April Fools Day

So, Monday was April fools day, the day the internet eagerly waits to be entertained by their favorite corporations and social media. It's become a tradition for websites to make sensational pranks for there users on April Fools Day, and these jokes are becoming more and more elaborate as the years go on. It's interesting that these things that are so impermanent are taken so seriously by companies. Real money and real time is spent on fake marketing campaigns for fake products and services. It's all good fun, but in a way it's become a publicity contest similar to the much anticipated Super Bowl Commercials.

LinkedIn's 'cats you may know'

So what do companies get out of it?

Obviously, companies get a lot of publicity for creating the best gimmicks, and I'm sure there is some kind ad revenue that's generated from the websites being viewed. But it does more than that. April Fools jokes humanizes companies and makes individuals more likely to interact with them and buy their products. It makes them memorable. And what do people do with memorable things they find on the internet? They share it. And in a world where things are spread at lightening speed via social media, if you don't contribute to the April Fools' entertainment you run the risk of being forgotten in the wake of more clever corporations. 

What about us?

We can all agree that April Fools' jokes like these are good, harmless entertainment and, even better, for us they're free. More than that, jokes bring help bring down the wall between us users and the companies we follow. It shows us that they care about our opinions and happiness, even if it's mostly to keep their profits up. But these jokes also help us bring down the walls between us, and build communities. It doesn't matter where you are in life or the where you are in the world, we can all appreciate the humor of hats on your Tumblr icon or David Hasselhoff photobombing your pictures.

With that being said, here are some of my favorite jokes from April Fools this year. And here's a link to a proper list of examples.

My Favorites

• Linked In's Cats You May Know
• Minecraft - you have to see it to understand
• Tumblr Pro - gives your icon a top hat
• Netflix's chicken and bacon movies
• Domino's edible pizza box
• Google maps Pokemon challenge
• -Google + david hasselhoff photobombs

Resources

Waxman, O. (2014, April 1). The best of april fools' pranks of 2014. Retrieved from http://time.com/43940/the-best-april-fools-pranks-of-2014/

Ready Up Live. (2014). Minecraft april fools joke - villager voices [Web]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Jj-wQdlqI