YTMND

YTMND
Type of site	Specialized website community/Internet fad and meme website
Owner	Max Goldberg/YTMND, Inc.
Created by	Max Goldberg
URL	www.ytmnd.com
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Optional
Launched	July 6, 2001; 23 years ago
Current status	Online

YTMND, an initialism for "You're the Man Now, Dog", is^[a] an online community centered on the creation of hosted memetic web pages (known within the community as fads, YTMNDs, or sites) featuring a juxtaposition of an image (still or short animation) centered or tiled along with optional large zooming text and a looping sound file. Images and sound files used in YTMNDs are usually either created or edited by users. YTMND is generally considered to be a humor website, owing its tone and culture to the original YTMND and its early imitators.

History

YTMND originated in 2001 from Max Goldberg's original website, "yourethemannowdog.com", which he registered along with "dustindiamond.com" after seeing a trailer for the movie Finding Forrester in which Sean Connery says the line "You're the man now, dog!". Originally, the website featured the text "YOURE THE MAN NOW DOG.COM" drawn out in 3D ASCII text with a sound loop from the Finding Forrester trailer of Connery reciting the phrase "You're the man now, dog!".^[1] The advent of zoomed text currently on the website was seen in the following months, where the website also featured a photograph of Connery. Goldberg's new creation inspired others to make similar sites with other movie and television quotations (or any other sound clip they wished to use).^[2]

In 2004, Goldberg wrote a press release after winning a lawsuit filed by Dustin Diamond for the "fan page" at the aforementioned dustindiamond.com. He mentioned yourethemannowdog.com, as well as a new website, YTMND, that would be ready by April 10. The website opened that day after a rushed coding and design process. The site caught on in popularity and became an Internet phenomenon when major weblogs and Internet forums began linking to the Picard Song YTMND.^[3]

Decline

On August 29, 2016, Max Goldberg announced that YTMND would likely soon be shutting down, citing ill health and the site's inability to fund its own hosting fees from ad revenue. Goldberg stated "Besides being a time capsule I don't really see a reason for it to continue to exist... It seems like the internet has moved on...And I've moved on too. I don't have much interest in the site beyond it being good memories."^[4]

In May 2019, the site experienced major downtime, which led media outlets to report that the site had been shut down permanently.^[5]^[6] The site itself partially came back online, with a page stating that there had been a "catastrophic failure" in its database, and stating that whether the site will be restored was undecided.

Modernization

On March 31, 2020, YTMND re-launched, including all of the previously hosted YTMND sites and the ability to log in, create accounts, recover passwords, and post new sites. It has also been updated to work using HTML5 media playable, HTTPS communications, and includes a mobile-friendly interface.^[7]

Media exposure

Due to the nature and format of YTMNDs, the site has garnered attention from outside media sources. In 2005, Reuters wrote an article on Tom Cruise which made a reference to the Tom Cruise Kills Oprah YTMND.^[8]

On the February 1, 2006, episode of Attack of the Show!, viewers were asked to "make a kickass YTMND" for the show's "user created" segment. In order for sites to qualify for this YTMND competition, members were required to add "aots" at the beginning of the site's URL.^[9] In the August 2006 issue of Wired, an article under the "Expert" column by the name of "1 Web Site, 250,000 Idiotic Clips. LOL!" was printed. In the article, five of Goldberg's favorite YTMNDs (You're the Man Now, Dog; Vader Coaster; Lohan Facial; LOL Internet; Blue Ball Machine) were mentioned, along with commentary from Max himself for each one. The article's writer, James Lee, can be quoted as saying "Repeat an image loop and a sound file – as 24-year-old Max Goldberg with You're the Man Now, Dog – and pretty soon you'll have 4 million visitors a month and 120,000 contributors uploading their own clips."^[10] Also in August 2006, an effort of YTMND users to post satirical reviews on the Amazon page for Tuscan whole milk was covered by The New York Times.^[11]

YTMND was featured in an article for the July 30, 2006, issue of The Washington Post. The article describes how Goldberg conceived yourethemannowdog.com, its rise in popularity, and the elements of a YTMND site. The article also referred to the creators of YTMNDs as "artists".^[12] Goldberg signed a release for The Colbert Report to show Stephen Colbert-related YTMNDs.^[13] A select few seconds of a YTMND was shown.^{[citation needed]} On November 23, The Washington Post reported on telemarketing pranks in which they named a number of websites, including howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com.^[14] Various other news reporting sites have printed the same article, including Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.^[15]^[16] A Swedish newspaper, metro, also included the site in a separate article.^[17]

Notes

^ Although YTMND has relaunched its website and is still somewhat operational, it has not been run since 2020. Instead, the business has been placed in a state of limbo.

