The 463: Inside Tech

The Republican Candidates: Facebook Rankings

(Lauren Sacks) During the 2010 Congressional Elections, Facebook tracked the most hotly contested races and found that the number of Facebook fans helped predict more than 70% of the key races. Now, as the race for the Republican presidential nomination heats up, it’s time to examine how the top-tier candidates measure up in the world of Facebook.

For this exercise, the “top-tier” candidates analyzed are: Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and the sometimes forgotten candidate, Ron Paul.

As of 2:30pm on Wednesday, August 17, 2011, the number of “Likes” per candidate rank as follows:

1. Mitt Romney - 1,084,117 Likes
2. Michele Bachmann - 461,312 Likes
3. Ron Paul - 460,650 Likes
4. Rick Perry - 122,647 Likes

Mitt Romney has taken a comfortable lead, but how does his profile picture compare? Does the quality of the profile picture coincide with the popularity of the candidate?

As you can see, we have a variety in the candidates’ selections. Rick Perry captures his ability spend time with citizens, yet fails to highlight that he is a presidential candidate.  Michele Bachmann tries to harness her patriotism by photo-shopping the American flag, but the graphic looks more like she is wearing a striped towel over her suit than a tribute to her patriotism. Mitt Romney is sporting a smirk and the shadow over his eyes casts a bleak tone (could this be indicative of his personality?). Ron Paul leaves little room for critique—he is smiling, the photo is crisp, and he is clearly running for president.  

As the race for the nomination continues to intensify, check back to see the progress of the “Likes” and read more catty comments about their profile pictures.

Internet Memes 101

(Emma Nay) Welcome to INTERNET MEMES 101. This quick lesson will help you learn how to plank, owl, and leisure dive; and learn how to make a demotivational picture.

You’re probably wondering what the hell an Internet meme is, right? Well, according to Merriam-Webster, a meme (rhymes with cream) is “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.” Now, an Internet meme is an idea, behavior, or style that is spread “virally” throughout the Internet.

Still have trouble understanding what an Internet meme is? Let me show you some examples:

 

 

As you can see here, I am planking on two desks in an old office at work. I must admit, it did hurt a little bit, but it was fun. You’re probably wondering how in the hell would this be fun? Try it out for yourself and you’ll find out how entertaining it really is. How did this strange fad become so popular? Well, no one really knows. I’m assuming it’s because some plankers like to make a fool of themselves by planking in the most awkward places such as balconies, basketball hoops, and even luggage bins on an airplane.

Owling is similar to planking, except the person sits on random objects like an owl. I did find planking to be a bit more challenging and fun compared to owling.  Here you can see a young man owling at in his office space:

 

 

 

Working hard? Or hardly working? You decide.

 

 

Now, let me explain to you about the whole leisure diving phenomenon. LeisureDive.com explains leisure diving as jumping, “…into a body of water (or at least something soft), striking a ‘leisure pose’ in mid-air. Ideally, a photographer captures the moment when the diver has reached peak height above water, when his or her hips are parallel to the waterline.” Here is a photo of two men in Mariachi costumes demonstrating a leisure dive:

You’re probably wondering why leisure diving got so famous too, huh? Well, just look at the picture. It’s hilarious! Be sure to check out www.leisuredive.com for more examples.

Have you heard of motivational posters? A motivational poster is supposed to “motivate” you to do great things, basically giving you a great outlook on life. Here’s one for example:

This one says, “Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice.”

 

Awww, isn't that cute? Well, you can only guess what a demotivational Internet meme looks like:

Brings you back to the good ol’ intern days, huh?

Well, I hope you enjoyed your INTERNET MEMES 101 class. Be sure to look out for INTERNET MEMES 201 to learn how to Rick Roll someone, how to interpret LOLCats, find out what the dramatic chipmunk is, and learn how to make your own EPIC Fail picture.