[ahem]
It seems like there are fewer pure Internet Crazes these days.. probably because of the decline of the dot coms and a co-incident growing general disinterest in the internet in North America, where it’s no longer “new”. Last year we had Mahir, the Pets.com sock puppet, and a host of others.. but lately there’s been nothing but bad news.
As marketers try to manufacture Internet Crazes, so they become harder to perpetrate. In the old days of the web, sites like Cool Site Of The Day (http://cool.infi.net/) [now besieged by lame-ass advertising and affinity deals] and the Netscape What’s New section were the predecessors to the Slashdot effect. But those only work within communities and niches. So what does it take to propagate a meme like Mahir?
Submitted for your consideration: http://www.amihotornot.com/
Refreshingly non-profit. Just two guys having beer one day and deciding to implement it.
I think it has everything it takes to become another Internet Craze. I also think that it has all of the prerequisites to become co-opted by greedy Portals seeking to boost their site traffic. Can the word spread before it becomes amihotornot.yahoo.com?
-Ian.