Zug (website)
Type of site | User-generated comedy |
---|---|
Owner | Media Shower, Inc. |
Created by | Sir John Hargrave & Jay L Stevens |
Revenue | Advertisement, sponsored content |
URL | Zug.com |
Registration | Required |
Launched | 1995 |
Current status | Closed |
Zug, or ZUG, was a comedy website that was founded in 1995 by Sir[1] John Hargrave and Jay L Stevens (based on a concept by Sir John Hargrave and Genevieve Martineau).
History
Beginning as a
From 1999 to 2001 ZUG took a backseat to
The success of the site caught the attention of Citadel Press, which published 'Prank the Monkey',[1][2] the first ZUG book, in 2007, which went on to become an Amazon.com humor bestseller. Hargrave has now released "Mischief Maker's Manual", a book of pranks for kids aged 9–12; it was released in Spring 2009 by Penguin Children's Group.
On March 21, 2013, Hargrave announced Zug would be shutting down operations on April 1 of the same year. Shortly after midnight eastern time on April 1, 2013, the site shut down. All of the reader and staff written articles, along with all of the archived ZUG Live conversations, were removed from the site.
Articles
Aside from pranks, ZUG also featured comedy articles written by staff members of ZUG, as well as readers who submitted articles to the site. The staff chose the funniest article submissions, which readers could then rate for the coveted "Funniest of the Month" title. Article series from the community members included "Monster Love", where a reader posted profiles of famous serial killers on online dating sites; "Worst Bar Drink Ever", where a reader traveled to various bars to find the worst-tasting bar drink on the planet; and "Manscaping", where a reader used a hair removal product to carve superhero logos in his chest hair.
The staff also chose articles from those submitted to the site to be voted on by readers for the coveted "Funniest of the Month" title. Those who have made it to the list of the top article authors include "She's Gonna Blow: The Colon Cleansing Experiment", "The Wal-Mart Prank", and Hargrave's own "The Viagra Prank".
ZUG Live
ZUG Live, which was billed as "The World's Funniest Comedy Community", was a thriving online forum where users discuss every topic imaginable, with each poster able to give and receive "funny points", which are formally known as "ZUGZ", or commonly referred to as "orbs". Frequent posters competed to be ranked on the monthly list of The World's Funniest People.
The ZUG Live software, which had been built entirely in-house, features humorous touches like the "Swearbot", which automatically turned swear words into the names of famous poets. Still, many threads had coarse language or adult discussions, so ZUG Live required its users to be over 18 years of age before they were given posting privileges.
Name
While Zug is the name of a city in Switzerland, as well as the German word for train, Hargrave insists that the name has nothing to do with either, and is actually a recursive backronym for the phrase "ZUG is Utterly Great".[3]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-8065-2780-3.
- ^ Amazon.com Bestseller List, March 23, 2007
- ^ Attack of the Show, February 18, 2007