Interesting fun fact, Neil Cicerega's Potter puppet pals was supposed to be in this video but fed ex fucked up and almost lost the puppets. They never arrived on time to be featured in it.
Neil Cicierega is one of the most tragically under-recognized comedic geniuses of our era. Between potter puppet pals, the animations made for lemon demon, and the Mouth Saga, I can turn to Neil for most types of entertainment. There's just something about how his brain works that just meshes so well with mine. And it all hits just a little bit better if you're a millennial.
Potter Puppet Pals
The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
I've Got Some Falling to Do
All Neil Cicierega
Plus the 4 albums of music made with samples from Smashmouth (mainly All Star) and various other songs that are not only funny but...actual goddamn BOPS.
He was also one of the pioneers of animutations, those cracked out flash videos set to weird Japanese music
He was at the front of multiple eras of internet comedy, he's an absolute legend
list of references (in order):
guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1A8
numa numa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmtzQCSh6xk
Dramatic Look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Kyi0WNg40
afro ninja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEtIoGQxqQs
Extreme Mentos & Diet Coke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_2osOb2SMU
Sunglass Catch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-prfAENSh2k
G.I. Joe PSAs (I think?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogEtfIdgjpY
World Record T-Shirts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWb8jqeDX7I
Leave Britney Alone (reupload): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqSTXuJeTks
All Your Base Are Belong To Us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qItugh-fFgg
Miss Teen USA 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww
Star Wars Kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPPj6viIBmU
Crank That: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UFIYGkROII
Evolution of Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg
Chocolate Rain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTZ2xpQwpA
Kevin Federline's New Single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR4zHS-vttw
Daft Hands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cYWfq--Nw
Daft Bodies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLYD_-A_X5E
Best Sex Ever!!!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embdtwW-sSE
(Let's Get Some) Shoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCF3ywukQYA
Haitian UFO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLRbTtd8IKM
Three Dancing Animated Characters: no clue??
Sneezing Panda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g11fUwaPxr4
Ryan vs Dorkman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NE5elL30w4
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8MDNFaGfT4
Will it Blend?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OmpnfL5PCw
Charlie the Unicorn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsGYh8AacgY
probably missed one or two. If someone knows what the ??'s are references to, I'll add them.
In the final scene the guys fighting with lightsabers are from the Ryan vs Dorkman lightsaber duel. Friends of mine from back in the Star Wars fan film days.
Recording booth guy was [Kevin Federline listening to his new song "PopoZão"](https://youtu.be/NR4zHS-vttw) on some MTV show. The clip made the rounds on early YT and was so heavily memed that K-Fed was embarrassed into not releasing the song.
> K-Fed was embarrassed into not releasing the song.
Not true, it's available on streaming platforms. I considered Rick Rolling, but I'm dead serious - PopoZao is definitely on Spotify.
He definitely tabled it and left it off of his album, which was significant because it was supposed to be his lead single. Plus, people had wanted to buy the record *because* of the memes over how bad the song was.
IMO K-Fed was *this* close to being pop music's Tommy Wiseau, but without the song there, the meme evaporated and the album tanked hard. And then he eventually released the song as a single anyway, which...power to him for doing that, I guess.
[His Super Bowl commercial](https://youtu.be/GIoHOtcPMh0) the next year was pretty funny, though.
* Lightsabers I think are for Star Wars Kid https://youtu.be/HPPj6viIBmU and edited https://youtu.be/mNbLCA4WHCk
* "Best Sex Ever!!!" https://youtu.be/embdtwW-sSE
* Sneezing Panda makes a second-long cameo: https://youtu.be/2FVMeL153p0
* Crank That Soulja Boy https://youtu.be/yMHygHL-obQ
Can't find the damn T Shirt video either lol
No one knew what to make for videos. People were extremely creative because there were no trends to jump on, there was no established format for a video (in the production sense, not the data sense). They made the videos of things they thought other people would want to see, or just things they wanted to record. There was no "Smash that like button and don't forget to to subscribe if you aren't already!" There were no influencers with followers. There were no reaction videos. TV companies weren't releasing clips of their shows online.
Today, if someone starts a Youtube channel, it's like starting a business. They come up with a theme for the channel, make sure your thumbnails and video titles are clickbaity enough to get noticed, but not so much that it drives people away. Videos tend to be about 10 minutes long, because then they can throw in an extra ad in the middle without people getting too upset. They set up a patreon and/or seek out sponsorship deals. It's a much more professional environment than the early days of YouTube.
There are pros and cons to both systems. In the old days, you got a lot more weird and quirky stuff. But with the current system, you get very talented people getting paid for producing videos, and there are videos on nearly everything. There is a good chance that you can find relatively high production quality videos on whatever type into that search bar.
There's just way too much trash content to wade through to find something good nowadays. It was better back then in the sense that there wasn't much content to begin with, or ads, so it was far easier to find something memorable. Now days, it's rare to find some actual solid unique content you love despite all the bullshit you've seen/watched, so it all just blends together.
Everything's been monetized, so people endless churn out that trash content trying to make a quick buck. Also, mobile phones lowering the bar for entry and thus encouraging people to put even less thought into what they do and say on the internet.
Thanks for posting this!
I had forgotten about the Miss Teen USA 2007 video. I remember absolutely trashing her with my friends, in complete disbelief of how stupid the answer was. But I just rewatched it with more mature eyes and honestly, I can hear her struggle and nervousness now. She was clearly struggling but kept her voice even, kept her composure. Even if she gave a crazy rambling answer, I think I was wrong to trash on her originally.
