Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category
May 1st, 2013 | 
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If you spend any time on sites like Facebook, Reddit, or Pinterest you have probably seen dozens of images of an adorably grumpy cat face with funny captions. That cat, named Tarder Sauce, is one of the most recognizable memes to ever hit the Internet. In just a few months Tarder Sauce, nicknamed Grumpy Cat, has become the face of the Internet. In what may be the successful viral story ever Grumpy Cat has taken over the Internet and now does a few public appearances, has a book in the works, and has become a licensed image sold on everything from clothing to greeting cards.
Cats are wildly popular online. Sites like I Can Has Cheezburger have made cute pictures and videos of cats a staple of online entertainment. They say that the Internet is made of cats, which isn’t really a surprise if you think about it. Many hard core Internet buffs are very catlike. They prefer to eat and sleep at odd hours, spend hours everyday looking at nothing, and prefer their human interactions to be limited and on their own terms. Tarder Sauce’s grumpy appearance is the perfect vehicle for memes of all kinds to make people laugh or think. Internet users love an underdog, or an undercat in this case. Grumpy Cat’s odd appearance which might make some people shun the cat is exactly what made Internet users fall in love with her.
While the cat’s uniquely grumpy expression may seem Photoshopped it is real. Tarder Sauce is a real cat who was born with feline dwarfism and a severe underbite. Those traits give the cat a permanent grumpy appearance. Tarder Sauce and her brother Pokey both suffer from genetic abnormalities that make them undersized and give them their unique looks. Despite her appearance Tarder Sauce is a relatively healthy cat. And her owners say that while she always looks grumpy she in fact is a very happy and easy going cat.
The Grumpy Cat phenomenon started when one of her owners posted a picture of Tarder Sauce on the popular site Reddit. Tarder Sauce was born in April 2012, and in September 2012 the first picture of her was posted. Reddit users instantly were intrigued by the permanently grumpy expression and dubbed her Grumpy Cat. Then the memes started rolling in and took off like wildfire. While most viral stories and images die down after a month or so Grumpy Cat love is still going strong. Recently Tarder Sauce was a feature celebrity at the mammoth SXSW festival in Texas and was one of the biggest draws of the festival. People waited for hours, including celebrities, in lines that stretched more than three blocks to get the chance to have a picture taken with Grumpy Cat.
Animal rights activists raised concerns that Tarder Sauce is being treated badly by being forced to make public appearances and photographed constantly but her owners say that public appearances are limited and that they do not allow others to handle her. She also has photo sessions just once a week and only for a short time.
Facebook has gone public. What now?
As Facebook has geared up over the past few months to go public, a large amount of people have become extremely excited. Many expected the stock to double or even triple the first day. It went up 23 cents. This is not necessarily bad.
Most investors look for good investments that over a few months or years will give them a good return on their investment. There is a good chance that Facebook will be worth more than $38 a share in the coming years. Mark Zuckerberg is a very smart guy. The team that he has built includes many brilliant minds. Hopefully those who surround him also keep him from abusing his power now that he has to answer to those who are choosing to invest in the social media giant. Personally I believe that the combination of Facebook, Google, Twitter, Bing, Yahoo and other properties are changing our lives and that each company is taking things seriously. Maybe not Yahoo, but that is a different story.
2012 is here! 2012 will be the most important year for social media ever in history. With the evolution of many sites such as Facebook and the upcoming changes to Twitter and other sites. We do not only visit these sites, they have become part of our daily lives. While some do this for fun, more and more are doing it to increase business and truly interact with their friends and family. Applications like Spotify are making even the music industry a part of the social media industry. We have not seen anything yet. Social media is here to stay. You cannot beat it. So join it.
Spencer’s hit 1,000,000 fans today. Within seconds of exceeding the milestone, Spencer’s thanked the fans for their aweseomeness.
Hooray Spencer’s
Spencer’s is the mall destination for entertainment, excitement and fun. For over 60 years we have been offering unique product for the lifestyle style of our core 18-24 year old guest, always inspired by humor and irreverence.
Spencer’s Facebook Page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/spencers
Mark Zuckerberg made an announcement today that Skype will be rolled out and easily used within the Facebook interface. This is not completely shocking. However I do think that this may be one of the next big steps in social media.
It should be very interesting to see how quickly it catches on.
