YTMND

{{Short description|Online community centered on the creation of hosted meme web pages}}

{{Infobox website

| name = YTMND

| logo = YTMND Logo Transparent.png

| url = {{URL|http://www.ytmnd.com/}}

| screenshot =

| commercial = Yes

| type = Specialized website community/Internet fad and meme website

| registration = Optional

| owner = Max Goldberg/YTMND, Inc.

| author = Max Goldberg

| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2001|7|6}}

| current_status = Online

}}

File:Ytmnd-screenshot.jpg

YTMND, an acronym for "You're the Man Now, Dog", is 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!".{{cite web | url=http://www.yourethemannowdog.com/ | title=Yourethemannowdog.com from October 7, 2001 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011007184416/http://www.yourethemannowdog.com/ | archive-date=2001-10-07 | access-date=2007-04-09}} 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).{{cite news | url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/meganiche.html?pg=2&topic=meganiche | publisher=Wired News | title=Wired 14.11: Tiny Slice, Big Market | access-date=2007-02-28}}

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 1. 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.ytmnd.com/info/about|title=About YTMND| publisher=YTMND|access-date=2006-06-12}}

= 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."{{Cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/who-killed-ytmnd-1785765611|title=Who Killed YTMND?|last=Menegus|first=Bryan|website=Gizmodo|date=29 August 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-16}}

In May 2019, the site experienced major downtime, which led media outlets to report that the site had been shut down permanently.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/368388/internet-meme-pioneer-ytmnd-shuts-down|title=Internet Meme Pioneer YTMND Shuts Down|last=Kan|first=Michael|website=PCMag|language=en|access-date=2019-05-16|date=2019-05-15}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/15/18626643/ytmnd-down-meme-4chan-something-awful-internet-culture|title=A beloved relic of early 2000s internet is facing extinction|last=Stephen|first=Bijan|date=2019-05-15|website=The Verge|access-date=2019-05-16}} 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.{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/1/21202658/ytmnd-return-shut-down-youre-the-man-now-dog-website | title = YTMND is back, a year after shutting down | first = Jacob | last = Kastrenakes | date = April 1, 2020 | access-date = April 1, 2020 | work = The Verge }}

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.{{cite web | url=https://www.today.com/popculture/once-aloof-cruise-now-spoofed-wbna8366702 | title=Once-aloof Cruise now spoofed | publisher=Today.com | date=2005-06-27 }}

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.{{cite web | url=http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/blog/AOTB/post/553546/User_Created_Challenge.html | title=User Created Challenge | publisher=G4 | access-date=2006-06-12 | archive-date=2006-07-03 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060703055053/http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/blog/AOTB/post/553546/User_Created_Challenge.html | url-status=dead }} 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."{{cite news | url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.08/start.html?pg=13 | title=1 Web Site, 250,000 Idiotic Clips. LOL! | author=James Lee | publisher=Wired News |date=July 2006 | access-date=2006-08-11}} 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.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/09/technology/09milk.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=pogue%20tuscan%20amazin&st=cse | work=The New York Times | title=On Amazon, All of a Sudden Everyone's a Milk Critic | date=2006-08-09}}

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".Ahrens, Frank "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/29/AR2006072900041.html A Home For Quick Hits]", Page F07 The Washington Post, July 30, 2006 Goldberg signed a release for The Colbert Report to show Stephen Colbert-related YTMNDs.{{cite web | url=http://www.ytmnd.com/news/?news_id=47 | title=Mo money mo problems | publisher=YTMND | date=2006-08-22 | access-date=2006-08-22}} A select few seconds of a YTMND was shown.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}} On November 23, The Washington Post reported on telemarketing pranks in which they named a number of websites, including howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/23/AR2006112300385.html |title=Fed up with telemarketers? Try mooing |newspaper= The Washington Post |date=2006-11-23 |access-date=2006-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061125125035/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/23/AR2006112300385.html |archive-date=2006-11-25 |url-status=dead }} Various other news reporting sites have printed the same article, including Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.{{cite news | url=http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-11-23T124819Z_01_N22366148_RTRIDST_0_TECH-LIFE-WEB-TELESALES-COL.XML&archived=False | title=Fed up with telemarketers? Try mooing | publisher=Reuters | date=2006-11-23 | access-date=2006-11-24 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061125122411/http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-11-23T124819Z_01_N22366148_RTRIDST_0_TECH-LIFE-WEB-TELESALES-COL.XML&archived=False | archive-date=2006-11-25 }}{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB112801537556955862 | title=Sean Connery Delivers A Line That Eventually Sparks an Internet Fad | publisher=The Wall Street Journal Online | date=November 7, 2005 | access-date=2007-03-02 | first=Aaron | last=Rutkoff}} A Swedish newspaper, metro, also included the site in a separate article.{{cite web | url=http://www.metro.se/se/article/2006/11/23/09/0128-32/ | title=Ytterligare ett sätt att stoppa ivriga telesäljare | publisher=Metro | language=sv | date=2006-11-23 | access-date=2006-11-24 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070508174509/http://www.metro.se/se/article/2006/11/23/09/0128-32/ | archive-date=2007-05-08 }}