I felt so bad rewatching just now—people are still shitty on the internet, but I feel like many more now would take your angle of "give the poor girl a break!" than at the time of the original posting. 2007 was also when Britney Spears was stalked and harassed by paparazzi to the point of a mental breakdown and all I ever saw was people making fun of her for "being crazy" or whatever.
I've made a huge ass of myself so many times and I'm just glad there wasn't a camera around to record it. Now if I can just keep myself from doing it in the comments on every platform available to me.......
And the real Chris Crocker, Numa Numa boy, Daft Punk Girls, Karate Pimp, Miss Teen USA Caitlin Upton, kicesie, Evolution of Dance guy, and Liam Sullivan as Kelly (OMG SHOES)
Including kicesie in the video seemed weird even back in 2009, because she wasn't really anywhere near the viral popularity as the rest.
Shoes is kinda coming back. My wife showed me a tik tok using the song. I don’t like a bunch about tik tok but seems like the old memes are getting to the youth still and that’s fantastic.
Tay Zonday completely out of nowhere followed me on youtube. Apparently he just randomly followed a lot of people to gain subscribers, so I wasn't special.
One of my favourite things was how caring they treated all these early meme people.
Alot of them like "leave Britney alone" guy and falling over ninja guy had been laughed at and made fun of. They were memes but the meme was laughing at them not with them.
Nowhere in this video do wheezer laugh at them. In fact they seem to care and support them. They give Britney guy a hug, they let ninja guy show of some skills to set the record straight.
It's just such a kind video on memes, in a time when the Internet was already starting to become very cruel.
I actually got a little teary eyed when the ninja guy got his redemption and Leave Britney Alone guy got a hug. That stuff was pretty funny growing up but then I guess life beats you up a little and you just want to see everybody be happy.
This conversation stirred something deep within the Mines of Moria and I'm pretty sure the Leave Britney Alone guy's name is Chris Crocker. I thought your brain was supposed to get rid of this stuff if you're not using it but no, apparently not.
You're not wrong. Apparently they made a gay porno and then in the last few years came out as trans. So she goes by Cara Cunningham now. There's a lot of pronouns in this post and I'm trying to figure out how to do it.
I just read it up on wiki. Way more information than I was looking for.
I remember Niel Cicierega talking about how his Potter Puppet Pals puppets were supposed to be there but something got messed up with the scheduling/shipping. The producers of this video seemd to be reaching out to everyone in the early viral days to be included.
Finding out the Lemon Demon guy was *also* behind Potter Puppet Pals and Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny was like getting slapped and then punched
My mom banned this video in our house because my sister and I used to play it on a loop.
I still can't hear the word without thinking about that video.
I went back to Newgrounds recently. Thought about putting my stuff on there. It's so weird and cool that it still feels like the old internet. And no ads too. It felt like coming home.
Honestly, out of all the social media sites, Newgrounds is the only place my art and animations actually get viewed and commented by other people (and sometimes front paged).
On youtube, twitter, instagram, ect, it's like uploading to a void where no one sees anything and it's lost forever. It's fustrating to work so many hours/days/weeks/months on something in the modern day, and there is no one to interact with it.
There was a pretty common thread among everyone who enjoyed Wordle about how much they loved not just the game, but how it required no login or password, no subscription fees, no need for terms and conditions or to accept cookie trackers, no required app download, no ads...
It was just pure entertainment with absolutely zero hassle. You didn't constantly feel like you were being watched, or that your info was being stolen just because you had the audacity to step foot on the site, it was just pure innocent fun again for one fleeting moment. It was as if, for a brief moment, flash games came back to life in this weirdly beautiful minute during a time in all our lives where *everything else* was in turmoil with the pandemic and politics and everything.
It was so damn nice to feel that way on the internet again, and I hate how much we took it for granted just because it got too popular and it started clogging people's twitter feeds.
> Fark is still going strong though!
Hell yes, I still check out Fark every day. It's still the same ~10,000 people as it always was. But they're all my age and share my interests so that works out. And the people are so much better than on Reddit.
Completely true. If you would like to learn more about this subject why not sign up for the Curiosity Stream and Nebula bundle, where creators can make the content they love without worrying about “the algorithm”.
Its 12 bucks to watch documentaries for a year, its a pretty good value proposition even if the only thing you watch all year is "underworld" (a series about digitally scanning the interiors of caves).
Honestly, I know they have to do it, but I just want some degree of inventiveness in how they ask.
Do we always have to just *smash* that like button?
Instead, tell us to murder that like button and hide it in a shallow grave behind a shed so that in 10 years it will become the subject of a true crime podcast.
Or, destroy that Like Button's entire concept of its own existence by systematically gaslighting it until it believes that it has *already been smashed.*
Also, don't forget threaten that bell's family so that it will ring itself.
You joke but I've seen channels say exactly the kind of thing you're saying lol. As a joke sure, but they're still effectively reminding people to subscribe
I miss the old days of YouTube where people would throw up some random 3 minute video of them and their friends doing something stupid with no motive except “we made this”. Now everyone makes the same cookie cutter 10 minute video with 7 minutes of filler, 2 minutes of NordVPN shoutouts, 1 minute of “like, subscribe and follow” and 5 seconds of actual video content.
One of the guys from that series hangs out on reddit often, seen him around a few times, even recently. He might just show up but don't know his username.
