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Random Generator Parodies Vapid Startup Websites

Posted by Soulskill on from the leveraging-your-synergies dept.

alphadogg writes: A pair of Georgia Tech computer science students have created a Random Startup Website Generator that spits out a different jargon-laden startup website every time you click on the URL. Mike Bradley and Tiffany Zhang's project "serves as a parody of startups that have websites full of vague praise and little information about their actual business, often because they have little to show in that regard."

148 comments

  1. ROTFL! by Qbertino · · Score: 2

    Brilliant, that's what!

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
    1. Re:ROTFL! by schamberlin · · Score: 1

      Oh man... this is spot on. This... I can't even... oh no.

      I feel so empty right now. WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH MY LIFE??

    2. Re:ROTFL! by davester666 · · Score: 1

      The IPO is next week. You'll want to sell before close.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    3. Re:ROTFL! by popo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      At least now perhaps we can put to rest some of these awful trends in web design:

      - Oversized graphics that require excessive scrolling.

      - Parallax silliness (Because we can)

      - Round bio photos (Because Apple, that's why)

      - Giant "flat design" icons that add zero value

      - The full-screen expanded "hero" div which is basically this decade's "title screen". (Seriously, title screens suck. Why is one that requires slowly 'scrolling' past -

      - better than one that one clicks past?)

      - The giant quote. Does this need to fill up 1/3 of my screen? Why?

      --
      ------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
    4. Re:ROTFL! by ericloewe · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You forgot infinitely-scrolling websites that never destroy any of the shit that now lies the equivalent of 20 pages up.

    5. Re:ROTFL! by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      And low colors. Look at white office 2013, the new Microsoft logo, and of course Windows 8

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    6. Re:ROTFL! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      - Text so large you have to zoom out three levels to make it easy to read.

      - Implementing the pointless giant flat icons using icon fonts that come out as gibberish extra characters if for some reason the font doesn't load or you use a screen reader.

      - Disabling the scroll bar but, at the same time, still making scrolling a major part of using your website. (Because what kind of luddite would use the user interface component provided by their system for scrolling, for scrolling? I guess?)

      - Implementing everything (like, literally, everything) using one or more third party Javascript libraries, loaded from third party domains.

      - Short, ad-agency sentences. They're annoying. (We're here to help.)

      - This whole, overall thing about everyone having to mimic one another's work all the time rather than disagreeing and coming up with different ideas.

    7. Re:ROTFL! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      - Infinitely scrolling in such a way that the browser jumps and the user loses their position on the page each time it loads a chunk of extra content.

      - Hijacking browser shortcuts for their own purposes. (Give me back my / key, Twitter. I mean it. It's not funny.)

      - Requiring users to click "Load more" two million times or scroll to the end of the universe just to find some historical item in a list. If your list is that long, why are you serving it up like that? Why are you not making it possible to jump to a specific point in the list?

      - The phrase "how it works", when you have zero intention of actually explaining "how it works" and would instead prefer to describe the experience of using 'it'.

    8. Re:ROTFL! by RDW · · Score: 2

      At least now perhaps we can put to rest some of these awful trends in web design.

      These guys have designed a really absurd parody site that mocks many of these design elements (I especially love the ridiculous horizontal scroll bar):

      http://www.dhigroupinc.com/

      It's a bit too silly to be believable (e.g., what are they actually supposed to be selling?!) but it'll still probably fool a fair number of people.

    9. Re:ROTFL! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      - Text so large you have to zoom out three levels to make it easy to read

      And text so small you have to zoom in three levels to make it easy to read. This site (these sites?) has it all. The only thing they forgot is the script to make it impossible to zoom ...

    10. Re:ROTFL! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's only small on a mobile

    11. Re:ROTFL! by chrish · · Score: 1

      Oh how I wish I had mod points for you today...

      --
      - chrish
  2. Are we sure these are parodies? by JanneM · · Score: 4, Funny

    I suspect they could have saved themselves a lot of coding by simply randomly linking to real startup web sites. It'd look no less ridiculous.

    --
    Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
    1. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by KermodeBear · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah, it's pretty amazing. It reminds me of so many "Web 3.0 Hipster Startups" that bastardize a word and make some kind of vague hand-wavey promise by using a buzzowrd or two and adding "in the cloud".

      Ugh. The modern tech industry makes me want to puke. Maybe I'm getting too old for this...

      --
      Love sees no species.
    2. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But where else can your business suffer the most righteous depression?

      http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=174749159021

    3. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 4, Funny

      Which begs the question: why is there an E in the word "hipster"?

      --
      Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
    4. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      The E was in there before hipsters were replaced by the Hipstr app, which contains a map of approved neighborhoods near you, then lists of the approved restaurants, hotels and clubs within those neighborhoods.

    5. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Raises, not begs.

    6. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For the same reason the SciFi channel changed their name to Syfy: so it could be trademarked.

    7. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      D'oh, replying to myself here...

      I misread your post. My reply would be relevant for 'hipstr', not 'hipster'. But that's why Flickr, etc. deliberately misspell words. Carry on.

    8. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Because the e was already there before it got cool.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    9. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Because the e was already there before it got cool.

      Being a hipster was never cool. Heck, if you need proof, try going here - it redirects to aol. :-)

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    10. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Ah, ok, allow me to explain the joke: Hipsters do whatever crap they do and claim they did it "before it got cool". Or, to stress it even further, stop an action when it becomes mainstream. Tell you something about them actually enjoying any of the crap they do... but I digress.

      So Hipster jokes center around them doing something "before it gets cool". Like: How do you turn a cocktail into a hipster drink? Microwave it for 30 seconds and drink it before it gets cool.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    11. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by qpqp · · Score: 1

      I tripped a hipster up, now he's a hopster. (Sounds better in German, but oh well...)

    12. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Love the joke!

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    13. Re: Are we sure these are parodies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And when they did so the few people left who took then seriously stopped doing that. We need to give vc funded startups the same treatment.

    14. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the term "hipster" had been around when I was a child, I think I would have been described as one. I was always averse to the "cool" things, to the point that if something I liked became cool, I would stop liking it. But now that that kind of attitude has become so mainstream, I'm not so into it, for whatever reason.

    15. Re:Are we sure these are parodies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So they're seeking out a way to individualize themselves in a world full of people who are happy to conform, but instead of realizing that to truly be individual means to be comfortable with yourself and realize it's only a matter of degrees that differentiates one individual from another, they seek to continually take the easy path of finding something relatively unknown, but still likable, so as to appear genuine without being truly genuine, thus conforming to a group based on non-conformity. Sounds simple enough.

  3. What has happened to Silicon Valley? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What has happened to Silicon Valley? As recently as a few decades ago, it was a hotbed for innovation. I'm not talking about innovation like how to force advertisements on more unwilling victims. I'm talking about innovations like the creation of the microprocessor, the invention of computer networking, and real innovation like that. We saw companies that created products that truly revolutionized the world in ways that we couldn't have imagined just a few years earlier. Silicon Valley was a magnificent place, with magnificent people that did magnificent things. Now what is it? It's no longer about real innovation. It's a place that's rife with hipsters pushing hype. It's a place where being trendy matters more than really making the world a better place. It's just so astounding to see how Silicon Valley has gone from a historic center of scientific discovery and real technological innovation into a cesspit of marketing-driven shenanigans masquerading as innovation.

    1. Re:What has happened to Silicon Valley? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The low hanging fruit has been plucked. Is anyone complaining about how aviation has peaked in the last 30 years? Planes look the same, act the same, burn the same fuel, fly the same speed and go the same altitude. Electronics is now at that stage too.
      It's over, finished, done.
      Anyone who goes into electrical engineering now as a kid needs a mental evaluation.

    2. Re:What has happened to Silicon Valley? by rogoshen1 · · Score: 2

      it's turned into west wall street basically.

