My thoughts on…Rick Rolling
Not too long ago, I posted on an Internet meme, Pirates vs. Ninjas. But there exists a more insidious meme. One that lurks in the darkest corners of the Internet. The Rick Roll. I can remember my first time. No not that first time. Get your minds out of the gutter! I mean the first time I was Rick Rolled. I was on Fark.com reading the forums. Someone posted a link to a pic, a viral video, or whatever. All I knew is that it was worth the click.
Next thing I know my browser was hijacked by the musical stylings of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Wanna get Rick Rolled? Here, go nuts. There have even been variations of the Rick Roll, such as the Fresh Prince Roll, the Duck Roll, the Reich Roll, among others. Those who are pretty well acquainted with the Net either suffered this prank or heard of it. The first time it was awesome, the second time it was alright, the other times it was overdone, to me at least. This prank has gained a lot of prominence recently, as Scientology protests have been Rick Rolled. It has also gained media coverage, and Rick himself has interviewed about the Rick Roll. Turns out he supports it. Awesome.
But this meme has been done to death. Almost every YouTube link in a forum is a Rick Roll. A prank isn’t too effective if everyone knows about it. I plead to my Internet brethren, stop overusing the prank. Stop sapping the little coolness that remains in it. ‘Cause we all know that when everyone picks up something, it automatically loses its appeal. But the most epic Rick Roll ever and the one I love the most was when that dude Rick Rolled a women’s basketball game that the New York Times covered. Classic.