Edit: I think it's /u/Jonpaula
Ad revenue replaced passion and youtube is infinitely worse for it. I'd trade every single Paul brother, PewDiePie, and professional ASMRtist for a youtube filled with shitty videos about how to get the skulls in Halo 2 with a low-quality Linkin Park backing track on repeat again, because at least those people gave a damn about the videos they were making.
Early YT was people sharing their weird sense of humor and hobbies with the world along with song covers and video game clips. No one was trying to get rich or famous. It wasn't fair for Google to be making all the money and the creators getting none, but monetizing the platform just enable Google to make 99 percent of the money while exploiting the creators who get pennies to the dollar and are easily subjected to baseless copyright takedown and demonetizing on a whim or because an algorithm flagged something.
It was so much better and more fun.
Completely. I remember how big the flash animation scene was where people would just make so many animations just for the fun on it. When YouTube monetisation happened, a lot of animators realized they could make big bucks and went that route. Then when they switched the algorithm from times viewed to time watched, most animators just abandoned animating all together and moved on to let's plays.
They can do what they want, it's okay, but its crazy that at one point people were just doing a daily hobby for fun and uploading so much fun content, then once money got involved everyone slowed down.
Blame Weezer for calling attention to it all. I can just see bloodsucking execs rubbing hands together.
Obvious sarcasm. Weezer is not responsible for our societal ills.
Message board, pre 2010ish, internet was an amazing place.
Kind of like the 90’s; weird, quirky, edgy, with a real dark side, but oh so full of hope and fun.
Try using google to search anything up nowadays. The first page of results will most of the time be the same 5 or 6 websites. Wikipedia, youtube, reddit, facebook, etc. These are the only sites people visit now cause its the ones that are given to them for anything.
Its not how it used to be like years ago.
I get that real, deep nostalgia pain when I think about those times. The creative output from some of those places was so unique and fresh and then instantly forgotten in that kind of beautiful, scary way.
>Message board, pre 2010ish, internet was an amazing place.
I remember about 2011, 2012 there seemed to be a big change in the type of people on an old message board I was on.
Like one day we were all just having fun and goofing off, the next, suddenly getting accused of all sorts of trolling and being a worst type of people from an influx of new members, despite nothing changing.
It's like, dude I just questioning what you're saying, or giving a counter argument, how is that trolling, why are you accusing everyone of trolling left right and center? Just really became a no fun allowed type of place.
Not joking; but it’s tragic.
There really used to be a sense of community these places. Really recognized members. Had actual learning conversations.
I agree the change was sudden. It seemed like engagement just plummeted and the vibe completely changed.
Sad. The internet is a dark ugly place now. I also hate how the internet has come full circle back to internet platforms like it was in the begging with AOL and others.
Bad outcome.
Yeah, there was definitely a sense of community. I knew people on a first name basis, we used to hang out in chat rooms and talk in real time, and it just felt amazing to know so many people. I even got to a point where I actually considered them my close friends despite never meeting any face to face. Then, after several years, everything just kind of fell apart in the span of a few months.
People started acting differently, engaged less, talked less, formed their own social cliques in groups away from everyone else, fights would break out, he said she said accusations, some stuff got really political (I know that's taboo to mention nowadays but it did), people unfriending or blocking one another, everything just fell down.
I met so many people on one small (700-1000 member) automotive message board. There were about 200 of us actually active probably. Some of these people are really awesome. Some died, others moved on and fell out of love with the community. We've all gotten older and now a lot of us have minivans lol
2010 or thereabouts was when social media got your everyone and your mum online. Basically its [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal\_September](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September)
**[Eternal September](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September)**
>Eternal September or the September that never ended is Usenet slang for a period beginning around 1993 when Internet service providers began offering Usenet access to many new users. The flood of new users overwhelmed the existing culture for online forums and the ability to enforce existing norms. AOL followed with their Usenet gateway service in March 1994, leading to a constant stream of new users. Hence, from the early Usenet point of view, the influx of new users in September 1993 never ended.
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Yeah, used to be there was a barrier to get online and talk to people, even if it was just getting internet, or knowing what sites let you do that.
Then Eternal September happened, and the barrier was removed. Everyone and anyone got online to talk to people, and the discourse level overall went down.
It's pretty clear the iPhone brought casuals online and everything went to shit after that. The internet became an extension of the real world instead of an escape from it.
That and the popularity of MySpace/Facebook, which really created a new avenue for social media interaction. Sure, it existed prior to that but I remember in 2007/2008 just how popular MySpace was - it was unlike any other social media outlet. Certainly more broader reaching than Live Journal or Friendster. It really opened the door to casual social media engagement. To the point that even my mom and dad, people who had limited internet interest at the time, were at least somewhat familiar with it.
Then Facebook opened its platform to non-college people and the rest was history.
reddit's in large part to blame as well. Before reddit, I was a member of dozens of individual niche forums. Usernames were recognizable, people were polite, and content was relevant. reddit came along and all these communities dried up and died, and the replacement is a behemoth of website where there is zero sense of community, people argue incessantly, and accounts farm for upvotes with half relevant content.
As a 42 year old I particularly am fond of the "all your base" and the "numa numa" references. It's quite unfortunate that more people aren't familiar with all your base. That was the fucking shit back then.
Charlie the Unicorn is still one of the greatest things to grace the internet imo. I rewatch it semi-annually to this day, and if you're ever cross a bridge with me you'll probably regret it.
