There’s a fascinating article on the runaway hit CollegeHumor.com at the New Yorker: Funny Boys.
Two passages that struck me:
A key to college humor, the four have realized, is that students like to think they belong to a small in-crowd that understands the joke, while the public at large remains clueless. Take the phrase More Cowbell, which is a slogan appearing on one of the most popular of the companys Busted Tees; it comes from an instruction given in a skit on Saturday Night Live. Not everyone saw that episode, so the people who did see it think it is that much cooler because nobody else knows, Josh said.
and
Josh, of CollegeHumor.com, is happy to point out that his site has surpassed The Onion in traffic, though I cant say we are better. There is a crucial difference in content between The Onion and CollegeHumor.com: while the success of the former depends on the wit of its writers, the appeal of the latter is closer to that of Americas Funniest Home Videos. CollegeHumor.com offers found humor of the sort pioneered by, among others, Steve Allen and David Letterman. Yet CollegeHumor.com isnt the expression of a governing comic sensibility determined to entertain an audience with, say, Stupid Pet Tricks; rather, the audience decides what is funny, and entertains itself. CollegeHumor.com doesnt just cater to the lowest common denominator; its cooked and served by the lowest common denominator, too.
That first “interesting passage” is quite familiar and sickening…and I have discovered that I myself have participated in that elitist humor too many times for me to stomach…it’s not a very inclusive form of humor. I hate that sort of behavior, although I have done it myself. I have spoken with God about this black part of my heart and resolve to stop being such an exclusive groupie and more of an inclusive friend, to everyone, clueless or not.