TALLAHASSEE, FL (#WTXLDigital) - Sometimes sarcasm and humor doesn't really translate through the keyboard. However, for two Florida State University students, their comedic talents are translating pretty well in the online world.
Have you heard about a local pumpkin patch's new "You Instagram it, you buy it" policy? Or how President Obama put aside healthcare and the Ukraine crisis to tackle the big issue of FSU's new logo?
Then, you were reading The Eggplant.
It's a satirical news site - basically The Onion of Florida State. The site is a product of two students - senior Houston Barber and junior Aubrey Burrough. Having previously worked in comedy writing for campus organizations, these English majors decided to use their talents to give Florida State the opportunity to laugh at themselves.
It all started in February with an idea and a Tumblr. By tagging their posts with #FSU, students started to take notice. Barber and Burrough took their talents to Twitter, and Barber says that he didn't realize their articles were going to take off so fast: "I got excited when I saw that our follower count was in the double digits!"
When The Eggplant's popularity started rising, so did the demand for more writers. Barber and Burrough recruited friends to help write. Now, they receive several writer applications a week.
Burrough says that she finds her inspirations from walking around campus and by seeing what students are talking about. Earlier in the fall semester, they posted a story about a parking purge on FSU's campus, saying that the school is allowing a 24 hour period in which no parking laws exist. So, you want to park on Landis Green or on the 50 yard line at Doak? This article says that it's university approved.
Some don't understand satire as well as others and may take this stuff seriously. That's what happened with the parking purge article. Florida State's Transportation Services tweeted and released an official statement to inform students that there is not a parking purge taking place, much to the dismay of some readers.
However, the university has no complaints. Barber and Burrough say that professors have read their articles and enjoyed them.
The Eggplant's popularity just keeps rising. The website went from just being a Tumblr blog to it's own domain. As the only collegiate satirical news source in the south, they have been approached by students at the University of Florida and the University of South Florida about how the start one at their schools.
To top it off, Barber and Burrough have been approached by Domiventures, a Tallahassee-based business that invests in early stage entrepreneurs, about growing The Eggplant's influence. This includes sponsors and even their own offices.
This idea has surely taken off for two writers who had no clue if people would actually be interested in reading their stories.
Click the video on the left to hear the process of creating story ideas, why it's called The Eggplant, and reactions to one of their biggest articles.
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