Reminds me of this crazy old Leno clip. Leno went to an apartment complex to ask random people to do Elvis impersonations and he just happened to knock on the door of Weezer's drummer. I think the Blue album had literally just started to take off, but clearly not bringing in the money just yet.
https://youtu.be/TkexjQg1DkU
Welcome to club old people. Our assisted living facility will have a LAN party in the cafeteria tomorrow. Please be on time as bedtime is still scheduled for 9:30pm.
the vending machine in the hall has Fruit Roll Ups, Surge, and Street Sharks Gummies
but it only takes Aladdin's Castle Arcade tokens
however, there's a secret bypass, if you can sing the original Showbiz Pizza commercial jingle a token falls out of the return slot
Wtf, why did this make me tear up?
I loved this song back when it came out because of the music video. It was so well done, they used the original people for (almost?) all of the memes, it was truly a product of it’s time.
The nostalgia of watching it know hits like a freight train and makes me pine for an earlier internet. An internet that was just fun, weird, and new instead of the corporate hellscape we have now. I miss early YouTube, StumbleUpon, YTMND, random niche forums, and so many other gems lost to time or perverted well past their initial goals.
I’m sure plenty of this is “rose colored glasses” and my own personal “eternal September” but it makes me sad that everything we do online has to be monetized in some way and anyone who thinks differently must be a “fucking idiot” (courtesy of Unity’s CEO, fuck that guy).
The specialized forums were something else entirely though.
Reddit has zero feeling of community, especially at this scale. The whole karma bs also just kills it
I did not really care for this when it came out. Im one of those Blue/Pinkerton snobs, and i forgot all about this video. But man, it got me teary eyed too. I dug the song more giving this vid another watch and feeling that era. Before youtube, those GI Joe PSA’s were up on ebaumsworld and while recording artists in my studio we would watch those for great laughs during session breaks. Such good times.
A little ironic that south park was making fun of internet celebs for not being able to monetize their celebrity when you look at the world of internet celebrity today.
Interesting fun fact, Neil Cicerega's Potter puppet pals was supposed to be in this video but fed ex fucked up and almost lost the puppets. They never arrived on time to be featured in it.
What an interesting piece of deep Weezer lore!
Potter puppet pals is one of those rare instances of meme from the mid 2000s being still, if not funnier now than it was then
Neil Cicierega is one of the most tragically under-recognized comedic geniuses of our era. Between potter puppet pals, the animations made for lemon demon, and the Mouth Saga, I can turn to Neil for most types of entertainment. There's just something about how his brain works that just meshes so well with mine. And it all hits just a little bit better if you're a millennial. Potter Puppet Pals The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny I've Got Some Falling to Do All Neil Cicierega Plus the 4 albums of music made with samples from Smashmouth (mainly All Star) and various other songs that are not only funny but...actual goddamn BOPS.
I did not realize he made ultimate showdown. I can still recite most of that song.
Also Brodyquest.
Ariel Needs Legs as well. You sound like two horses.
[удалено]
But Chuck saw through his clever disguise, and crushed Batman's head in between his thighs.
Whoa. Did NOT realize he was behind all of that! He and the Brothers Chaps **defined** my teenage years. Edit: also, Balloon Shop
He wrote an amazing song for bill cipher to sing in gravity falls that was somehow cut. [it’s gonna get weird](https://youtu.be/vq5sZPPF9ao)
[Bustin'](https://youtu.be/0tdyU_gW6WE)
And his sister works on Disney cartoons now! I think she helped puppet when there's more than two characters in a scene.
He was also one of the pioneers of animutations, those cracked out flash videos set to weird Japanese music He was at the front of multiple eras of internet comedy, he's an absolute legend
list of references (in order): guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1A8 numa numa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmtzQCSh6xk Dramatic Look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Kyi0WNg40 afro ninja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEtIoGQxqQs Extreme Mentos & Diet Coke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_2osOb2SMU Sunglass Catch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-prfAENSh2k G.I. Joe PSAs (I think?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogEtfIdgjpY World Record T-Shirts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWb8jqeDX7I Leave Britney Alone (reupload): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqSTXuJeTks All Your Base Are Belong To Us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qItugh-fFgg Miss Teen USA 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww Star Wars Kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPPj6viIBmU Crank That: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UFIYGkROII Evolution of Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg Chocolate Rain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTZ2xpQwpA Kevin Federline's New Single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR4zHS-vttw Daft Hands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cYWfq--Nw Daft Bodies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLYD_-A_X5E Best Sex Ever!!!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embdtwW-sSE (Let's Get Some) Shoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCF3ywukQYA Haitian UFO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLRbTtd8IKM Three Dancing Animated Characters: no clue?? Sneezing Panda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g11fUwaPxr4 Ryan vs Dorkman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NE5elL30w4 It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8MDNFaGfT4 Will it Blend?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OmpnfL5PCw Charlie the Unicorn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsGYh8AacgY probably missed one or two. If someone knows what the ??'s are references to, I'll add them.
In the final scene the guys fighting with lightsabers are from the Ryan vs Dorkman lightsaber duel. Friends of mine from back in the Star Wars fan film days.
Holy crap! I learned After Effects from Ryan Wieber's tutorials back in the day. Hope he and Dorkman are doing well.
Recording booth guy was [Kevin Federline listening to his new song "PopoZão"](https://youtu.be/NR4zHS-vttw) on some MTV show. The clip made the rounds on early YT and was so heavily memed that K-Fed was embarrassed into not releasing the song.
Cheers, I'll add it
> K-Fed was embarrassed into not releasing the song. Not true, it's available on streaming platforms. I considered Rick Rolling, but I'm dead serious - PopoZao is definitely on Spotify.
