The Magic of a Mupload

What's in a mupload?  A picture by any camera would be better quality, less pixelated, more flattering.  What is with this current obsession with underexposed, unplanned pictures?


A mupload is, for those of you who don't know, a shorthand expression for "Mobile Upload," or a picture taken with a Smart Phone and directly posted on Facebook.  Duh.  Urban Dictionary defines it here, which is pretty accurate if you ask me. It can also pertain to a picture taken with a smart phone and then texted to one or more people.  So where does the fascination with muploads arise?  We've all got smart phones now-- IPhones and BlackBerrys are the most common devices for snapping a mup.  We all have around-the-clock access to our Facebook page as well-- gone are the days when you needed an actual computer.  In this day and age, everything happens immediately.  If someone doesn't answer a call, you don't leave a voicemail-- that would take too long.  Texts and BBMs are instantaneous as well.  And picture sharing is no exception to the split-second generation.

The mupload has certain characteristics that separate it from any other Facebook album.  It captures a spontaneous moment: you're out and about and come across something too funny, cute, ridiculous, etc. to pass up.  Whip out the phone (it's usually already in hand) and snap a pic.  No unzipping of a pocket to grab the digital camera, which would take way too long.  The quality is never great: often the subject of the photo is moving, the lighting is poor, you're too far away...but the moment is still memorable.  Instead of taking the pic and then casually waiting until you get home to upload to your computer, then add to an album, the mupload is immediately posted using the Facebook app.  It shows up directly to the news feed so that all the kids who aren't out having fun can immediately click it and comment away.  It also sends the message to the Facebook world: "I'm out having fun right now, this is what I'm doing. Jealous?"

Muploads are not always pictures of people, which makes up the majority of all other Facebook pictures. After all, how are you going to tag your friends if no one's in the picture?  The mupload skirts this issue quite cleanly.  Of course you can tag people who aren't actually in the picture, as long as the picture documents some kind of inside joke that relates to them.  Then they will see the picture and comment something like "ahhhahahha remember the time when this happened to us?? Love ya!!!"

I think the best part of muploads are the captions.  Witty captions to go along with whatever ridiculous thing you're seeing make the picture even more entertaining for the Facebook world.  I'm not gonna lie, I've sometimes thought of a caption I want to use before I even take the picture.  A quick phrase can sum up what you're doing, where you are, and why the event is memorable enough to post.

Muploads can be any time, any place, and any thing.  They perfectly embody the "immediate gratification" for which our generation is so well known.  The grownups are always talking about how our generation doesn't have to work for anything, we have no work ethic or patience.  Well, in the case of these pictures, that's kind of true.  We don't even have the patience to wait until we go home: those pics need to be seen by the world NOW so that everyone can see what a great time you're having.

Well, I'm off.  But don't worry, if anything exciting happens I'll be sure to take a pic and post it right away.