Top 10 Web fads

Grist for the e-mail forwarding mill. Whatever you call them, Web fads are entertaining, unintended consequences of life on the World Wide Web. Once the masses could put anything online easily, they turned up weird fetishes, hilarious parody, jaw-dropping narcissism, and moments of brilliance. And over the past 10 years, some of these ideas broke through to the mainstream. Whether it was dancing hamsters, a kid enjoying his day as a Jedi Knight, or the sudden ability to publish your thoughts online with just a few simple clicks, the following 10 Web fads still make us laugh, make us wonder, or make us feel guilty enough to update our blogs. —Molly Wood —Top 10 Web fads (C|Net)

I felt a rather pathetic rush of geek pride when I realized that I’m familiar with all 10. Not a lot of heavy cultural analysis, but still pleasant to read.

I didn’t recognize Ellen Feiss’s name right away, but her picture is unforgettable.

I haven’t actually used Friendster or its clones (I still feel guilty that I never responded to Torill Mortenson’s invitation to join Orkut),