    3. Re:What has happened to Silicon Valley? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because people drank their own koolaid and started to believe their own hype. Now *everyone* is a techno hipster who thinks they are so much smarter than everyone else that no one will be able to tell they are completely full of it when trying to advocate salt shakers that are painted purple as a patentable, disruptive technology innovation.

      The problem is that too many people made too much money during the dot-com nonsense selling vaporware and now everyone thinks they can do the same - they just have to "spin it" to be the next tech mogul.

    4. Re:What has happened to Silicon Valley? by TigerPlish · · Score: 1

      I'm talking about innovations like the creation of the microprocessor, the invention of computer networking, and real innovation like that.

      Simple - those things have reached a certain degree of maturity - just like microwave ovens, hi-fi, TV/monitors, cars, airplanes, etc. For the most part we're just refining things that existed many decades ago in slightly different forms.

      Generally speaking, the only places left to innovate are software ("apps") and integration of All Of The Above -- so really, the only place left for true innovation is the Internet of Things -- and even then.. it's just mashing disparate technologies together using a 40+ year old network.

      Every now and then some genuine innovation does come along - smartphones, UCS, SSD, Moonshot, that new intel computer-on-a-usb-stick.

      We're doomed. Dooooooomed!

      --
      The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
    5. Re:What has happened to Silicon Valley? by gtall · · Score: 1

      Much of silicon valley is/was devoted to the transistor. Now that innovation has been assimilated into products and there's not all that much more you can do to the transistor to make it more useful to drive new products, it isn't surprising to see silicon valley slow down. Why would anyone expect innovation to crank on at a steady pace? Everything goes though cycles, innovation is no different?

      In addition, scientific breakthroughs are what drives real innovation. Seeing this, Congress has seen fit to cut research spending as have companies. It is the revenge of the bean counters who were never good at science. Scientific breakthroughs are not consistent even with consistent research funding. It took 10s of years to for quantum theory to influence modern electronics. Gravitation theory took 10s of years to influence GPS systems. The cut-off in research funding will eventually result in us just rearranging the technological deck chairs, there won't be new science to draw upon.

      There is also the effect of low hanging techno-fruit. It's been plucked over fairly well. Transportation is a good example. Short of developing transporter beams, the jump from the 19th century to the 20th was immense. That's unlikely to continue. Other industries are similar. We got very, very good at what we do with what we have. Even the Wall Street Journal had an article this weekend on how the world is awash in just about everything...oil, minerals, workforce, etc. We're very efficient at producing stuff, so efficient we don't know what to do with it all.

    6. Re:What has happened to Silicon Valley? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Spending on research has been constantly growing over the past 50 years, and private spending is well ahead of Government spending. There really isn't a "cutoff" in funding, unless a cut from a 5% increase to a 2% increase is construed as a cut (in a time when inflation is running around 2%).

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    7. Re: What has happened to Silicon Valley? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You described reality quite well.

      Unfortunately modern American capitalism would like a word with you. We must have ever increasing growth all the time! Nothing must ever get in the way of that. We have enough of everything but massive amounts of people have to do without because they aren't rich.

      If we can't have exponential growth we have to pretend we do until something else comes along. Mature industries and steady profits are wrong. Look at the banking sector. Nice and boring and profitable for a long fine but no exponential growth.

      A few bribes here, some deregulation there along with a captive media to convince you that's a good thing and we have our exponential growth. So what if it collapsed the economy? The rich did ok!

      So we need that with tech. At least we need to fake it long enough so we can sell our shares to small investors before the next collapse...

  4. Hits the nail on the head by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=543859085999

  5. Random Startup Website Generator was excellent... by loftarasa · · Score: 0

    ...especially relative to other services I tried - and certainly 1000x better than the experiences I had with other providers. loftarasa Senoia, Georgia

  6. It hurts! by markdavis · · Score: 4, Funny

    OK, I am in pain from laughing so hard!

    Some of my favs include:

    * Effortify! "Share your favorite efforts and discover new ones." http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

    * Sprayit! "Spray like never before." http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

    and

    * Insectify! "The evolution of the insect" http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

    1. Re:It hurts! by toonces33 · · Score: 2

      http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...
      Manage your organisation's pricking online, with our cloud software.

      http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...
      Bottomy was created to help you find bottoms in your area. From local bottoms to national brands, no one knows bottoms like Bottomy. No one.

    2. Re:It hurts! by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      Leaving http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?... here...

    3. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes! They even have that crappy web design that has somehow become popular.

    4. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I believe I have stumbled upon a startup trying to get slavery rolling again:

      Blackn is a friendly black service that makes it easy to turn your blacks into cash.

      Meet the Blackn team (six whites and an Indian)

      "I have to say I love this idea, it solved a big problem."

    5. Re:It hurts! by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      Like to reproduce? So do we at reproduciagen.

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    6. Re: It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Match that and raise:
      http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=67013528209

    7. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

        RefrigeratorLink

      Desire. Trust. Sustain.
      Buying refrigerators just got a whole lot better

      Get started
      I have to say I love this idea, it solved a big problem.

      Kaylee Cole
      Ashley, Ohio
      Why RefrigeratorLink?
      Reliable
      Share and collaborate with others inside and outside your organization.
      Exclusive
      Your exclusive workspace evolves your ideas into finished products.
      Detailed
      RefrigeratorLink is easy to use, no matter who you are.
      When I needed a new refrigerator my best friend told me about RefrigeratorLink. I gave it a try and was completely thrilled!

      Once again, RefrigeratorLink came through. And even before estimated delivery date! Just impressive! Thank you! You’re awesome!

      Morgan Inabnit
      San Francisco, California
      As Seen On
        Shockr AssumptionNow Wonderstr
      Find out what's next at RefrigeratorLink
        Sign Up!

    8. Re:It hurts! by DeVilla · · Score: 1

      And I just read about "the world’s first mature grocery."

    9. Re:It hurts! by DeVilla · · Score: 1

      When my friends need new bottoms there's only one word I tell them, Bottomy.

      Zita Masciola Arlington, Texas

    10. Re:It hurts! by Whiteox · · Score: 1

      Whipping. Everyone talks about it but only the truly sincere are able to whip day in and day out. Here at WhipBenefit we understand your commitment and want to give you what you need to take your whipping to the next level.
      http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...

      --
      Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
    11. Re:It hurts! by Radish03 · · Score: 1

      Just in case you want to mix things up, give SmartReceive a try!

      Receive Like Never Before.

    12. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Devious Wife - "Buying wives just got a whole lot better"

    13. Re:It hurts! by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      When my friends need new losses there's only one word I tell them, Lossy. http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...

      Bonus points for having one team member with the job description "Product". At least now I know what^Wwho they're selling...

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    14. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like as seen on "Descriptiony"...

    15. Re:It hurts! by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 1

      Mmm... 50 shades of get that company to IPO, stat!

      --
      Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
    16. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      * GENELINK! "YOUR DETAILED GENE.
      GeneLink was created to help you find genes in your area. From local genes to national brands, no one knows genes like GeneLink. No one."

    17. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      * Like No Other Period.
      Share your favorite periods and discover new ones. With Periodhub you never know what you might find!

    18. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reproduceit! * WE REPRODUCE.
      Reproducing just got a whole lot better

    19. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, but I like to screw.

    20. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Coffee you've been waiting for: http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=499954593898
      Quote: We provide 24x7x365 support with knowledgeable Coffeeme staff answering your requests.

    21. Re:It hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Headme is the last word in dedicated heads. We know you never settle for less than the best and neither do we. Finish with professional grade tools and focus your future.

      http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=528849358437

  7. Zombo com by TWX · · Score: 3, Funny

    WELcome... to Zombo Com!

    You can do Anything at Zombo Com,

    The only limit...is yourself.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:Zombo com by ArylAkamov · · Score: 1

      ALL HEIL ZOMBOCOM

    2. Re:Zombo com by ClickOnThis · · Score: 5, Informative

      WELcome... to Zombo Com!

      You can do Anything at Zombo Com,

      The only limit...is yourself.

      Sadly, at the moment, the only limit is the zombo.com bandwidth limits.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    3. Re:Zombo com by TWX · · Score: 1

      Damn, that sucks. I never checked the site before I posted, so I wonder if I did that...

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    4. Re:Zombo com by Eq+7-2521 · · Score: 3, Informative

      http://html5zombo.com/

      --
      At my age I find coming up with a witty signature too exhausting.
  8. That site is an excellent portal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just signed up my email address at 11 great startups. Looking forward to some fantastic goods and services!

    1. Re:That site is an excellent portal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm going to submit my resume. Looks like things are finally turning around for Old Gill.

  9. Your startups intrigue me. by Snufu · · Score: 1

    Where do I send my check?

    1. Re:Your startups intrigue me. by bobjr94 · · Score: 1

      Pretty much. They look better than many real "what does this company do ?" websites Ive seen.

  10. Tiffzhang is the Facebook of fake web sites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have to say, them guys nailed it. Problem solved!

  11. Vat is dees sheet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    My brother knew an immigrant from Russia. When she saw something that she wasn't familiar with, she'd look askance at it and ask (in heavily accented English), "Vat is dees (this) sheet?" That's what investors should do, when they see requests to invest in a startup: ask, "Vat is dees sheet?"

    1. Re: Vat is dees sheet? by Oflife · · Score: 0

      ha ha, brilliant!

  12. This is hilarious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well done!

  13. And yet, data shows you're just wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And yet, oddly, in the last 30 years, fuel consumption per passenger mile has dropped 40% in those 30 years. Compare a 737-300 to a 737-900ER or A330-200 to A330NEO or a 747-200 to a 787-9.

    1. Re:And yet, data shows you're just wrong by 0123456 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      When people talk about 'innovation in aviation', I don't think they mean 'stuffing more people into smaller seats'.

      I'd imagine easy money is the big problem. Why spend time inventing something actually useful, when a VC will lend you millions of dollars to build some new hipster site that you can sell to pension funds for a billion dollars.

    2. Re:And yet, data shows you're just wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Wow, imagine if computer RAM had increased by 40% in 30 years. Let's see:
      Commodore 64, 64KB of RAM. Today computers would have 90KB of RAM.
      Commodore 1541 170KB floppy drive, storage would be 238KB today.
      Commodore 64 processor speed 1MHz, would be 1.4MHz today. One would assume, for the same price as in 1985.

      See where I'm going? Your plane still acts the same, burns the same fuel, flies the same speed and goes the same altitude, and that 40% goes straight into the pockets of the already rich.

      I don't see how your "odd" comparison rebuts my position in any way, rather, it reinforces it.

    3. Re: And yet, data shows you're just wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So do you mean that the storage technology as it is has plateaued, and no electrical engineers are needed to further the field?

    4. Re:And yet, data shows you're just wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah but in consumer computing the software bloat outpaces hardware improvements.

      If planes were like PCs, 99% of the fuel would be burned to heat the pilot's cup holder.

    5. Re: And yet, data shows you're just wrong by p3d0 · · Score: 1

      Innovation is not impressive unless it matches Mooreâs law?

      --
      Patrick Doyle
      I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
    6. Re: And yet, data shows you're just wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm saying a lot of things have plateaued, and a whole lot more has flat-out disappeared. I'm also saying that information processing is fundamentally different from moving mass around.
      The creativity and fun and innovation are gone from electrical engineering, and it's all just known avenues of research. That's what the OP was lamenting, and I don't see how I'm wrong.

    7. Re: And yet, data shows you're just wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually aviation is a great example. The last few decades have been all about inventing things people either don't care about or actively don't want, like smaller seats and more crowded planes. Oh, and so much patented licensed high tech crap that aviation is basically unaffordable except to large corporations, when that was not the case before.

      Computers used to be about personal freedom and making jobs easier. Now they're about spying, advertising, control, and putting as many people out of work as possible. Who ordered that, exactly?