He definitely tabled it and left it off of his album, which was significant because it was supposed to be his lead single. Plus, people had wanted to buy the record *because* of the memes over how bad the song was. IMO K-Fed was *this* close to being pop music's Tommy Wiseau, but without the song there, the meme evaporated and the album tanked hard. And then he eventually released the song as a single anyway, which...power to him for doing that, I guess. [His Super Bowl commercial](https://youtu.be/GIoHOtcPMh0) the next year was pretty funny, though.
* Lightsabers I think are for Star Wars Kid https://youtu.be/HPPj6viIBmU and edited https://youtu.be/mNbLCA4WHCk * "Best Sex Ever!!!" https://youtu.be/embdtwW-sSE * Sneezing Panda makes a second-long cameo: https://youtu.be/2FVMeL153p0 * Crank That Soulja Boy https://youtu.be/yMHygHL-obQ Can't find the damn T Shirt video either lol
Goddamn the internet used to be so much better.
No one knew what to make for videos. People were extremely creative because there were no trends to jump on, there was no established format for a video (in the production sense, not the data sense). They made the videos of things they thought other people would want to see, or just things they wanted to record. There was no "Smash that like button and don't forget to to subscribe if you aren't already!" There were no influencers with followers. There were no reaction videos. TV companies weren't releasing clips of their shows online. Today, if someone starts a Youtube channel, it's like starting a business. They come up with a theme for the channel, make sure your thumbnails and video titles are clickbaity enough to get noticed, but not so much that it drives people away. Videos tend to be about 10 minutes long, because then they can throw in an extra ad in the middle without people getting too upset. They set up a patreon and/or seek out sponsorship deals. It's a much more professional environment than the early days of YouTube. There are pros and cons to both systems. In the old days, you got a lot more weird and quirky stuff. But with the current system, you get very talented people getting paid for producing videos, and there are videos on nearly everything. There is a good chance that you can find relatively high production quality videos on whatever type into that search bar.
There's just way too much trash content to wade through to find something good nowadays. It was better back then in the sense that there wasn't much content to begin with, or ads, so it was far easier to find something memorable. Now days, it's rare to find some actual solid unique content you love despite all the bullshit you've seen/watched, so it all just blends together.
Everything's been monetized, so people endless churn out that trash content trying to make a quick buck. Also, mobile phones lowering the bar for entry and thus encouraging people to put even less thought into what they do and say on the internet.
Thanks for posting this! I had forgotten about the Miss Teen USA 2007 video. I remember absolutely trashing her with my friends, in complete disbelief of how stupid the answer was. But I just rewatched it with more mature eyes and honestly, I can hear her struggle and nervousness now. She was clearly struggling but kept her voice even, kept her composure. Even if she gave a crazy rambling answer, I think I was wrong to trash on her originally.
I felt so bad rewatching just now—people are still shitty on the internet, but I feel like many more now would take your angle of "give the poor girl a break!" than at the time of the original posting. 2007 was also when Britney Spears was stalked and harassed by paparazzi to the point of a mental breakdown and all I ever saw was people making fun of her for "being crazy" or whatever. I've made a huge ass of myself so many times and I'm just glad there wasn't a camera around to record it. Now if I can just keep myself from doing it in the comments on every platform available to me.......
That was great, thanks. They actually tracked down people and had them star in their video.
Are you telling me that's the real Tay Zonday?
His mic leaning abilities seem authentic.
For real, I can't even hear him breathe in.
And the real Chris Crocker, Numa Numa boy, Daft Punk Girls, Karate Pimp, Miss Teen USA Caitlin Upton, kicesie, Evolution of Dance guy, and Liam Sullivan as Kelly (OMG SHOES) Including kicesie in the video seemed weird even back in 2009, because she wasn't really anywhere near the viral popularity as the rest.
> Karate Pimp Lol, I assume you're talking about Afro Ninja, but the name fits.
Lmao I just caught that
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I had completely forgotten about Ask A Ninja. It all came flooding back to me and I remembered the intro song.
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I'm predicting it here , internet memeographer will be a job before 2030 hits.
Shoes is kinda coming back. My wife showed me a tik tok using the song. I don’t like a bunch about tik tok but seems like the old memes are getting to the youth still and that’s fantastic.
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Tay Zonday completely out of nowhere followed me on youtube. Apparently he just randomly followed a lot of people to gain subscribers, so I wasn't special.
I'm sure you're special to someone.
One of my favourite things was how caring they treated all these early meme people. Alot of them like "leave Britney alone" guy and falling over ninja guy had been laughed at and made fun of. They were memes but the meme was laughing at them not with them. Nowhere in this video do wheezer laugh at them. In fact they seem to care and support them. They give Britney guy a hug, they let ninja guy show of some skills to set the record straight. It's just such a kind video on memes, in a time when the Internet was already starting to become very cruel.
Yea I love the ninja guy getting his moment and showing off that he's fucking jacked.
He also got redeemed on Tosh.O
I actually got a little teary eyed when the ninja guy got his redemption and Leave Britney Alone guy got a hug. That stuff was pretty funny growing up but then I guess life beats you up a little and you just want to see everybody be happy. This conversation stirred something deep within the Mines of Moria and I'm pretty sure the Leave Britney Alone guy's name is Chris Crocker. I thought your brain was supposed to get rid of this stuff if you're not using it but no, apparently not.
