Hypercasual: When the Web Gets a Little Too Friendly

I thought this article was a perfect fit for our class especially since we have been reading about projecting one’s identify and self online, specifically through social networking websites.

The article I chose is from Business Week and it describes the recent trend of companies trying to be cutesy, casual, and “ordinary.” Bobbie Johnson, the author, discusses how companies have lowered their standards when it comes to social media and have used an overly friendly voice which he refers to as hyper-casual. In other words, companies have noticed how online users are using blogger lexicon and have taken a more casual stance online, and the companies are thus trying to catch on to the trend and capitalize off of it. In the end, however, instead of sounding friendly, Johnson believes that the companies come off as flippant. One specific example he uses is how his friend in London noticed that her bank had a poll on the front page of its website, asking customers who their favorite A-Team character is. Although the bank was in essence trying to be more relatable to its customers and more friendly, the bank ended up coming off as unprofessional.

We have obviously learned and are still learning about how we project our personal and social identities online. In a way then, we are projecting our personalities online as well. Companies also use the media to project their identities. Do companies also use to media to project their personalities then? Is projecting an identity the same as projecting a personality? I do not know if I am asking the right questions but it's sure interesting to think about. After thinking about everything, I think the bank was unsuccessful in its attempts to sound friendly because of the voice it used. I think the bank had the right idea but they took the wrong approach. I guess individuals aren't the only ones that should worry about how they project themselves online! In a way, companies are just like people in that they forget that usually it's not what you say but how you say it and when the computer acts as a medium, I think it's easy to forget how important the delivery is!


What would you think if you logged onto view your online bank statement and you were asked who your favorite A-Team character is? Would it bother you or would you not even notice that the bank had hopped on the hyper casual train?

Here's the link in case anyone is interested in reading the article -->   Hypercasual ... w00t!