People of Walmart

People of Walmart
Type of site
 Entertainment
Available in English
Owner Adam Kipple
Andrew Kipple
Luke Wherry[1]
Website http://peopleofwalmart.com/
Commercial Yes
Launched August 2009[1]

People of Walmart (PoW) Is an entertainment website featuring user-submitted photos of Walmart customers considered to be socially awkward or undesirable by users of the site. PoW has been promoted largely on sites like Digg and Funny or Die, and linked on Facebook and Twitter.[2][3][4][5] People of Walmart was founded in 2009 by brothers Andrew and Adam Kipple, and their friend Luke Wherry, who grew up together in Harrison City, Pennsylvania and attended Penn-Trafford High School.[6]

History

The website was founded in August 2009 after three men in their 20s—Andrew Kipple, his brother Adam, and their friend Luke Wherry—noticed at a South Carolina Walmart a woman who looked like a stripper to them in a T-shirt that read "go f*** yourself" with a 2 year old in a harness and a man with a beard reminiscent of those worn by ZZ Top.[2][6] They created the website to share what they find truly remarkable, ignoring more stereotypical "rednecks" or mullets. While they created the site for their own social circle, it immediately went viral, enabling Wherry and Adam Kipple to leave their prior jobs. Andrew Kipple is a student.[6] Walmart has not commented.[2]

In addition to avoiding the ordinary, the trio refuse to post photos of people who are disabled or working Walmart employees.[2]

The site has given rise to various other similar websites, some with variations on the theme.[7]

Site features

The People of Walmart site is divided into tabs including photos (broken up into newest, top rated, by state, and random), stories (love letters and hate mail), videos, and a submit section. There is also a store where items such as tee shirts, mugs, and sweatshirts can be purchased with the People of Walmart logo. According to the website, People of Walmart is a member of Three Ring Blogs, which includes blogs like “That’s my boss,” “dumbtweets,” “Girls in yoga pants,” and “How I was dumped." Three Ring Blogs is a network of blogs where people can post anonymous content, most of which has a humorous focus.[8]

Backlash

Walmart spokesman David Tovar declined to comment saying in an e-mail that it "doesn't seem like it's news that there's a website that allows people to post photos on it".[9]

Melanie Wheeler was extremely upset when she found her mother’s embarrassing image on the site accompanied by the caption, "A member of the Canadian division of the Trench Coat Mafia." [10] They contacted the press to express their disgust in the website and how they had felt violated. However, the People of Walmart FAQ states that if a user finds that he or she is unwillingly shown in a picture, "Simply email us and we will take it down, no problem. If you like your photo but hate the caption or comment send us an email and we can remove it." This has been seen as a sly move by the site owners to neutralize people's anger once they find out they are on the site, while continuing to post images of others behind their backs in the hopes that they don't find out.[10]

Social media

People of Walmart has a Facebook and Twitter account.[11] There are also newly introduced iPhone and Android applications that allow pictures to be uploaded to the site from a mobile device. In 2017, they announced the launch of a People of Walmart App for Android and iOS that allow anyone to post pictures what they found in Walmart then show it on the App.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Masson, Sarah Le (September 4, 2009). "People of Walmart among most searched web sites". The Daily Telegraph. London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Suddath, Claire (August 31, 2009). "That Viral Thing: People of Walmart". Time. time.com. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  3. ↑ Schonfeld, Erick (September 4, 2009). "People Of Walmart, Some Of You Should Look In The Mirror Before You Walk Out The Door". TechCrunch. (techcrunch.com). Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  4. ↑ Mayerowitz, Scott (September 3, 2009). "People of Walmart Pokes Fun at Shoppers, but Will it Hurt Sales?". ABC News. abcnews.go.com. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  5. ↑ Gross, Doug (September 3, 2009). "Viral Web site mocks Wal-Mart customers". CNN. cnn.com. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 McCoy, Adrian (October 20, 2010). "Creators of People of Walmart, website that pokes fun at Walmart customers, have local ties". PGE. post-gazette.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Wally People". wallypeople.com. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Three Ring Blogs FAQ's". http://threeringblogs.com. May 2, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2011. External link in |publisher= (help)
  9. ↑ Mayerowitz, Scott (September 3, 2009). "People of Walmart Pokes Fun at Shoppers, but Will it Hurt Sales?". ABC news (website) ABC news. abc.com. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  10. 1 2 Popkin, Helen (February 18, 2011). "Woman finds mom on People of Walmart, freaks". technolog msnbc. technolog.msnbc.msn.com. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Viral Web site mocks Wal-Mart customers". CNN.
  12. ↑ "Android Sells People of Walmart App". market.android.com. market.android.com. May 2, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
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