PRANKS ACROSS THE WEB APRIL FOOL’S DAY 2013
If you didn’t think there would be some sort of internet shenanigans today, the joke’s on you. April Fool’s Day is a renowned holiday in the internet world, notorious for silly pranks, and this year is no different. And now that the day is wrapping up, let’s take a look back at some of the best pranks. We got a good chuckle out of them, maybe you will too.
YouTube Shutting Down
After a long 8 year stint, YouTube has announced that they will be closing the site to all video submissions so they can review the past 8 years of footage to fulfill their ultimate goal of finding the best online video. YouTube has even gone far enough to feature a splash page on the site, as well as live streaming of the nominee announcements.
Google Nose
‘No time to stop and smell the roses? Now the roses are just a click away’
A clever take on a fictitious new product, Google Nose, allows you to search any smells with the click of a button. All you have to do is click, and put your nose as close as you can to your screen to start smelling. Even if this olfactory technology is bologna, showing the feature to your co-workers while you watch them suspiciously sniff at their screen is priceless.
G-Mail Blue
If blue is your color, you’re in luck! Gmail’s ‘Blue’ interface solves Google’s plaguing issue: “How do we completely redesign and recreate something while keeping it exactly the same?” And what they’ve come up with is something truly phenomenal, “Gmail… only bluer” And if blue isn’t your color, at least you’ll get a kick out of the video.
Bing Basic
Bing didn’t allow Google to steal all the spotlight this year, in fact, they take a cheap shot at Google in this year’s prank. By typing in ‘Google’ you are directed to ‘Bing Basic’ a more ‘bland’ take at the search experience. Once you are on Bing Basic, you’ll see the familiar Bing thumbnails, all with quips about Google. One link, in particular, says “With so many delicious flavors available, most people still choose vanilla” The link takes you to the Bing it on, Bing vs. Google campaign…
Bing’s SEO Tag
Bing’s SEO Tag is the answer webmasters have been waiting for! In a bitingly witty blog post, Bing announces an SEO tag that allows webmasters to take control of their rankings, and essentially tell Bing where they want to be ranked. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Yet another April Fool’s has come and gone but hasn’t left internet users disappointed. Luckily for these big internet companies, April Fool’s Day only comes once a year, giving them enough time to plan their next big hoax… until then, we’ll be standing by. Happy April Fool’s Day!
Submitted by Erica Machin, Titan Growth