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The HAMPSTER Dance!
We've all seen them-those gyrating, chubby little rodents that bob up and down incessantly to the beat of what could quite possibly be named the most annoying tune of the decade. Upon experiencing this bizarre web event, one or two of us, for one reason or another, felt compelled to share their annoyance (or delight?) with a friend. And so, with only a couple clicks of the mouse and thousands of e-mails later, the spectacle of the digital dancing hamsters became an overnight international information highway sensation, making there way into TV commercials, onto T-shirts, and even onto their own music CD!
And the point of the Hampster Dance is?? Well, aside from serving as a source of endless entertainment, the Hampster Dance, created by Deirdre LaCarte, was posted on Geocities simply to pay homage to her pet hamster, Hampton. Like many other popular iStuff sites, the Hampster Dance is now honored by hundreds of dancing parodies.
So what is it about the Hampster Dance that captured the attention of hundreds of thousands of Internet users? How was it able to garner such notoriety in such a relatively short amount of time? What, if any, is the social significance of a digital experience of a web site like the Hampster Dance?
These questions are pivotal to understanding the impact iStuff are currently making on mainstream popular culture and, more important, predicting the possible role or influence this virtual stuff will have in the future. Typically referred to as "Useless Web Sites," iStuff, like any other artifact or commodity, reveal something about the nature of our society, our values, ideals, aspirations, interests. Therefore, it is important to gain an early understanding of how and why iStuff are created and gain notoriety. To what degree will iStuff make an impact in the future?
Related links and such:
Invasion of the dancing Hamsters! by Scott Rosenberg:
http://www.salon.com/21st/log/1999/03/22log.htmlThe HampsterDance comeback, by David Cassel
http://www.salon.com/tech/log/2000/04/01/ hampsterdance/index.html
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