Take the Black Twitter Study Quiz!

Do you know #BlackTwitter as well as the authors of the #BlackTwitterStudy? Take our quiz:

By 
Sep 03, 2014
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Complex Original

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Ever wonder exactly what the science behind staying woke is? Prolly not. But—lucky day!—the University of Southern California Annenberg Center for Media Studies is determined to find out. 

Today, the Annenberg Lab released the prospectus for a new study about Black Twitter called the DSAIL Black Twitter Project. The study's aim is nothing less than "working toward an understanding of [the] highly active sub-community of Twitter users often self-identified as 'Black Twitter.'" Franz Boas, consider your card pulled.

Given that the study was originally run by three white dudes (an additional "Project Owner" was added after the study was announced), you might think it was doomed from the start. But these dudes seem to know their stuff. Just check this smattering of knowledge darts pulled from the prospectus:

"The terminology and humor of Black Twitter evolves rapidly over time..."

"The community is credited with...attracting millions of new viewers to the network drama Scandal..."

and...wait for it damnit...

"Not everyone who identifies as black is a part of Black Twitter."

The only thing the Annenberg scholars haven't seemed to figure out about Black Twitter is what the hell "BAE" stands for, but give them time, they're just starting. So we ask, do you know Black Twitter as well as the Annenberg Innovation Lab? The lines from the following quiz are pulled directly from the Black Twitter Project prospectus. Note: If you need to consult Urban Dictionary at any point while trying to complete this quiz, you are automatically disqualified.

1. What is Black Twitter?

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a) ayyyyy LMAO

b) Completely indecipherable

c) A dynamic, open-ended, socio-technical phenomenon

d) Worse than Black Death, the Black Plague, Black Metal, and Meet Joe Black combined

2. Black Twitter reflects the central role that young Black Americans have played in...

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a) Shaping Twitter

b) The Fappening

​c) Spoiling TV shows

d) Keeping Karrueche off BET

 

3. Define Black Twitter discourse.

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Users contributing to the—notably lively—Black Twitter discourse are among the most deeply engaged with the affordances of Twitter’s platform and employ technical features such as the ______, _______, and _______ to raise the widespread visibility of content and themes that they value.

a) Nae Nae, Shmoney Dance, and ratchetology

b) Riding lawnmover, cordless vaccuum, and powdered dish detergent

c) Hashtag, search function, and trending topics

d) Floppy disc, Sega DreamCast, and Windows 95

4. What is Black Twitter credited with?

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a) Proving that those hoes ain't loyal

b) Attracting millions of views to Scandal and drawing news coverage to the killing of Trayvon Martin

c) Introducing the word "thot" to the lexicon

d) Rihanna being kicked off of Instagram

5. What do tweets by Black Twitter users tend to exhibit?

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a) More complex rhetorical strategies

b) Remarkable levels of thirst

c) Swag

d) No knowledge of the system's DM function 

6. What is the purpose of the Black Twitter study?

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a) To map specific user connections, explore how information is spread and by whom, and identify the types of communication practices that are unique to Black Twitter

b) To exploit black culture for profit and advertising dollars

c) To make you feel some type a way

d) To confuse white people

7. Why is studying Black Twitter so "tricky"?

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a) Because black people aren't about that life

b) Because white people be cray

c) Because not everyone who identifies as black is a part of Black Twitter, nor does everyone participating in Black Twitter identify as black

d) Because black people stay #based

8. According to the study, what is the only television show on Black Twitter?

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a) Downton Abbey

b) Good Times

c) Scandal 

d) Trick question! Black people don't watch television

 

9. Newcomers to Twitter are occasionally surprised to find that the system...

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a) Can have a profoundly Black feeling to it

b) Isn't just for white people

c) Doesn't have a separate URL for black people

d) Is constantly collecting user data without their knowledge

10. Answer Key

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1. C, 2. C, 3. D, 4. A, 5. A, 6. A, 7. C, 8. C, 9. A

Black Twitter

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