Texts From Hillary

2012

Date: 4 April 2012 · Place: Tumblr, source photo from Reuters · Figures: Hillary Clinton, subject · Diana Walker, photographer · Adam Smith, blog co-creator · Stacy Lambe, blog co-creator · Tags: Tumblr, Political Macro, Subject Participation 01. A Secretary Of State On A C-17 In October 2011 Time photographer Diana Walker captures Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looking at her BlackBerry aboard a C-17 military aircraft. On 4 April 2012 Washington political publicists Adam Smith and Stacy Lambe launch a Tumblr blog pairing the image with imagined text-message exchanges between Clinton and other figures. Within five days the blog has been featured by ABC News, CNN, and the Atlantic. On 9 April Clinton herself submits a post for inclusion, and the creators close the blog the same day. 02. The Politician Joins The Meme Texts From Hillary is the first major case in which a sitting cabinet official participates in her own meme, transforming the political-image macro from satire into a controlled communications channel. The episode lays groundwork for the meme-savvy politician personae of the late 2010s. Smith and Lambe end the blog at its peak rather than ride it down, an editorial decision that becomes a model for the single-serving Tumblr life cycle. "ROFL @ ur tumblr! g2g -hrc" — Hillary Clinton, submitted to Texts From Hillary, 9 April 2012 Sources • Texts From Hillary, Tumblr archive (April 2012) • The Atlantic, 'Texts From Hillary, A Meme Closes With Style' (10 April 2012) • Time, Diana Walker C-17 image (31 October 2011)