References

^ "Yourethemannowdog.com from October 7, 2001". Archived from the original on October 7, 2001. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
^ "Wired 14.11: Tiny Slice, Big Market". Wired News. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
^ "About YTMND". YTMND. Retrieved June 12, 2006.
^ Menegus, Bryan (August 29, 2016). "Who Killed YTMND?". Gizmodo. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
^ Kan, Michael (May 15, 2019). "Internet Meme Pioneer YTMND Shuts Down". PCMag. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
^ Stephen, Bijan (May 15, 2019). "A beloved relic of early 2000s internet is facing extinction". The Verge. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (April 1, 2020). "YTMND is back, a year after shutting down". The Verge. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
^ "Once-aloof Cruise now spoofed". Today.com. June 27, 2005.
^ "User Created Challenge". G4. Archived from the original on July 3, 2006. Retrieved June 12, 2006.
^ James Lee (July 2006). "1 Web Site, 250,000 Idiotic Clips. LOL!". Wired News. Retrieved August 11, 2006.
^ "On Amazon, All of a Sudden Everyone's a Milk Critic". The New York Times. August 9, 2006.
^ Ahrens, Frank "A Home For Quick Hits", Page F07 The Washington Post, July 30, 2006
^ "Mo money mo problems". YTMND. August 22, 2006. Retrieved August 22, 2006.
^ "Fed up with telemarketers? Try mooing". The Washington Post. November 23, 2006. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. Retrieved November 24, 2006.
^ "Fed up with telemarketers? Try mooing". Reuters. November 23, 2006. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. Retrieved November 24, 2006.
^ Rutkoff, Aaron (November 7, 2005). "Sean Connery Delivers A Line That Eventually Sparks an Internet Fad". The Wall Street Journal Online. Retrieved March 2, 2007.
^ "Ytterligare ett sätt att stoppa ivriga telesäljare" (in Swedish). Metro. November 23, 2006. Archived from the original on May 8, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2006.

External links

YTMND.com

[1] Although YTMND has relaunched its website and is still somewhat operational, it has not been run since 2020. Instead, the business has been placed in a state of limbo.

[2] "Yourethemannowdog.com from October 7, 2001". Archived from the original on October 7, 2001. Retrieved April 9, 2007.

[wired-3] "Wired 14.11: Tiny Slice, Big Market". Wired News. Retrieved February 28, 2007.

[ytmndabout-4] "About YTMND". YTMND. Retrieved June 12, 2006.

[5] Menegus, Bryan (August 29, 2016). "Who Killed YTMND?". Gizmodo. Retrieved May 16, 2019.

[verge-done-6] Kan, Michael (May 15, 2019). "Internet Meme Pioneer YTMND Shuts Down". PCMag. Retrieved May 16, 2019.

[7] Stephen, Bijan (May 15, 2019). "A beloved relic of early 2000s internet is facing extinction". The Verge. Retrieved May 16, 2019.

[8] Kastrenakes, Jacob (April 1, 2020). "YTMND is back, a year after shutting down". The Verge. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

[9] "Once-aloof Cruise now spoofed". Today.com. June 27, 2005.

[10] "User Created Challenge". G4. Archived from the original on July 3, 2006. Retrieved June 12, 2006.

[11] James Lee (July 2006). "1 Web Site, 250,000 Idiotic Clips. LOL!". Wired News. Retrieved August 11, 2006.

[12] "On Amazon, All of a Sudden Everyone's a Milk Critic". The New York Times. August 9, 2006.

[Ahrens-13] Ahrens, Frank "A Home For Quick Hits", Page F07 The Washington Post, July 30, 2006

[Colbert-14] "Mo money mo problems". YTMND. August 22, 2006. Retrieved August 22, 2006.

[Washington_Post-15] "Fed up with telemarketers? Try mooing". The Washington Post. November 23, 2006. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. Retrieved November 24, 2006.

[Reuters-16] "Fed up with telemarketers? Try mooing". Reuters. November 23, 2006. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. Retrieved November 24, 2006.

[WSJ-17] Rutkoff, Aaron (November 7, 2005). "Sean Connery Delivers A Line That Eventually Sparks an Internet Fad". The Wall Street Journal Online. Retrieved March 2, 2007.

[Metro-18] "Ytterligare ett sätt att stoppa ivriga telesäljare" (in Swedish). Metro. November 23, 2006. Archived from the original on May 8, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2006.

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YTMND

History

Decline

Modernization

Media exposure

See also

Notes

References

External links

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