Social Media wRap: April Fools’, Gwiyomi, and more

MANILA, Philippines – It’s been a while, but it’s back! Here are the social media stories that ticked our personal mood meters from March 31 to April 6.
 
Mood Meter = Amused
The start of the week also signified the start of the month of April, and as part of tradition, pranks were everywhere during April Fools’ Day.
 
Of course, social media websites were not shy to participate in the tomfoolery. From YouTube closing down to Twitter selling vowels, it was a deceptive online environment last Monday, with users not sure what to believe in anymore.

 

Our favorite prank goes to Google Analytics for making us believe Rappler was being read in outer space! Turns out, we were not the only ones with the extra-terrestrial connection.

 

Mood Meter = Happy
Before netizens were pulling pranks, and falling victim to them; they were taking a trip down memory lane.
 
The tag #elementaryschoolconfessions was a hit among Twitter users, with it placing at the top of the Philippine Trending Topics for a very long time on March 31. It wasn’t long before #highschoolconfessions and #collegeconfessions started to trend too, but neither reached the hilarity that the original trend brought out.
 
Here are some of our favorite tweets:

#ElementarySchoolConfessions Laughed at all the jokes from Clueless – had no idea what half of them meant. #ThereGoesYourSocialLife

— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) March 30, 2013

#elementaryschoolconfessions Nangatay kami ng manok para sa Agriculture class. Kinabukasan, chicken adobo ang hinain sa canteen.

— Angel Britanico (@manilascoop) March 30, 2013

Dumped my Grade 6 M.U. via text. #ElementarySchoolConfessions #MedyoBadBoy

— Apa (@NotAgainApa) March 30, 2013

Mood Meter = Angry
Speaking of nostalgia, no one does it better than Disney. However, in this case, it seems that the animation company is more of the villain.
 
After buying Lucasfilm, the production company behind the Star Wars franchise, last November; Disney announced April 4 they are letting go of their video game arm, LucasArts.
 
This does not sit well with both Star Wars and video games aficionados, especially when the company announced it was going to cancel the much awaited Star Wars 1313.

Mood Meter = Annoyed
How far will one school go to punish those who don’t take tests seriously? You would think that they would simply fail these students, right?
 
But since everything is bigger in Texas, Kyron Birdine got more than what he thought he would get when he got suspended for four days. This comes after he wrote the phrase ‘YOLO’ and a smiley face on his diagnostic exam paper. Not stopping there, he actually took a photo and tweeted it, mentioning the Texas Education Agency in the post. The tweet has since been deleted, but the photo has spread online.

  

Lesson learned. When trolling exams, make sure you think before you tweet.

Mood Meter = Afraid
Speaking of annoying, we have found what seems to be the next Korean dance craze, succeeding Psy’s Gangnam Style. Entitled “Gwiyomi,” which roughly translates to “cute song” in Korean, it has the dance moves that will make a kindergarten teacher proud.

The only reason why we’re afraid of it is because it hasn’t happened… yet. But don’t say we didn’t warn you.

 
Mood Meter = Don’t Care
Since we’re on the topic of annoying, did you know that Justin Beiber’s monkey was seized by German officials in his concert tour? Yes, we say “meh” too.

 
Mood Meter = Inspired
Finally, to end this week’s social media wRap on a positive note, have you noticed your Facebook feed filled with red equal signs?

Don’t worry, it’s not a mathematical invasion, it’s actually a project of the Human Rights Campaign to raise awareness on same-sex marriage equality. Social media users can also help by signing the group’s online petition.
  
So, did we miss anything? Send them to us through Twitter via @rapplerdotcom or leave a comment below.  – Jyle Sulit/Rappler.com