4 ms·

Meme backlash is certainly something to be watchful for. Reddit and other meme-hubs can be absolutely vicious when it comes to their sacred symbols. Hot Topic r

Meme backlash is certainly something to be watchful for. Reddit and other meme-hubs can be absolutely vicious when it comes to their sacred symbols. Hot Topic recently started printing some memes on their shirts, and 4chan trolled them in a very public and embarrassing way. (see: http://www.urlesque.com/2010/11/18/hot-topic-rage-guy-shirt-4chan-racism-troll/ http://www.urlesque.com/2010/11/18/hot-topic-rage-guy-shirt-...) I guess if you go this route you have to weigh the risks and rewards.

rokhayakebe 15y ago
4chan trolled them in a very public and embarrassing way And I suspect the majority of Hot Topic customers do not know 4chan, hence it does not matter. On the internet it is very easy for a group of people to overestimate their impact.
- dpritchett 15y ago
  Hot Topic stopped selling the shirts and issued an explanation. 4chan got exactly what they wanted.
- dkokelley 15y ago
  They weren't embarrassed on the internet alone. It was in the local news media. Still not influencing the customers, but I'd imagine their parents were not happy about their kids buying 'racist' tshirts.
Typhon 15y ago
It's funny, though, because many * channers probably consider a meme 'ruined' when reddit starts to use it. Some of them probably consider it ruined when it reaches 4chan/b/, actually. But it's not new. It's always the same "We used/liked it before all the people that came after us" mentality. It applies to memes, it applies to bands, TV shows, clothes etc... People just want to be insiders and distinguish themselves from the rest, sometimes desperately. To that, I must add that using popular pictures in a commercial way is risky unless you know the guy who owns the copyright to the original, and despite what some people may be misled into thinking, it does apply to memes.
- ChuckMcM 15y ago
  Reminds me of the comic one liner "That Italian restaurant? Nobody goes there any more, its too crowded."

rokhayakebe 15y ago

4chan trolled them in a very public and embarrassing way And I suspect the majority of Hot Topic customers do not know 4chan, hence it does not matter. On the internet it is very easy for a group of people to overestimate their impact.

dpritchett 15y ago
Hot Topic stopped selling the shirts and issued an explanation. 4chan got exactly what they wanted.
dkokelley 15y ago
They weren't embarrassed on the internet alone. It was in the local news media. Still not influencing the customers, but I'd imagine their parents were not happy about their kids buying 'racist' tshirts.

Typhon 15y ago

It's funny, though, because many * channers probably consider a meme 'ruined' when reddit starts to use it. Some of them probably consider it ruined when it reaches 4chan/b/, actually. But it's not new. It's always the same "We used/liked it before all the people that came after us" mentality. It applies to memes, it applies to bands, TV shows, clothes etc... People just want to be insiders and distinguish themselves from the rest, sometimes desperately. To that, I must add that using popular pictures in a commercial way is risky unless you know the guy who owns the copyright to the original, and despite what some people may be misled into thinking, it does apply to memes.

ChuckMcM 15y ago
Reminds me of the comic one liner "That Italian restaurant? Nobody goes there any more, its too crowded."