10
How the Lolcat Empire Keeps Growing
'There's no way on the planet this should actually work,' says Huh
By Wesley Oliver
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Posted Aug 16, 09 4:58 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Ben Huh knows how to fail upward, and has a rather simple explanation for the success of his Web empire: “Dude, I think it’s funny.” The former journalist, 31, is the maverick behind at least 20 smirking sites, including I Can Has Cheesburger? and FAIL Blog, which showcases photos and videos of spectacular stupidity, like the billboard partly written in Braille and the guy who used a trash can as a bike helmet. The viral site has officially hit the zeitgeist, Time reports.
Facebook and YouTube still dwarf Pet Holdings, Huh’s company, but it remains profitable with about 10 million monthly visitors. “There’s no way on the planet this should actually work,” Huh says of his business model. “But it’s working.” Huh and his team of 20 staffers sift through the 10,000 photos and videos they receive daily, looking for the next big thing. “You can't really explain why it's funny,” Huh says. “That's part of the fun.”