Building an empire on 'cheezburgers': Ben Huh's online takeover
Unless you are an Internet entrepreneur, the name Ben Huh may not register as someone who has become a multi-million dollar businessman specializing in creating social entertainment sites. However, you are likely familiar with his Cheezburger Network, featuring feline photographs with catchy captions, known as LOLCats. Behind this fun and innovative company are Ben Huh and his staff, who are constantly creating new, captivating websites.
For technology students, or anyone interested in website development or Internet success stories, Ben Huh is an excellent example for building an online empire. Huh has registered over 1,000 domain names, giving him a valuable edge on potential website names and business ventures. Ironically, his Internet success began only a few years ago.
Launching the burger
Armed with the goal to "make the world happy for five minutes a day," Ben Huh gathered investors to purchase the LOLCats site I Can Has Cheezburger? from Eric Nakagawa, and his Cheezburger partner Kari Unebasami, in 2008. The site features feline photo submissions with catchy captions. Now, interactive users can re-caption the photos, vote on their favorite picture or caption, and share the photo on social networking sites such as Facebook™, Twitter® or Digg™. The site is completely user-generated, and Ben Huh and his team simply provide the website interfaces, and maintain the servers and software necessary for these interactive websites.
Cheezburger success
According to Becky Hogge (2008), in her article "A lesson in hai culture: What can linguists learn from cat-loving bloggers? Quite a lot, actually," within months of launching I Can Has Cheezburger, the site was attracting 2 million visits per day. A large flow of traffic immediately grabbed the attention of advertisers, and visitors can see ads from corporations such as Toshiba, Chase, Dell and Google, which in turn produce large amounts of revenue for the site owner.
With the creation of the Cheezburger Network, Ben Huh expanded on the business model of developing entertaining, user-driven websites. Now, the Cheezburger Network includes the notorious "I Can Haz Cheezburger?", as well as "I Has A Hotdog (LOLDogs)," "Why Do I Live Here," and "Crazy Things Parents Say." One of the most popular sites, Failbook.com, features fan submissions of often-unbelievable posts from Facebook. Now, the Cheezburger Network receives over 350 million page views per month.
Advice from Ben Huh
A self-titled Internet Content Connoisseur, Huh has his own website offering insight for those interested in his Internet takeover. The site features a blog where Huh periodically shares his wisdom on personal and financial success. Huh writes about his risk-taking in quitting his job to "run a cat picture site," and the ups and downs of his latest website launches.
From a financial standpoint, Huh delivers blunt, if not sound advice for those seeking a career in technology, or even those just searching for a job in a struggling employment market. For example, he includes real examples of people who have applied for jobs at the Cheezburger Network and why their introductory cover letter failed to prompt an interview.
Whereas successful CEOs are tempted with expensive cars and yachts, even with successful business ventures, Huh purchases used cars and other items on Craigslist. Rather than relish in his successes and hoard his secrets, Huh actually provides examples for living within your means and saving money in a tight economy.
Whether or not you're interested in Ben Huh's financial or technological success, this entrepreneur has utilized technology to stage an Internet takeover by realizing millions in our society love animals and enjoy being entertained.
References
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