C.V.

Tag: funny

Expanding Language with Sommer Browning

Expanding Language with Sommer Browning

  Sommer Browning writes poems, draws comics, and tells jokes. She is the author of Everything But Sex (which is a collection of comics), Want To Hear About This Dream I Had (book of prose dream poems), and You’re On My Period (a joke book). She works as a librarian in Denver. She is also […]

Another Benign Violation: Roast Me

Being publicly degraded is distressing.  However, a popular subreddit on Reddit, /r/roastme, is populated by people asking to get roasted by  strangers. The results are… pretty funny. actually: The Benign Violation Theory helps explain what makes this process so funny. Humor arises when something is wrong yet okay, threatening yet safe, or what we call a […]

Another Benign Violation: Autocorrect Fails

From the T9 function on flip phones to Swype on smart phones, spelling mis-predictions are the bane of handheld communication. It’s hard to catch all the typos  that result from Autocorrect Fails. Using The Benign Violation Theory, we can break down when Autocorrect Fails will be (especially) funny. Humor arises when something is wrong yet […]

Funny Bizz Conference – San Francisco

I am speaking about business and humor at the Funny Bizz conference tomorrow. San Francisco friends, get your tickets here. Some info: Ever wonder how Silicon Valley’s top startups use comedy, improv and storytelling principles to create great content, stand out from the noise and ultimately sell more? There is a movement beginning. The lines […]

Is that a joke? Four risks of humorous marketing

I spend a lot of research time examining the costs and benefits of humor in business. The team at Grasshopper reached out to me recently to discuss how attempts to create funny marketing can fail. Here is what they came up with: Don’t Be Tedious or Tasteless Be Careful If You’re Poking Fun of Consumers […]

A new benign violation: The funny camera angle

Why are these funny camera angles funny? A funny camera angle is funny when it creates a benign violation. The benign violation theory proposes that humor occurs when a situation is simultaneously seen as wrong, unsettling or threatening (i.e., a violation) and okay, acceptable or safe (i.e., benign). A survey of the photos above reveal […]