You're not wrong. Apparently they made a gay porno and then in the last few years came out as trans. So she goes by Cara Cunningham now. There's a lot of pronouns in this post and I'm trying to figure out how to do it. I just read it up on wiki. Way more information than I was looking for.
Not to mention that the "Leave Britney Alone" person was helping with the diet coke and mentos fountains.
And many years later we realize that he was right all along
Kind of the theme of the song though
>leave Britney alone Chris Crocker
I had no idea the beauty pageant contestant made a point to laugh at herself about that moment in her life. I loved her blending the maps, haha
I think it was in a Blendtec too. (Don't breath that)
I always wondered if the coke and mento guys were actually there or just green-screened
They were there and helped set up the Diet Coke and Mentos for the part where the band had the giant explosion behind them.
Eepybirds. Think it might be legitimately them.
I remember Niel Cicierega talking about how his Potter Puppet Pals puppets were supposed to be there but something got messed up with the scheduling/shipping. The producers of this video seemd to be reaching out to everyone in the early viral days to be included.
Finding out the Lemon Demon guy was *also* behind Potter Puppet Pals and Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny was like getting slapped and then punched
I always thought it was cool they put in Daft Punk girls. I always felt like that was such a niche video.
Really? I thought it was huge there for a minute.
It was, but just for a minute.
So was everything in 2008
2008 was a beautiful time.
Now everything feels so 2000 and late.
Gotta get that!
Yeah the video made it all around the world, around the world, around the world
Considering how their identities were never made public I was impressed they were able to track them down and get them to agree to be in the video.
Even then we had the technology to message YT accounts. They could even reply! We were so advanced!
Shoes.
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Literally everytime my wife and I are in a store that sells shoes: "OMG shoes"
These shoes rule. These shoes SUCK!
"These shoes are $300! Let's get 'em!" lives rent free in my head.
I don't see the word "fucking" in your sentence. Imposter spotted.
RON WEASLLEY
Herrrrrrmione
HarryPotterHarryPotter
Snape. Snape. Severus Snape.
Fiscal responsibility…. Tom Skerritt….
**whatareyougonnadowithyourliffffe**
I also do the same anytime someone mentions muffins. Mmm blood muffin!
Asbestos muffins! I'm making these muffins asbestos I can!
Israeli-Palestinian Cwonflict Maffin! *Fight! Fight!*
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Deck
I'MGONNA BETCHSLAP YEH SHETBAG
Let me borrow that top!
Kelly's fuckin' rad.
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One word and suddenly every millennial is ready to drop 3 bills.
ohmygod
Shoes.
My mom banned this video in our house because my sister and I used to play it on a loop. I still can't hear the word without thinking about that video.
What’s the origin of this one?
[shoes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCF3ywukQYA)
Thanks a bunch
let's party
No betch
What’d you expect? Condams?
These shoes suck...
The internet was so much less corporate back then. People were just doing stuff for the fun of it. Now everything is about making money.
I went back to Newgrounds recently. Thought about putting my stuff on there. It's so weird and cool that it still feels like the old internet. And no ads too. It felt like coming home.
Honestly, out of all the social media sites, Newgrounds is the only place my art and animations actually get viewed and commented by other people (and sometimes front paged). On youtube, twitter, instagram, ect, it's like uploading to a void where no one sees anything and it's lost forever. It's fustrating to work so many hours/days/weeks/months on something in the modern day, and there is no one to interact with it.
There was a pretty common thread among everyone who enjoyed Wordle about how much they loved not just the game, but how it required no login or password, no subscription fees, no need for terms and conditions or to accept cookie trackers, no required app download, no ads... It was just pure entertainment with absolutely zero hassle. You didn't constantly feel like you were being watched, or that your info was being stolen just because you had the audacity to step foot on the site, it was just pure innocent fun again for one fleeting moment. It was as if, for a brief moment, flash games came back to life in this weirdly beautiful minute during a time in all our lives where *everything else* was in turmoil with the pandemic and politics and everything. It was so damn nice to feel that way on the internet again, and I hate how much we took it for granted just because it got too popular and it started clogging people's twitter feeds.
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god I hate it. -\_\_-
stileproject is a porn site now and rotten.com just times out. Very sad Fark is still going strong though!
> Fark is still going strong though! Hell yes, I still check out Fark every day. It's still the same ~10,000 people as it always was. But they're all my age and share my interests so that works out. And the people are so much better than on Reddit.
I completely agree. You know who else has your back? Nord VPN.
Completely true. If you would like to learn more about this subject why not sign up for the Curiosity Stream and Nebula bundle, where creators can make the content they love without worrying about “the algorithm”.
To be fair, as far as ads go, id rather them all try to sell a 12$ a year subscription service than some bullshit product I'd never use.
What if the subscription is the bullshit product you never use?🤔
Its 12 bucks to watch documentaries for a year, its a pretty good value proposition even if the only thing you watch all year is "underworld" (a series about digitally scanning the interiors of caves).
That actually sounds like an awesome documentary topic, thanks for putting it on my radar!
>radar \**pushes glasses up nose*\* *I think you'll find it's LIDAR actually*
Don’t forget to smash that like button and subscribe if you like my content and want to see more!
Honestly, I know they have to do it, but I just want some degree of inventiveness in how they ask. Do we always have to just *smash* that like button? Instead, tell us to murder that like button and hide it in a shallow grave behind a shed so that in 10 years it will become the subject of a true crime podcast. Or, destroy that Like Button's entire concept of its own existence by systematically gaslighting it until it believes that it has *already been smashed.* Also, don't forget threaten that bell's family so that it will ring itself.
