Fail Blog (stylized as FAIL Blog) is a comedic
blog website created in January 2008.
FAIL Blog features disastrous mishaps and general stupidity in photos and video which have captions such as "
fail", "epic fail", "X Fail", or "X; You're doin' it wrong" (X being the activity at which the subject has failed). There are also multiple sites under the FAIL Blog brand, including Failbook (which features FAILs on
Facebook), Ugliest Tattoos, and There, I Fixed It. The website has also triggered a meme that contains bad grammar (usually posted in the comments of Failblog videos), "Did he died".
History
In January 2008, FAIL Blog was launched. The site grew steadily in popularity; in May 2008, FAIL Blog was sold to Pet Holdings Inc. (now
Cheezburger Inc.
Cheezburger, Inc., previously known as Pet Holdings, Inc., is the parent and holding company for the Cheezburger Network, a collection of websites best known for I Can Has Cheezburger?, Fail Blog, I Hasa Hot Dog, and others.
Websites
*I Can Has ...
), becoming part of the
Cheezburger Network.
Ben Huh notes that FAIL Blog "really started to take off when the financial industry decided to — ahem — fail."
[ As an example, at a United States Senate hearing in September 2008, a demonstrator held up a sign reading "FAIL" behind ]Henry Paulson
Henry Merritt Paulson Jr. (born March 28, 1946) is an American banker and financier who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2006 to 2009. Prior to his role in the Department of the Treasury, Paulson was the Chairman a ...
, the former Treasury secretary, and Ben Bernanke
Ben Shalom Bernanke ( ; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Fed, he was appointed a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. Durin ...
, chairman of the Federal Reserve.[ By January 2010, FAIL Blog was receiving 1.1 million unique visitors per month.][Raftery, Brian]
King of Cheez: The Internet's Meme Maestro Turns Junk Into Gold
''Wired''. January 25, 2010.
Reception and influence
FAIL Blog won two Webby Awards in 2009, for People's Voice in Humor and Weird.[Orlaff, Brian]
Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Fallon Win Big at the Webbys
. ''People''. May 5, 2009. The site has been profiled in multiple publications: '' The Times'' named FAIL blog their #3 comedy website, the '' Los Angeles Times'' called FAIL Blog, a "fan favorite," ''Time'' magazine noted that FAIL Blog has "helped popularize fail as both a noun and an exclamation, not to mention an easier-to-spell synonym for schadenfreude
Schadenfreude (; ; 'harm-joy') is the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, or humiliation of another. It is a borrowed word from German, with no direct translation ...
", and '' The New York Times'' called it a "runaway hit."[Fitzpatrick, Laura]
Building a Media Empire Around I Can Has Cheezburger
''TIME''. August 24, 2009.[Mcedward, Laura]
Entrepreneur's Kitty Site Now A Caboodle
''Los Angeles Times''. September 23, 2008. The site is also commonly referenced in popular culture; The Huffington Post called Netflix a "walking failblog" in reference to their July 2011 pricing change and '' The Atlantic'' called a Chris Coghlan baseball blunder "a debacle worthy of FAIL Blog."[Simspon, Jake]
Beyond Chris Coghlan: Top 5 Sports Celebration Fails
''The Atlantic''. July 28, 2010.[Gilbert, Jason]
Huffington Post. July 29, 2011.
In July 2009, FAIL Blog posted a screenshot of the Guinness record webpage for "Most Individuals Killed in a Terrorist Attack" which was accompanied with a "Break this record" link. Guinness threatened legal action, and the story was picked up by TechCrunch and CNET
''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
.
See also
* Failbook
* I Can Has Cheezburger?
* List of Internet phenomena
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fail Blog
American comedy websites
Internet humor
Internet memes
Photoblogs
Internet properties established in 2008
Comedy-related YouTube channels
YouTube channels launched in 2008
English-language YouTube channels