A Breakdown Of Montreal’s Personal Brand
IS THE CITY OF MONTREAL “SELF-AWARE”?
Analyzing the city of Montreal’s social media presence (Twitter account, Flickr account, YouTube channel), I came to feel as if the city was only vaguely aware of its party brand, possibly, even, in denial about the true nature of it, as if choosing to perceive the inexhaustible art scene as some sort of “accident” or “coincidence.” This comes as a mild surprise, as the City of Montreal’s party brand possesses a long and “cherished” history, going back to the 1920s and 1930s, during which the Prohibition movement in the United States turned Montreal into a haven for Americans looking to “get their drunk on” and soak in the lifestyle that came with alcohol.
The city of Montreal’s Twitter account follows 94 accounts, none of which are particularly involved in the art community or within party culture, with the possible exception of the Pop Montreal account. The account mainly functions as a “reblog station” or link dump, attempting to “sell” Montreal as a city that takes itself seriously, is recognized at the international level by other cities, and offers countless activities for the average consumer and his/her family. The city of Montreal’s Flickr and YouTube accounts follow similar templates, offering little to no party-centric content, as if suffering from a form of selective amnesia. It seems interesting to wonder, while walking towards Concordia University in the cold while already suffering from a cold and wishing, each time more faintly, for the two colds to annul each other, what the city of Montreal’s social media presence would look like if it were to increase its emphasis on art/party/DIY culture.
Reworking the city of Montreal’s social media presence (Flickr)
*The following pictures were taken/stolen from the city of Montreal’s Flickr account. Original captions were initially written in French by the city of Montreal and translated by me for the purpose of this essay.
Original caption: “Premiere of multimedia show”
Proposed caption: “Hipster crew performing new material in front of medium-sized audience, prepared for this by furiously pre-drinking for several hours”
Original caption: “Guided bike tour”
Proposed caption: “Hipster crew vastly hungover from previous night and openly regretting having gotten up in the first place, sunlight deemed ‘unbearable,’ contemplating going back to bed, likely without even bothering taking off bike helmet.”
Original caption: “The Creators’ Bus”
Proposed caption: “Desperately asking people on Facebook chat for address of specific sketchy after-party, address not properly listed on Facebook event to avoid cop troubles.”
Original caption: “Opening”
Proposed caption: “Band members casually shit-talking current music trends while discussing favorite party songs about partying.”
Original caption: “Olympic Stadium”
Proposed caption: “House party.”
Reworking the city of Montreal’s social media presence (Twitter)
Conceivably, the city of Montreal could simply decide to continue doing what they’re doing while “sprinkling” tweets by members of the local music community throughout their feed, via a careful and considerate use of Twitter’s retweet functionality.
The end result would look, I imagine, something like this: