Wednesday, April 1, 2015

April Fools' FAQ

Selfie shoes

Today's April Fools' Day, the best and worst day of the Internet.
Here's a guide to help you through it.

What is April Fools' day?
It's a day when people's do and publish stuff that, years from now, will be googled and taken as fact.
How do I avoid falling for a prank?
You can't.
So what can I do?
Enjoy it! And remember that anyone who tells you to stay off Twitter or the Internet probably works in media and likely spends his or her time on Twitter or the Internet for a living.
I work at a news organization. Should I do an April Fools' joke?
No.
But...
NO.
But I saw the Guardian's?
The fact the you know about the Guardian tells me you are a professional journalist and that you also thought twice about whether the Guardian story about fluorescent tampons is real.
What if I work for a college news organization?
You get one try.
Also, this one try will backfire horribly and end up in Romenesko.
Can I tweet?
Stay off Twitter.
But you just said...
April Fools.