Lamebook
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Lamebook is a
blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
that re-posts 'everything lame and funny' from the
social networking A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...
site Site most often refers to: * Archaeological site * Campsite, a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area * Construction site * Location, a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere * Website, a set of related web pages, typical ...
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
. Users send in
screenshots A screenshot (also known as screen capture or screen grab) is an analog or digital image that shows the contents of a computer display. A screenshot is created by a (film) camera shooting the screen or the operating system or software running o ...
of unusual or amusing Facebook posts, which are re-posted on the site every weekday.


History

Jonathan Standefer and Matthew Genitempo,
graphic designers A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...
from
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, launched the web site in April 2009 as a Facebook parody site. The two were acquaintances at
Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
, yet became friends after they graduated in 2005. "We started Lamebook a little fter meeting and after a few months of doing that it got so popular that we were able to quit our jobs at the offices and do that full time," said Genitempo, who graduated in 2007 with a degree in graphic design. "That brought a lot of other different design opportunities for both of us."


Privacy

Last names and faces are usually blurred out or
pixellated In computer graphics, pixelation (also spelled pixellation in British English) is caused by displaying a bitmap or a section of a bitmap at such a large size that individual pixels, small single-colored square display elements that comprise th ...
upon upload to avoid invasion of privacy, and content can be removed on request. Lamebook also discourages users from trying to contact people seen in posts.


Oversharing

Sites such as Lamebook would not be in existence without the concept of oversharing. "Overshare," the Word of the Year in 2008 at Webster's New World® College Dictionary, is defined as too much information that is either intentionally or accidentally revealed. The editors of Webster's New World explain that this is a new word for an old phenomenon that has been made much easier by the emergence of modern technology. This ease, combined with the wide reach that many social networking sites allow users to have, has made oversharing quite a common occurrence today. According to the
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
, of online oversharers, 32% say that they have experienced "poster’s remorse" and regretted posting certain information about themselves. Lamebook cocreator Jonathan Standefer, was quoted saying "People overshare on the Internet. My favorite ones used to be the mushy ones, but the fights are the funniest. It's like fighting drunk with one of your friends, but everyone else is in the room." He views Lamebook as a forum where people can vent about the inappropriate and cringe-worthy things they have inevitably seen on Facebook. Glamour magazine described
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
as, "a personal confession booth where we air our dirty laundry". While sitting behind a computer screen, people often forget that "everyone else is in the room," and that on Facebook, anything posted outside of a private message will be seen by many more people than just the one being communicated with. This leads to the kinds of content people submit to Lamebook: couple fights, inappropriate pictures, embarrassing statuses, etc.


Facebook legal action

In March 2010, Facebook contacted Lamebook alleging that the website infringed and diluted the Facebook
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
, and requested that Lamebook
cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...
using the lamebook mark and change the name and look of its website. On 4 November 2010 Lamebook filed legal action against Facebook, seeking a declaration that the website does not infringe the rights of Facebook, and protection as a parody under the
First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
. In response, on 11 November Facebook sued Lamebook for trademark infringement, claiming the site was not a parody as it does not "provide any critique or comment of Facebook itself". As of 22 November 2010, Facebook confirmed they had deleted Lamebook's fan page, blocked the 'like' function on Lamebook that was powered by Facebook, and blocked Facebook users from being able to type the word "Lamebook" on Facebook. Facebook CTO Bret Taylor later conceded: "This was a mistake on our part. In the process of dealing with a routine trademark violation issue regarding some links posted to Facebook, we blocked all mentions of the phrase “lamebook” on Facebook. We are committed to promoting free expression on Facebook. We apologize for our mistake in this case, and we are working to fix the process that led to this happening." Conor Civins, one of Lamebook's lawyers, said, " amebookis a parody website; it's supposed to be social commentary, and it's protected by free speech." On Lamebook's website during the
litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...
process, a banner asking viewers for support in their efforts against Facebook read, "We really love running Lamebook. Aside from the laughs, it represents an opportunity to work on an incredibly fun project with our buddies that makes a lot of people happy and still allows us to make rent at the end of the month … Problem is, Facebook didn’t get the joke. They’ve decided to pick on the little guys: small business owners who seem to be no match for a multi-billion dollar behemoth. But this is one website that’s not going down without a fight." This dispute came to an end when Facebook's efforts to relocate the litigation process from Austin, Texas, to Palo Alto, California were denied by a Texas federal judge. In a joint statement released on 25 August 2011, the companies proclaimed, "We are pleased to arrive at an agreement that protects Facebook's brand and trademark and allows for Lamebook's continued operation. The parties are now satisfied that users are not likely to be confused." Thus forth, Lamebook is permitted to continue under its name, yet must add a disclaimer to its website, which reads, "This is an unofficial parody and is not affiliated or associated with, or endorsed or approved by, Facebook." Lamebook is also not allowed to seek trademark protection for its name.


See also

*
Fail blog 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 (Internet meme), fail", "epic fail", "X Fail", ...
* Passive-aggressive Notes * Regretsy


References


External links

* {{official website, http://www.lamebook.com Web services Internet properties established in 2009