Decipher Podcast #5: Hands off my Hashtag
In this episode of Decipher Podcast, a story about creating public art and what it means to own it and share it.
Sharmila interviews writers Keah Brown and Danielle Sepulveres, as they tell stories of creating hashtags and articles that gained publicity, only to be co-opted without permission. We bring them, along with artist and uncopyright advocate Gwenn Seemel, into a discussion around art in the online era, public domain, and making a living off of our creations.
> Intro (01:05)
What’s on our minds?
- Sharmila Sahni: Shoutout to my friends, Jeremy Luke and Joey Russo, who have a show on Netflix called Small Shots. Check it out!
- Corey Long: I listened to S-Town and it absolutely wrecked me, it was a beautiful, tragic, story of flawed and brilliant humans. I binged it in one day. Listen to it now!
- Lauren Hayes: I can’t stop reading X-files fanfiction. Has anyone found mine yet?
> Story (03:18)
Hands off my Hashtag
Danielle Sepulveres wrote a tongue-in-cheek article that happened to have a similar headline to another article. She faced unnecessary backlash but was defended by another writer, Keah Brown, who happened to be going through something similar. Keah created a powerful and influential hashtag, #disabledandcute, only to find a number of issues with people co-opting the movement for their own monetary gain, finding issue with the hashtag, or not representing the true meaning of the movement when covering it.
> Decipher (18:14)
Art is meant to be shared, but there seems to be a disconnect when the creators of art want some sort of compensation for their creations. What do we own and what is public domain when it comes to the art we create or repurpose?
Keah Brown, Danielle Sepulveres, and Gwenn Seemel join us in a discussion.
> Outro (01:11:07)
Where can you find us?
- Keah Brown: @Keah_Maria on Twitter and Instagram. She’s a cheesecake stan and a chips and cheese fan. Check out her website and read her work at keahbrown.weebly.com. Also, please tweet Ellen so she’ll put Keah on the show!
- Danielle Sepulveres: @ellesep on Twitter, @daniellesep on Instagram although I’m terrible at taking photos. See all her work and buy her books at daniellesepulveres.com.
- Gwenn Seemel: @gwennpaints on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Visit Gwennseemel.com for all her art and writing.
- Lauren Hayes: Follow her on instagram @indomitablelulu for weird stuff and things.
- Sharmila Sahni: You can find her out on her front porch drinking coffee and basking in the wonderland that is her garden or on Instagram @sharmilarose.
- Corey Long: You can find him on Twitter @coreymlong calling people out for being tone deaf and obsessing about Paramore. He’s also on Instagram @coreymlong and just posted a selfie with his new haircut, and it’s on fleek.
> Production Credits
- Hosts: Sharmila Sahni, Lauren Hayes, and Corey Long
- Special Guests: Keah Brown, Danielle Sepulveres, and Gwenn Seemel
- Story Segment Producer: Sharmila Sahni
- Audio Production: Corey Long
- Decipher Theme Music and Cover Art: Nathaniel James Zablan
Music
- “Reap What You Sow,” “Get The Hell Away,” and “Dusk Walk” by Ronnie Carrier (stream her album on Apple Music or Spotify!)
- “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett
Further Reading
- #DisabledAndCute Hashtag Goes Viral (Yahoo)
- These Sassy #DisabledAndCute Tweets Will Give You Life (Cosmopolitan)
- HOW TO make art without getting “ripped off” online (Boing Boing)
- How “on fleek” went from a 16-year-old’s Vine to the Denny’s Twitter account (Vox)
- “Some Other Stephen King” (Stephen King)
Let us know if there are any topics you’d like us to decipher in future podcasts or if there’s something you’d like to discuss from an episode, by tweeting us @decipherpodcast or messaging us on our Facebook page.
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