"You never think it will happen to you. Then it does, and you can't believe you fell for it," says Amy Shypailo.
Amy Shypailo, 21, recently became yet another victim of a sometimes cruel -- but always entertaining -- internet meme.
The Rick Roll is no new phenomenon. However, it's effects are considerably long term. It can take a Rick Roll victim years to recover. Once that vaguely familiar synth beat enters the brain, and that velvety baritone voice fills your earbuds, it may never leave.
I have shared this story with you because Rick Rolling is touted as a simple Internet Meme [a neologism used to describe a catch-phrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the internet] when in reality it is much more than that.
Rick Rolling is the result of someone's creative abuse of the video sharing network You Tube. However it does not end there. Rick Rolling quickly spilled over into real life. Red-headed men in trench-coats and black dress shoes popped up in public places, regaling the crowd with stirring renditions of the 80's tune. The internet meme literally came to life.
Rick Astley must be more than happy that someone did for free what a PR professional would be paid thousands of dollars to do. Someone made Rick Astley relevant again.
Still not clear on what Rick Rolling is? Don't worry, one day it WILL happen to you. If you need a more explicit definition of the term, wikipedia does a pretty good job of laying it all out there.
1 comment:
Great post, I heard about this a while back on Perez Hilton. I think it's hilarious and I too after hearing about the story went to YouTube and listened to the song. "Never gonna give you up" is such a great song. Apparently all this attention has thrown Rick back in the spotlight and he's releasing a greatest hits album. The power of the internet!
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