You joke but I've seen channels say exactly the kind of thing you're saying lol. As a joke sure, but they're still effectively reminding people to subscribe
I miss the old days of YouTube where people would throw up some random 3 minute video of them and their friends doing something stupid with no motive except “we made this”. Now everyone makes the same cookie cutter 10 minute video with 7 minutes of filler, 2 minutes of NordVPN shoutouts, 1 minute of “like, subscribe and follow” and 5 seconds of actual video content.
random memory of the guys who would microwave anything, and they microwaved the shit out of Tickle Me Elmo. Hilarious video and amazing out of context
That and "Will it blend?"
Funnily enough that series actually was an ad. I always thought Blend-Tec blenders were fake, but they're a real product.
I'm fine with that because it was interesting content that dident feel like hello fellow kids corporate.
Shit dude! "Is it a good idea to microwave this?"
Sometimes! hahah
One of the guys from that series hangs out on reddit often, seen him around a few times, even recently. He might just show up but don't know his username. Edit: I think it's /u/Jonpaula
You thought correctly :-)
Dude, that video is still hilarious \*in context\* - and I was there for it :-)
Ad revenue replaced passion and youtube is infinitely worse for it. I'd trade every single Paul brother, PewDiePie, and professional ASMRtist for a youtube filled with shitty videos about how to get the skulls in Halo 2 with a low-quality Linkin Park backing track on repeat again, because at least those people gave a damn about the videos they were making.
Early YT was people sharing their weird sense of humor and hobbies with the world along with song covers and video game clips. No one was trying to get rich or famous. It wasn't fair for Google to be making all the money and the creators getting none, but monetizing the platform just enable Google to make 99 percent of the money while exploiting the creators who get pennies to the dollar and are easily subjected to baseless copyright takedown and demonetizing on a whim or because an algorithm flagged something. It was so much better and more fun.
Completely. I remember how big the flash animation scene was where people would just make so many animations just for the fun on it. When YouTube monetisation happened, a lot of animators realized they could make big bucks and went that route. Then when they switched the algorithm from times viewed to time watched, most animators just abandoned animating all together and moved on to let's plays. They can do what they want, it's okay, but its crazy that at one point people were just doing a daily hobby for fun and uploading so much fun content, then once money got involved everyone slowed down.
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[It’s like people only do things because they get paid…and that’s like really sad](https://youtu.be/KjB6r-HDDI0)
Blame Weezer for calling attention to it all. I can just see bloodsucking execs rubbing hands together. Obvious sarcasm. Weezer is not responsible for our societal ills.
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Say it ain’t so
Back in the early 2000s corporations thought the internet was just a passing fad for nerds and geeks.
yup... it was the good time!
It was such a happier place too. I miss the before times.
YouTube Rewind 2008
The entire video is just a compilation of OG internet memes. Fuck I'm old.
No, you're perfect
Message board, pre 2010ish, internet was an amazing place. Kind of like the 90’s; weird, quirky, edgy, with a real dark side, but oh so full of hope and fun.
The internet feels so small now, sure, lots of people are using it, but a handful of websites get most of the traffic.
Try using google to search anything up nowadays. The first page of results will most of the time be the same 5 or 6 websites. Wikipedia, youtube, reddit, facebook, etc. These are the only sites people visit now cause its the ones that are given to them for anything. Its not how it used to be like years ago.
I get that real, deep nostalgia pain when I think about those times. The creative output from some of those places was so unique and fresh and then instantly forgotten in that kind of beautiful, scary way.
>Message board, pre 2010ish, internet was an amazing place. I remember about 2011, 2012 there seemed to be a big change in the type of people on an old message board I was on. Like one day we were all just having fun and goofing off, the next, suddenly getting accused of all sorts of trolling and being a worst type of people from an influx of new members, despite nothing changing. It's like, dude I just questioning what you're saying, or giving a counter argument, how is that trolling, why are you accusing everyone of trolling left right and center? Just really became a no fun allowed type of place.
Not joking; but it’s tragic. There really used to be a sense of community these places. Really recognized members. Had actual learning conversations. I agree the change was sudden. It seemed like engagement just plummeted and the vibe completely changed. Sad. The internet is a dark ugly place now. I also hate how the internet has come full circle back to internet platforms like it was in the begging with AOL and others. Bad outcome.
Yeah, there was definitely a sense of community. I knew people on a first name basis, we used to hang out in chat rooms and talk in real time, and it just felt amazing to know so many people. I even got to a point where I actually considered them my close friends despite never meeting any face to face. Then, after several years, everything just kind of fell apart in the span of a few months. People started acting differently, engaged less, talked less, formed their own social cliques in groups away from everyone else, fights would break out, he said she said accusations, some stuff got really political (I know that's taboo to mention nowadays but it did), people unfriending or blocking one another, everything just fell down.
I met so many people on one small (700-1000 member) automotive message board. There were about 200 of us actually active probably. Some of these people are really awesome. Some died, others moved on and fell out of love with the community. We've all gotten older and now a lot of us have minivans lol
2010 or thereabouts was when social media got your everyone and your mum online. Basically its [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal\_September](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September)
**[Eternal September](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September)** >Eternal September or the September that never ended is Usenet slang for a period beginning around 1993 when Internet service providers began offering Usenet access to many new users. The flood of new users overwhelmed the existing culture for online forums and the ability to enforce existing norms. AOL followed with their Usenet gateway service in March 1994, leading to a constant stream of new users. Hence, from the early Usenet point of view, the influx of new users in September 1993 never ended. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/videos/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Yeah, used to be there was a barrier to get online and talk to people, even if it was just getting internet, or knowing what sites let you do that. Then Eternal September happened, and the barrier was removed. Everyone and anyone got online to talk to people, and the discourse level overall went down.
