The Internet is Serious Business
Added 14 years ago by Tomberry • Updated about a year ago by Don
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| About • Origin • Spread • Notable Examples • Search Interest • External References • |
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Tags: image macro catchphrase genmay raging debate internet reference
Additional References: Encyclopedia Dramatica Facebook Urban Dictionary
About
The Internet is Serious Business, often abbreviated as Srs Bsns, is a catchphrase used sarcastically to mock another person's serious tone or demeanor during an online discussion. This is commonly used to make fun of someone engaging in a heated and/or immature Internet conversation (i.e. politics, conspiracy theories and other similar topics), especially on sites that allow user-to-user interaction such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Origin
"The Internet is Serious Business" was first coined sometime in 2003 by General Mayhem forum member mr_brett in one of the cat-themed GIF animations which he titled "Catbusiness."
i believe i can provide a bit more background as well: as i recall, our illustrious leader of [M] at the time, M|22, pissed off some internet company and they wrote a letter to him complaining of his actions and closed out the letter by saying “the internet is serious business” or something quite similar to that effect. then you had click46 + me & fireworks = many, many kittah GIFs. …good times :)
Although the exact date of Mr_Brett's post remains unknown, it is thought have been uploaded sometime between 2002 and 2003, as implied by the follow-up request thread "pls post kittah – internet is serious business pic"[1] posted on February 27th, 2003.
Spread
By 2005, numerous image macros featuring the phrase "Internet is serious business" or its variations had been created by other General Mayhem users. This humorous statement also began to spread beyond the turfs of General Mayhem, most prominently on the imageboard community 4chan.
That same year, Encyclopedia Dramatica[3] introduced the "Serious Business" meme to a larger audience with its recount of an online gaming drama which took place in the MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot. In it, a player tried for three consecutive days to obtain a precious magic cloak item called "Cloudsong," but when it finally came into the player's sight, some other player stole it from him right before his eyes. The unlucky player exploded in rage, which was soon turned into the subject of audio remixes and YTMND sites. In humoring the unfortunate "Cloudsong" episode, the phrase "Internet, Serious Business" became associated with hardcore MMORPG players as well.
The first Urban Dictionary[4] entry for "Internet = Serious Business" was submitted in August 2006 and another definition[5] for "The Internet is Serious Business" was submitted in December that year. In 2007, the single service site internetseriousbusiness.com[6] was launched, containing a Rickroll and a series of annoying unblockable popups featuring the song's lyrics. An internet culture blog titled Internet, Serious Biz[7] was launched that same year, which deals with Internet memes and related subcultures in general.
YTMNDs: Cloudsong
The first YTMND instance of the "Cloudsong"[8] remix was uploaded on June 28th, 2005, but it didn't draw any significant attention from the community. The viral instance came nearly a month later on July 21st with the creation of "WOW is serious business,"[9] which received more than a million views, a remarkable feat for any YTMND sites. The YTMND site later spawned a flash animation version, which has been since re-uploaded onto Newgrounds[11] and YouTube.
It is also regarded as one of the earliest known artifacts[10] containing the catchphrase outside of General Mayhem. It should be noted that the screenshot depicted in many YTMND sites have been misattributed to World of Warcraft, instead of Dark Age of Camelot.
Notable Examples
A great volume of image macros based on this theme has been made, usually featuring a portrait of someone dressed in business attire or wearing a stern or serious expression. There are several variations of the phrase, such as "Internet… Serious Fucking Business", "The Internet: Serious Business", "Internet = Srs Business", "SRS BIZNS" or "INTERNET!!"
Video
Search Interest
External References
[1] General Mayhem – pls post kittah – internet is serious business pic
[2] General Mayhem – The Internet is serious business
[3] Encyclopedia Dramatica – You Fucking Stole My Cloudsong
[4] Urban Dictionary – Internet = Serious Business
[5] Urban Dictionary – Internet is Serious Business
[6] Web Archive – Internet is Serious Business
[7] InternetSeriousBiz.com – Internet is Serious Biz
[8] YTMND Wiki – Cloud Song
[9] YTMND – CloudSongSong
[10] YTMND – WOW is serious business
Entry Editors ( 9 )
Recent Images ( 72 )
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The Evolution of Serious Business
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Facebook Cover
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What if I told you
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The Worldwide Electronic Network of Computing Machines is All About Solemn Actions
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Comments ( 36 )
already uploaded
think we didn't have this actually! Good initial investigation, could use for some more hunting as the origins… not sure if we'll find it for this one
Hmmm, I can't find it. If you're talking about the "Internets" slang from Bush, well, it's completely different…
Well, actually, i found something from 2000 but I don't know if it's closely related.
