Waisting time on a new generation of sites
By Nicholas Weiss
Today, I spent four hours on FAILblog. FML.
FMyLife.com and FAILblog.org are Web sites that post pictures, videos and written accounts of "fails." Notably different from a failure, a fail in this sense is when a person does something stupid in a public setting.
Example: A picture of a man hosing down his car while standing in a torrential downpour is a sustainability fail. A person who has witnessed their father doing this might be inclined to sigh and say, "FML."
After the excessive, unnecessary and mostly negative dialogue about the Web site Juicy Campus, I feel it is prudent to add that these Web sites are not Gossip Girl imitators.
All of the FML posts are freely submitted by the person affected ---- it is well-known that self-deprecating humor is the truest form of freedom of speech. While FAILblog subjects are all free from slander and libel by the very fact that they were caught on camera, in public, without any editing. In addition, all of the posts on both sites are anonymous in order to protect the poster, and screened for content, to protect the subjects.
FML and FAILblog are about having fun in the same way that "America's Funniest Home Videos" was -- minus Bob Saget of course.
These Web sites are classic examples of poking fun at absurdity and are part of the new trend of user-created content. Both Web sites are made by the people they serve and encourage readers to submit their own stories, photos and videos.
They have grown quickly into the niche of "free stuff to do on your computer while you're not paying attention in class," and boast over 405 pages of combined content.
Despite the natural inclination toward tomfoolery, I must advise readers against visiting these sites during class, because doing so generally results in awkward and embarrassing bouts of ill-timed laughter.
Since most people aren't as -- for lack of a better word -- devoted to these Web sites as I am, I would recommend FAILblog. FAILblog is a more sensory experience than the visually-repetitive lines of text on FML, and can sometimes serve as a "Where's Waldo" variant. Only Waldo, in this case, however, is someone's dignity, if the fail is not immediately noticeable.
Due to the more complex method of depicting fails, however, FAILblog is not as frequently updated, and those who prefer to be part of the movement can more easily become part of the FML community by submitting their own moments.
FML can read like an especially-eventful conversation between friends, while FAILblog is more akin to watching an episode of Family Guy, where a bunch of funny things happen without any concern for a plot.
Choose well, or take both. Let's face it, they are both better than spending that time on Facebook.
Nicholas Weiss is a sophomore psychology and philosophy double major.