In a classic Seinfeld episode, George leaves a strange message on his girlfriend's answering machine, then breaks into her house to erase it. Multiply that by 53, and you get the popular website Psycho Ex-Girlfriend.
Yes, Psycho Ex-Girlfriend is a website devoted to audio files of 53 obsessive and infuriated messages left on the answering machine of a Dallas bachelor by some unfortunate woman, now the laughingstock of the Internet. It's also the fastest-growing Internet phenomenon we've ever seen. And it's a hoax.
Last week, Psycho Ex-Girlfriend missed the Lycos 50 but hit #66. That means it received more searches than actress Shannon Elizabeth (#67), the NCAA Tournament (#69), and the last absurd Internet phenomenon, All Your Base Are Belong To Us (#68).
We thought All Your Base fever grew fast, since it went from a handful of searches to the Lycos 50 in three weeks. But Psycho Ex-Girlfriend has gone from zero searches to #66 in one week. One week! The site wasn't even created until March 20. That is how fast links spread on the Internet.
The latest news is that the voicemails seem to be missing, replaced by advertisements for a fast-download service. At last check, Psycho Ex-Girlfriend has been reduced to nothing but ads and T-shirt sales. Salon Magazine has more on the hoax: it turns out the domain name for the site was registered February 15, before any of the voicemails were supposedly received. The whole thing is just a way to get online ad impressions and show advertisements.
So if Psycho Ex-Girlfriend is a hoax, is there a big Internet fad out there that is 100% real? Let's turn to Ze Frank's How To Dance Properly.
Ze Frank is a web developer in New York, who wanted to have a birthday party March 30th. He put together a web invitation to send to his friends, which included some Flash animation of his, shall we say, awkward dance stylings. Not to make another Seinfeld reference, but Elaine comes to mind here. His 20 or so friends sent it to their friends, who sent it to more friends. It showed up on Lycos logs last week, and should take a huge jump next week.
How do we know Ze Frank is real? Well, I know, because I actually went to college with him. I remember Ze Frank not as the dance-challenged man you see now on the Internet, but as the suave, popular lead singer of the band Dowdy Smack. Hidden trivia: the bass player in Frank's band is now the bass player in Blues Traveler.
Will How to Dance Properly or Psycho Ex-Girlfriend make the Lycos 50 next week? Check back to find out.
TOMORROW: The hottest hip-hop act in Britain.
