larpy

professional money loser

[larpy @blockspvce]

there was freedom around every corner, and a home wherever you wanted one

[𐌁𐌉Ᏽ 𐌕𐌉𐌌𐌉 @OrevaZSN]

I can’t fully explain to younger people how cool the internet used to be. We had open forums, personal websites, weird experimental pages, and chaotic corners of the web, before Amazon, Google, and Meta turned it into a sterile, closed ecosystem of clutter, and commerce.

[larpy @blockspvce]

@Suzushiiro and both of those were manufactured for a culture war by the same people

[larpy @blockspvce]

love internet history like this. also what a forgotten fun fact that might be hard to believe today:

“In 2007, 4chan was dominantly "Howard Stern liberal." Being offensive, outrageous, and highly speech-tolerant used to be identified with leftist, avant-garde identity.”

[TayZonday @TayZonday]

BIG PICTURE REASONS WHY "CHOCOLATE RAIN" WENT VIRAL:
• With no algorithms, the Internet was driven by novelty, not loyalty. Weirdness wins novelty.
• Myspace was #1 in social media. YouTube was unproven and Facebook had just opened up beyond colleges. YouTube needed a "model home" for what its cultural real estate meant.
• One person uploading a video that thousands of strangers parodied became YouTube's behavioral "model home." No other platform had that social dynamic.
• Soulja Boy, Chris Crocker, and other talented creators had viral YouTube videos that got widely parodied. "Chocolate Rain" became identified with a type of "shareholder safe" virality. YouTube's human editors promoted it on the front page.
• YouTube was an unproven business for both Google and creators. The idea of creators earning Internet money was not mainstream. I was added in round two of YouTube's experimental Partner Program. I believe round one had about thirty creators.
• Television remained the eight-hundred-pound media gorilla. Viacom's billion-dollar copyright lawsuit was an existential YouTube threat just as the first YouTube videos went viral. The fact that "Chocolate Rain" began on YouTube and transitioned to me being on CNN, Jimmy Kimmel, discussed by Carson Daly and dozens of other celebrities... came at a time when YouTube needed a Rosetta Stone. They needed to translate a massively subsidized, high-risk venture into understandable cultural value. "Chocolate Rain" became a stenographer of YouTube crossing over. I got parodied on South Park, Saturday Night Live, nominated for a People's Choice Award, sang with Boyz II Men on Tosh.0 etc.
HOW DID "CHOCOLATE RAIN" GO VIRAL?:
• "Chocolate Rain" was rushed to completion in April of 2007 since I had another song ("Love," made with Kooby) featured on YouTube's front page and wanted other new content. It sat at around 30,000 views until summer.
• "Chocolate Rain" got posted on Digg in July of 2007, an early Reddit-style social bookmark site. Someone saw it there and posted it on 4chan.
• 4chan worked to meme "Chocolate Rain," "Numa Numa," Rick Astley, and other things. In 2007, 4chan was dominantly "Howard Stern liberal." Being offensive, outrageous, and highly speech-tolerant used to be identified with leftist, avant-garde identity. My first inkling that "Chocolate Rain" was going viral was 4chan prank-calling Tom Green's self-produced show and the caller busting out singing "Chocolate Rain!"
MORE FACTORS IN "CHOCOLATE RAIN" GOING VIRAL:
• YouTube had no stereo sound in early 2007. I posted a free "Chocolate Rain" MP3 download, with a giant video banner announcing it, purely to circumvent this. I wanted my songs heard in stereo.
• "Chocolate Rain" begins with an instrumental and loops. This, combined with the MP3 download, made parodies easy. This was totally unplanned luck. It's like it was made to be parodied.
• I looked like Janet Jackson, moved like Mr. Bean, and sounded like Barry White. Not trying to mean-girl myself, just being blunt. I was a unique combination of attributes but also not self-aware. Social internet video of everyday life was a new experience. Like, "If that guy is singing 'Chocolate Rain,' what's MY neighbor doing?" Everyday life was transforming into a democratic video content frontier nobody had given much prior thought to.
• It's worth noting that 2007 was before mainstream mobile Internet video consumption. YouTube was overwhelmingly consumed on desktop computers and laptops. The later shift to engagement-optimized and loyalty-optimized social video was heavily influenced by phones.
PERSONAL FACTORS WHY "CHOCOLATE RAIN" WENT VIRAL:
• I built a bedsheet box in my living room to sing "Chocolate Rain" in because I'm agoraphobic. That's the opposite of claustrophobic. Boundaries supercharge me. It also turns out that lots of people have bedsheets to hang up.
• I moved stiffly and sang "Chocolate Rain" with elongated vowels because of dyspraxia, a neurological movement difficulty tied to me being autistic (first diagnosed at age sixteen).
• "Chocolate Rain" musically captured my tendency towards echolalia and echopraxia — repetition and reinvocation of speech and behavior. These are adaptations to being a partially verbal autistic who has to blend-in with speaking society. They also help in making catchy songs.

[larpy @blockspvce]

@Pokemonprimed @aeugh989 idts, the nazi stuff was forced later on i think through intentional influence operations

[larpy @blockspvce]

@PositiveKnicks infinite vibes

[larpy @blockspvce]

@aeugh989 ya this is true, there was ✨diversity ✨

[larpy @blockspvce]

tweet popping off. i’m learning there is still a lot of dark woke lurking on this site

[larpy @blockspvce]

@swgtshi @bis__cut how are there so many good cards

[larpy @blockspvce]

@growing_daniel lmao i know that endless yearning.

in it for the love of life and new experiences, not to build a career

[larpy @blockspvce]

@sudocraoi and later helped with occupy wall street

[larpy @blockspvce]

@sssluke1 @swgtshi @bis__cut wow wtf that is a banger of a card

[larpy @blockspvce]

@gamerboiprince i could see that

[larpy @blockspvce]

@CurlyMcNulty you started a great discussion!

[larpy @blockspvce]

@0xHALION @jimspindle scarecrows are super underrated

[larpy @blockspvce]

@SPCMNandHOBBES back when scammers had aura

[larpy @blockspvce]

poetry

[larpy @blockspvce]

@Mamba248x hadn’t thought of that but good call

[larpy @blockspvce]

@ns123abc i hate that this guy actually has a way with words

“it’s going to be for the good and we’re watching for the bad”

[larpy @blockspvce]

@tt109407b oh my godddd

[larpy @blockspvce]

@vvvdotso accurate reaction