Zombies creator OK with being "the jackass" on Facebook
Blake Commagere created the all the widgets you hate most on Facebook — the Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires and Slayers. The ones that spam you with bites and inspired knockoffs like Pirates and Ninjas that everyone also hates. You'd think Blake would hide from publicity given his monstrous creations, but no, today we found him giving an interview to Silicon Alley Insider, saying how "totally wrong" people are who (like us) say that Facebook apps should be useful instead of annoying.
For people to say that only utility apps are going to rule on Facebook –- anyone under that impression is totally wrong. Because utility is boring. Looking for a job? Who gets excited about that? And who does it every weekend? And at the end of the day that’s not as exciting as interacting with people. It’s weird to me that entertainment within Facebook is kind of being batted to the back, as if it isn’t monetizable. I don’t think anyone would say that about Hollywood or the traditional video game industry.
Like Slide's Keith Rabois, who has made the "fun is big business" argument before, Blake would have a point if Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires and Slayers were anywhere near as fun as Hollywood or traditional videogames. But they aren't. They're more like spitting on the wall at the same times as your friend and seeing who's loogey reaches the ground first. Or trying to not bite your fingernails.
Our suspicion? That Commagere knows this and has intentionally created the most annoying things on the Internet since HampsterDance.com as some sort of Faustian deal with the devil. He even hinted at this in his interview:
If I’m going to get remembered as 'you're the jackass that did that the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen,' I’ll still take that over falling into obscurity.
Boyo, if you're so caught up in an existential crises that you have to take it out on all of us, why not just read Ozymandias a few times and call it a night? That seems easier (and a lot less painful for the rest of us).