceptions. And for someone who hates the Odyssey so much, they sure have a lot of time to rant about it.
Broken down stereotype by stereotype, here's what I've discovered, and refuted....:
We're constantly writing Open Letters...
Well, to all of our "letter openers,"...we appreciate you.
Who doesn't have that one relative who has no social media chill and treats Facebook like a playground?
Because Mark is the g.o.a.t.
Someone had to call her out.
You never forget your first college roommate.
It's time to stop the candy crush madness. You don't need those kind of people in your life.
You better watch your back.
Now as much as these letters are fun to tease, they have actually established a unique way of writing that you can't find on any other site. Each one has created bonds that students at colleges all across the country can connect to since they are going through the same things. These tweets may seem like it's writing an open letter to just anyone, but it's not. Many writers use it as an opportunity to write a letter to someone special in their life such as a sibling, a teacher who made an impact, or even a group of people. We're not calling out someone in an act of revenge, but rather directing the piece to someone in a conversational tone. Take the time to actually read one and see for yourself.
Speaking of "bigs," we're obsessed with our sororities...
While it's easy to point the finger at only Odyssey writers, the truth is everyone is guilty of talking about their sororities. If you're in a sorority, chances are you've Instagrammed your big or changed your Facebook cover photo to some fundraiser before. Greek life is one way of making a close friend group at school, and while it may not be for everyone, embracing one's sorority is not a crime. We all take pride in different extracirriculars and we should learn to lose the stigma about sororities being some kind of "cult."
Everything is specific yet relatable...
Here's the thing: when we aim for a smaller audience, we're allowing people to connect to something specific in their life, as opposed to reading about yet another generic topic online. Obviously, anyone can "understand" the article, but why would an article be special if it was applicable to anyone? It wouldn't be. These lists break down our reasoning instead of having long paragraphs that no one wants to be bored with.
And we tend to talk about the latest...
Who doesn't like a good joke about the madness of the presidential election? Of course we don't actually have headlines like these but I can promise you we use humor and modern topics that make articles intriguing enough to read. As many of us are college students, we talk about things we experience ourselves that many newspapers and other publications can't. And that is just one way that makes us so well-recognized.
What I'm saying is, these tweets may be funny, but if you've ever read/judged more than one or a few Odyssey articles, you would know that they aren't actually like any of the above. I believe that many Odyssey writers are talented and make some kind of impact in this world. Some articles are silly, some are funny, some are powerful, but that's the beauty of writing. The bottom line is: just laugh at how ridiculous these tweets are, but also understand the Odyssey is way more than lists and open letters and sorority stuff; it's a way for millennials to connect to other millennials and read about topics they are actually interested in. And if this twitter account is so invested in us, we must be onto something.
