website – The Netstorian

Web Relic Showcase: Eric Conveys an Emotion

The Netstorian discusses Eric Conveys an Emotion (1998-2008)

Screenshot of Eric Conveys an Emotion — Screenshot of “Realizing that Your Hair Just Caught on Fire” emotion page from Eric Conveys an Emotion

Name: Eric Conveys an Emotion
URL: http://www.emotioneric.com/
Year created: 1998
Year abandoned: 2008

Before social media, websites connected with their audiences through blog comments, guestbooks, and e-mails. The extent of these methods often resulted in FAQ and “Reader Mail” sections and not much more in terms of additional site content. A smaller number of personal sites, however, relied heavily on audience interaction to assist in the site’s content. In this instance, Eric Conveys an Emotion is a successful example. Continue reading “Web Relic Showcase: Eric Conveys an Emotion”

Web Relic Showcase: The Subservient Chicken

Screenshot of The Subservient Chicken — Screenshot of the website. The chicken is on standby, ready to obey any commands.

Name: The Subservient Chicken
URL: http://web.archive.org/web/20040727012738/http://www.subservientchicken.com/
Year created: 2004
Year abandoned: 2011 [Only minor layout updates from 2005-2011]

If you recall any Burger King commercials from the early 2000’s, you may remember one which featured the “Subservient Chicken”. These ads were created to promote the restaurant’s then-new TenderCrisp Chicken Sandwich. The commercial featured a man controlling a person in a chicken suit to obey his every command, leading to the tagline “Chicken the way you like it”. This led to a marketing campaign in the form of website launched in 2004. The site allowed users to control the same person in the chicken suit via webcam. Continue reading “Web Relic Showcase: The Subservient Chicken”

The rise and fall of the Yahoo! dynasty

“Jumping guy” Yahoo! logo used in 1995.

Let’s get one thing straight before we get into it — Yahoo! isn’t closing, its assets are just being sold to Verizon. What’s the big deal then? The big deal is that while Yahoo! may have already been on the decline, this purchase can be considered the official end of the company’s reign over the Internet. Continue reading “The rise and fall of the Yahoo! dynasty”

The madness of ManBeef

The internet is the information highway. Unfortunately, it also holds plenty of misinformation that gets spread to naive users. There are also just-for-fun hoaxes created with the intention of fooling gullible internet users. Sometimes, these practical jokes become bigger than expected. In 2001, manbeef.com made its mark as a hoax site that took inboxes by storm. Continue reading “The madness of ManBeef”

Web eras simplified: Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and beyond

In my previous article, the terms “web 1.0” and “web 2.0” appeared. For those who had never seen these words before, it brought up the question of “what do those words mean?”. There are different explanations out there for each term, some more similar than others. Though the debate regarding their exact definitions is complicated, they can also be broken down into more accurate descriptions. Continue reading “Web eras simplified: Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and beyond”

Personal pages in the GeoCities years

GeoCities logo from 1998-1999

Before social media accounts, making your own website was the only way to publicly share your content with the rest of the web. One of the easiest ways to do this was through the free web-hosting service known as GeoCities. Continue reading “Personal pages in the GeoCities years”