      The hipster startup crowd is just a symptom of this. They're incapable of doing anything anybody really wants so they need to bring you into their reality denial bubble in order to convince you they are the successors to people who actually used to do useful things. Oh, and give us money because we're cool and you're not.

      Actual tech people figured this out long ago, but apparently business types are just as dumb as ever.

  14. Do they have countdown timers? by bistromath007 · · Score: 2

    Every time you make a bullshit start-scam, it has to have a countdown. You can't expect to get any investors if you don't build up at least a week of hype without giving any information other than "we will make an announcement."

  15. Smartgirl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Buying girls just got a whole lot easier."

    I'm not sure that's what they meant when talking about getting women into tech.

  16. Now That They Built Something... by knapper_tech · · Score: 1

    ...and shipped it instead of sitting on it in a vacuum, I'd say they are more prepared than ever to start software companies, vapid or otherwise. I won't be surprised if it turns out later that they build some aggressive startups of their own with weird ideas and unclear value propositions, inherent aspects of taking risk, they get traction, raise for growth, and offer up some reflection on the two sides of the coin.

    --
    "There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell them." ~ Louis Armstrong
  17. Dilbert first? by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    I first saw something like this with the Dilbert Mission Statement Generator about 15 to 20 years ago. I haven't been able to find it recently, though.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:Dilbert first? by Megane · · Score: 1

      And I'm sure there were multiple dot-com start-up name generators around 2000 or so. But they all probably died due to running out of seed money. (ba-dum-pissh!)

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    2. Re:Dilbert first? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The joke, like Dilbert, is old. This is about the brilliant execution.

    3. Re:Dilbert first? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What someone needs to come up with now is a randomised parody generator generator.

  18. Perhaps this is more appealing? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Undressly

    "Undressly is a place for people who enjoy undressing to connect."

    I think this could be bigger than LinkedIn!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Perhaps this is more appealing? by tnk1 · · Score: 1

      "Undressly is like Tinder... but for undressing!"

      I think they really might have a good handle on their particular market segment.

  19. Marketing Degree? There is an app for that..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    nuff said.

    GreekGeek :-)

  20. Meet Suck. The Facebook of sucking. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Act and suck together with your team.

    1. Re:Meet Suck. The Facebook of sucking. by Whiteox · · Score: 1

      http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...
      For those who suck.
      SuckTrust was founded by people who love sucking just like you! Enter your favorite ways to suck and we'll help you fit it all in. Since we're using fair technologies, you can count on us next time you suck.

      --
      Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
  21. Get Funding? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The next logical step is to take a "portfolio" of these fake startup websites and try to get them funded on Kickstarter.

  22. Sigh. by Ken_g6 · · Score: 1

    And they said robots couldn't take programmers' jobs.

    --
    (T>t && O(n)--) == sqrt(666)
    1. Re:Sigh. by Livius · · Score: 4, Funny

      So far they've just taken marketing's jobs.

      Which surprises no-one.

    2. Re:Sigh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      dey terk er jerbs :(

    3. Re:Sigh. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      As far as I can tell, the robot just took the job of the jargon texter. And those bozos being out a job can only lead to a better world.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Sigh. by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Well, if you try the magic number 0xCAFEBABE (3405691582) you get CampaignNow, so you're probably right.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  23. Overcomely.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Overcomely is a different kind of overcoming app.

  24. Best Thing Since Bullshit Bingo... by Irate+Engineer · · Score: 2

    This is the funniest thing since Bullshit Bingo.

    --

    Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!

    Vote for Bernie in 2016!

  25. OMG that's awesome... by ErichTheRed · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's the best thing ever. I can't tell some of those sites apart from some of the Web 3.0 hipster places' actual sites.

