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Fail Blog (stylized as FAIL Blog) is a comedic
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...
website created in January 2008. FAIL Blog features disastrous mishaps and general stupidity in photos and video which have captions such as "
fail Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One ...
", "epic fail", "X Fail", or "X; You're doin' it wrong" (X being the activity at which the subject has failed). There are also multiple sites under the FAIL Blog brand, including Failbook (which features FAILs on
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
), Ugliest Tattoos, and There, I Fixed It. The website has also triggered a meme that contains bad grammar (usually posted in the comments of Failblog videos), "Did he died".


History

In January 2008, FAIL Blog was launched. The site grew steadily in popularity; in May 2008, FAIL Blog was sold to Pet Holdings Inc. (now Cheezburger Inc.), becoming part of the Cheezburger Network. Ben Huh notes that FAIL Blog "really started to take off when the financial industry decided to — ahem — fail." As an example, at a United States Senate hearing in September 2008, a demonstrator held up a sign reading "FAIL" behind Henry Paulson, the former Treasury secretary, and Ben Bernanke, chairman of the
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
. By January 2010, FAIL Blog was receiving 1.1 million unique visitors per month.Raftery, Brian
King of Cheez: The Internet's Meme Maestro Turns Junk Into Gold
''Wired''. January 25, 2010.


Reception and influence

FAIL Blog won two
Webby Awards The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories includ ...
in 2009, for People's Voice in Humor and Weird.Orlaff, Brian
Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Fallon Win Big at the Webbys
. ''People''. May 5, 2009.
The site has been profiled in multiple publications: ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' named FAIL blog their #3 comedy website, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' called FAIL Blog, a "fan favorite," ''Time'' magazine noted that FAIL Blog has "helped popularize fail as both a noun and an exclamation, not to mention an easier-to-spell synonym for schadenfreude", and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' called it a "runaway hit."Fitzpatrick, Laura
Building a Media Empire Around I Can Has Cheezburger
''TIME''. August 24, 2009.
Mcedward, Laura
Entrepreneur's Kitty Site Now A Caboodle
''Los Angeles Times''. September 23, 2008.
The site is also commonly referenced in popular culture;
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
called
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
a "walking failblog" in reference to their July 2011 pricing change and ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' called a
Chris Coghlan Christopher B. Coghlan (pronounced KAHG-lihn; born June 18, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Florida / Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue ...
baseball blunder "a debacle worthy of FAIL Blog."Simspon, Jake
Beyond Chris Coghlan: Top 5 Sports Celebration Fails
''The Atlantic''. July 28, 2010.
Gilbert, Jason

Huffington Post. July 29, 2011.
In July 2009, FAIL Blog posted a screenshot of the
Guinness record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
webpage for "Most Individuals Killed in a Terrorist Attack" which was accompanied with a "Break this record" link. Guinness threatened legal action, and the story was picked up by
TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American online newspaper focusing on high tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $ ...
and CNET.


See also

* Failbook *
I Can Has Cheezburger? I Can Has Cheezburger? (abbreviated as ICHC) is a blog-format website featuring videos (usually involving animals) and image macros. It was created in 2007 by Eric Nakagawa (Cheezburger), from Hawaii, and his friend Kari Unebasami (Tofuburge ...
*
List of Internet phenomena Social and cultural phenomena specific to the Internet include Internet memes, such as popular themes, catchphrases, images, viral videos, and jokes. When such fads and sensations occur online, they tend to grow rapidly and become more wides ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fail Blog American comedy websites Internet humor Internet memes Photoblogs Internet properties established in 2008 Comedy-related YouTube channels YouTube channels launched in 2008 English-language YouTube channels