Ahhh the delicate art of the subtweet. How to complain about a co-worker, friend, or some other human, without them finding out. It’s a tricky situation at best.
If you don’t know, subtweet is short for subliminal tweet, meaning you’re talking smack about someone without actually using their Twitter handle or even mentioning their name. It’s basically the Internet equivalent of talking behind someone’s back. Like instead of tweeting:
Hey @saltygravy, why were you such a dick at my party last night?
You might tweet:
You know what good people don’t do? Show up at a pot luck with half a box of pop tarts and then drink all the beer.
Or you might, for instance, tweet.
I’m sick and tired of the sexist smug white dude running the United States government.
And people would know exactly who you meant without you having to mention Vladimir Putin.
Of course, it can all go wrong. Like when Taylor Swift famously thought this Nicki Minaj tweet was aimed at her and Minaj claimed it wasn’t.
If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/623616796277506048
Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn't say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this. @taylorswift13
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Obviously, there’s another danger to subtweeting. Sure it might feel good to blow off steam about your annoying roommate or boss, but what if it gets back to them? That’s where Corey Kindberg comes in. He’s a New York social media editor and had a little time on his hands to do people’s dirty work.
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871820917114118144
Boy were people happy to take him up on the offer, with tweets that ranged from petty, to savage, to everything in between.
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871822483837648896
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871912060115968000
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871915127813099521
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871827790873669633
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871909192336121856
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871908747010027520
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871912798342832131
It’s important to note that not all subtweets have to be negative. Sometimes it’s just something you’re afraid to say to the person’s face.
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871910216182452224
Other times you’re just a conflicted weirdo who watches too much SpongeBob.
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/871913399587885057
Kindberg’s inbox is still flooded with messages, so we can probably count on a neverending stream of snarky complaints and wicked burns. As for the man himself, he says he’s learned at least one thing.
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/872087542010699776
Oh and that viral fame comes with a price.
https://twitter.com/coreykindberg/status/872638329845669889
H/T BuzzFeed