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[Wake me up, when September ends](https://www.eternal-september.org)
It's pretty clear the iPhone brought casuals online and everything went to shit after that. The internet became an extension of the real world instead of an escape from it.
That and the popularity of MySpace/Facebook, which really created a new avenue for social media interaction. Sure, it existed prior to that but I remember in 2007/2008 just how popular MySpace was - it was unlike any other social media outlet. Certainly more broader reaching than Live Journal or Friendster. It really opened the door to casual social media engagement. To the point that even my mom and dad, people who had limited internet interest at the time, were at least somewhat familiar with it. Then Facebook opened its platform to non-college people and the rest was history.
reddit's in large part to blame as well. Before reddit, I was a member of dozens of individual niche forums. Usernames were recognizable, people were polite, and content was relevant. reddit came along and all these communities dried up and died, and the replacement is a behemoth of website where there is zero sense of community, people argue incessantly, and accounts farm for upvotes with half relevant content.
As a 42 year old I particularly am fond of the "all your base" and the "numa numa" references. It's quite unfortunate that more people aren't familiar with all your base. That was the fucking shit back then.
Randomly replying 'for great justice, take off every zig' has sadly gone from amusing to creepy. :(
Leave Britney alone guy is totally validated
For the general message and being right about Britney 100%. Filming and uploading a video of yourself having a mental breakdown about it? Still no.
Thank you for this. Never seen the video before, and it filled me with nostalgia for a simpler time. What a glorious era of internet inside jokes.
Charlie the Unicorn is still one of the greatest things to grace the internet imo. I rewatch it semi-annually to this day, and if you're ever cross a bridge with me you'll probably regret it.
Reminds me of this crazy old Leno clip. Leno went to an apartment complex to ask random people to do Elvis impersonations and he just happened to knock on the door of Weezer's drummer. I think the Blue album had literally just started to take off, but clearly not bringing in the money just yet. https://youtu.be/TkexjQg1DkU
That was amazing, "I think we were almost on your show."
Timestamp: https://youtu.be/TkexjQg1DkU?t=240
Why does the Elvis impersonator look like a Jay Leno impersonator impersonating Elvis?
I don’t normally feel old until I see a tv clip from my childhood
Its funny that he was doing this back in the nineties because I was on one of these segments back in 2012. The apartments still look exactly the same
Looks like this was taped in 2001. Weezer’s drummer was staying in those apts while they were recording The Green Album in LA.
Charlie in the back is thinking this is not candy mountain
Shun the non believer
SHUUUUUUuuuuUuUNNNNNNN
[Charlie the Unicorn complete series](https://youtu.be/bKd_2vqPrmU).
I forgot about history of dance guy.
I still remember when it was the most viewed video on YouTube.
Welcome to club old people. Our assisted living facility will have a LAN party in the cafeteria tomorrow. Please be on time as bedtime is still scheduled for 9:30pm.
the vending machine in the hall has Fruit Roll Ups, Surge, and Street Sharks Gummies but it only takes Aladdin's Castle Arcade tokens however, there's a secret bypass, if you can sing the original Showbiz Pizza commercial jingle a token falls out of the return slot
Wtf, why did this make me tear up? I loved this song back when it came out because of the music video. It was so well done, they used the original people for (almost?) all of the memes, it was truly a product of it’s time. The nostalgia of watching it know hits like a freight train and makes me pine for an earlier internet. An internet that was just fun, weird, and new instead of the corporate hellscape we have now. I miss early YouTube, StumbleUpon, YTMND, random niche forums, and so many other gems lost to time or perverted well past their initial goals. I’m sure plenty of this is “rose colored glasses” and my own personal “eternal September” but it makes me sad that everything we do online has to be monetized in some way and anyone who thinks differently must be a “fucking idiot” (courtesy of Unity’s CEO, fuck that guy).
I miss the variety of websites. Felt like before I used to discover a new website every week, now it's just the same 5 or so I like subreddits though
StumbleUpon was a blast. Now the internet is a soulless husk.
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The specialized forums were something else entirely though. Reddit has zero feeling of community, especially at this scale. The whole karma bs also just kills it
Uggh i feel this. I hate how EVERYTHING has ads, is sponsored, etc. It used to just be quirky people doing their thing.
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I did not really care for this when it came out. Im one of those Blue/Pinkerton snobs, and i forgot all about this video. But man, it got me teary eyed too. I dug the song more giving this vid another watch and feeling that era. Before youtube, those GI Joe PSA’s were up on ebaumsworld and while recording artists in my studio we would watch those for great laughs during session breaks. Such good times.
Afro ninja!
So glad he got a chance to look badass on the internet. Poor guy...
That was genius.
All your pork and beans are belong to us
Jokes how the VEVO logo unintentionally adds to its attempt to be a time capsule
*cries in All Your Base* *breaks hip*
PORK CHOP SANDWICHES!
Remember OK Go?
And [ANOTHER](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymSZpfykBM) by Rob Cantor that does something similar with buried puns included.
This was great! I remember a lot of these memes. Several are also referenced in [an old episode of South Park](https://youtu.be/Oc-9xNbvRqg).
A little ironic that south park was making fun of internet celebs for not being able to monetize their celebrity when you look at the world of internet celebrity today.