Twitter's assembled a nice set of lists documenting the topics, places and hashtags that dominated the site this year—and wouldn't you know, it tells you basically everything you need to know about the internet.
If you've spent your day on the Internet, then you might have heard about Eyebombing: a website dedicated to pictures of inanimate objects decorated with plastic googly eyes. Links to several posts about the site have been getting passed around some on Twitter, with many people referring to it as the "website of the day."
Melanin-deficient battle rapper Mac Lethal's pancake-focused cover of Chris Brown's "Look At Me Now"—which he recorded while making pancakes—has garnered nearly half a million views since being uploaded to YouTube about 24 hours ago. Why? Because as you'll see above, it's amazing. But also: because it hit the top of Reddit's front page shortly after appearing online Wednesday morning, immediately taking its place in the Viral Video Hall of Fame and giving its creator some of the Internet's best temporary bragging rights.
Pedobear! You know him as the internet superstar who brings joy to millions as a cuddly harbinger of child predation. But not everyone finds the concept of a pervy virtual Easter Bunny to be utterly delightful. In 2010, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department issued a warning claiming that Pedobear had been "adopted as a mascot" by pedophiles. (It was a perfectly logical assumption, seeing as how child molesters have long sought a highly recognizable cartoon symbol to align themselves with, that they might be more readily identified amidst the general population.) Now, the New Mexico Attorney General's Office has made it a top priority to alert parents to the furry, lollipop-wielding menace in our midst.
Who's excited for the most trample-riffic day of the shopping year? Not me. But if ever there was a match made in marketing heaven, it's Black Friday and Rebecca Black's brain-corroding earworm of a viral hit, "Friday." It's the meme that won't die, on the day that won't end (for America's retail employees, that is). Hit it, Kohl's! [via Adrants]
After her unintentionally horrible music video for "Friday" gripped the nation, Rebecca Black attempted to go legit with "This Is My Moment." Now we have "Person of Interest," Black's inane new teen pop pseudo-love anthem, which is set in an arcade and features the line, "Can't deny you're implicated in a mayhem in my mind." Pure poetry!
You might remember Tay Zonday as the bespectacled, baritone-voiced young man behind "Chocolate Rain"—the repetitive YouTube song-meme that, at first, intrigued you with its sincerity and yellow-tinted charm until it wouldn't stop popping into your head and nearly driving you insane. He's got a new song! It's an anthem for the 99 percent.
Facebook users have been puzzled by a disturbance in their feeds. Strange pictures with bold, funny phrases superimposed over them? It's happened: Old people on Facebook have finally discovered the image macro.
It used to be impossible to predict what videos would go viral. But as "Facebook Official" proves, all you need now is a huge budget and a bunch of cliches about Facebook.
Cats and the internet: They go together like peanut butter and jelly. But until now, we could only enjoy online cats in the most passive of ways. No more! Thanks to the iPet Companion, you can control robotic cat toys at humane shelters around the country with the click of a computerized mouse! You can even move the camera around. It's really fun!
This summer, "planking"—lying face down in an unusual spot while someone takes a picture of you—quickly became a popular internet meme, then a deadly-and-possibly-racist meme, and then, finally, an old meme. And while you'd think that, if anyone, planking would be a hit with the pre-teen set, this new "Kids React" video from the Fine Brothers shows that even children think it's ridiculous and stupid. [via YouTube]
Memes are often seen as the lowest form of culture, which is true. But academics, advertisers and media folk have started to seriously examine lolcats and the like—and they're making tons of money doing it.
Remember coning? It's the dopey web video stunt made popular this summer in which people at the McDonald's drive-thru grab their ice cream cone by the ice cream instead of the cone, making a mess and confusing everyone, and then they drive away laughing. Hilarious! Well, no more, says one New Jersey McDonald's manager.