here
The title could be the first instance.
maybe should be called "X, serious business"
I dont think the name should be changed to "X, insert meme" just because someone replaced the original with X
confirm this for great justice
I wouldn't call it a meme, but it's an important internet catchphrase, and should be documented. Confirm pl0x
indeed, it is serious.
Macintosh "Serious Business" Commercial
From 1995, I think. Could be a hint maybe.
I really don't think Cloudsong has anything to do with this meme.
Even though there is a "Serious Business" version of the Cloudsong meme, there are some issues.
There was already an "Internet. Serious business" YTMND fad for about a year prior to the Cloudsong YTMND fad.
http://seriousdeadbusiness.ytmnd.com/
About a month after the first "Internet. Serious Business" YTMND was made, ED created their entry about it.
http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php?title=The_Internet_is_serious_business&oldid=2914
The YTMND wiki redirects "serious business" to their Cloudsong article, but that doesn't change the fact that the "internet. serious business." trend came before the Cloudsong trend.
excuse me, it was 5 months between YTMND and ED.
So, hem…The Cloudsong wasn't the origin but it helped creating mutations with it, I think.
Thank for having found this, anyways.
Hi there. Anyone knows the original source of the "old successful businessman" image? I think that's awesome. LOL
We should probably have something about how "Internet is SRS BZNESS" is used among trolls to mock Internet Tough Guys. Although I'm not sure if it's still used in that context.
Wikiquote credits someone named General [M]ayhem for coining "Internet is serious business."
By looking through genmay.com, it appears that in 2003 (pre-4chan) there was something of a rivalry between that site and SomethingAwful. Also, both sites were using "kthanxbye", "fapping", "tl;dr", and "kittah" before 4chan was so much as a glimmer in moot's eye.
This has been a breakthrough.
http://www.genmay.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=118675
Also, to correct a statement I made 3 months ago, I can see how the Cloudsong incident has been a strong factor in the mutation of this meme over time.
Wow Chris ! You're amazing. I gave up for some time because I thought it was influenced by IRL trials concerning internet, but it wasn't really the case.
But, does that mean that it can also been the origin of the "tl;dr" article ?
Thanks Tomberry!
I'm not exactly sure, but I'd say that's very likely. I have a lot of old forum reading to catch up on :)
Thank you very much for your edit on it, Chris !
I didn't know about all that background concerning that cat image.
Sure thing!
Jamiedubs said something a few days ago that made a lot of sense. "No one can be aware of ALL internet traditions."
greetings all, i was directed to this page by the infamous click46, the other party responsible for the amazing animated cat series. i believe i can provide a bit more background as well: as i recall, our illustrious leader of [M] at the time, M|22, pissed off some internet company and they wrote a letter to him complaining of his actions and closed out the letter by saying "the internet is serious business" or something quite similar to that effect. then you had click46 + me & fireworks = many, many kittah .gifs.
good times :)
also here's the original image
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/4900/catbusiness.gif
Thank you very much mr Brett. That's a great source of information and help you've provided with your message.
To Tomberry.
Ginny??
Internet! Serious business pics here: http://www.threadbombing.com/categories.php?cat_id=27
+1 confirm
QWEST HEAVY DUTY INTERNET IS SERIOUS BUSINESS
The "serious business" line was also mentioned here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbTvclw2lAM
some good one here http://www.threadbombing.com/categories.php?cat_id=27
Time trials: SERIOUS BUISINESS
The internet can now find stars.
Internet. Serious business indeed.
The glory is undying.
KYM karma points should be taken seriously
The glory is undying.
I hate this meme so much.
Since when was the path of your words or actions the lone justification for them?
It doesn’t matter if you send insults, racism or death threats in person, on phone, in mail or on the internet, you still do it and that doesn’t change it.
This meme should be brought back tbh. Everyone needs to learn to chill the fuck down again.
I agree.
I agree.
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