    It does bother me a little though, and I feel old, but I do remember when technology was actually exciting and there was always something totally new coming out. Obviously, the Web was awesome, but lately the focus has primarily been on only a few things:
    - Miniaturizing a computer complete with peripherals and a tracking device to fit in every idiot's pocket
    - Cheap, large scale x86 virtualization to bring us -- bum bum buuuummm.... the cloud which is powering a lot of these dumb startups and letting them keep burning through VC money longer
    - Rehashing of Dotcom Bubble 1.0, this time with the cloud and smartphones, to produce an endless round of me-too startups. "Tinder for X" or "Airbnb for Y"
    - Shoving more ads in front of people's faces and tracking their movements/activities -- similar to Dotcom Bubble 1.0's "eyeballs" measure of profitability
    - Automation of key white collar jobs and the rise of the "sharing economy"...so when the next big thing comes along, no one will be able to afford to buy it

    I wonder what actual innovation is going to happen next. Watching high tech peak and decline is pretty depressing. It's not clear to me what will replace computers as the driving force for new breakthroughs -- as in, what will end up in the minds of the public as the next big thing. The 80s was dominated by personal computers, the 90s by the Internet, the 2000s by...phones? Social Media?

    1. Re:OMG that's awesome... by solanum · · Score: 1

      Agreed whole-heartedly, though maybe the advent of liquid metal 3D printing will be a new innovation that will change the world? I didn't think much of the plastic layering jobs (I have no need for prototyping, but appreciate they are very useful for others), but printing in metal without the layers? When that is at the pro-sumer level, I think we'll have another revolution on our hands, comparable with the internet or smart-phones.

      So maybe the good stuff is still happening, just buried in all the cr@p? Or maybe I'm just another old guy who's out of touch!

      --
      Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes.
    2. Re:OMG that's awesome... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Or maybe there's not really all that much NEW stuff that can be done "with a computer" or "in the Cloud"?

      It's just possible that the industry is entering maturity, and the only things left are doing the things it already does slightly more efficiently than the competition, rather than in a radically different way.

      Note that the very early years of aviation included a lot of innovation, both in terms of capability and use-cases. But the airline industry has since pretty much settled down to "move people about long distances as cost-effectively as possible". Not much has really changed in a long time other than incremental improvements in aircraft efficiency....

      Or did everyone really think that computers/cloud-computing/whatever were going to be new and rapidly changing forever?

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    3. Re:OMG that's awesome... by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      I think it's a mix of getting old, "stuff was better when I were a lad", and things moving else where.

      When you were younger, you were almost certainly more excited about things which were not nearly as new as you thought. This is simply because when one is younger, one has less experience, so more things appear new. Where your older self now sees a rehashed idea from 1957 with pretty graphics instead of punch cards, your self 20 years ago would have seen a brilliant new idea. I think this inevitable and it's why us old farts don't instantly jump on the latest bandwagon. We know, for example that Hadoop is not actually a world changing thing: it's yet another distributed computing platform with plus points and minus points and which doesn't solve the killer latency problem all that well. A friend of mine mentioned that the rather fashionable startup he's minioning for, they worked through many of the most fashionable platforms, and ended up on the deeply unfasionable MPI because they had a latency sensitive problem and it turns out none of the cool new tech solve the old, hard problems all that well.

      The second thing is due to good old selection bias and you remember the good ones from the days of yore that amounted to something and have forgotten the mounds of insane bullshit which I'm sure were there. This is not surprising: who *would* remember a mount of insane bullshit from 20 years ago.

      And finally... something completely opposite. Industries do move in cycles. Things settle down and solidify/stagnate, which is what happened from the golden years of home computers (the 80s) moving into the beige box era. Sometimes all it means is that you have to look else where for the genuinely inspiring things that feel like they might change the world.

      Despite teh bad rap it gets, cheap 3D printing is there for me. It's like the early 80s of home computers. There's all sorts of home-garage based operations. The pace of change and level of innovation is immense. Many operators can pretty much assemble one from scratch (you pretty much have to to keep the sodding things running), but it's also moving into a more commercial realm, as cheap, decent commercial ready made ones are slowly squeezing out the little garage companies. None the less there are plenty of genuinely interesting and innovative things happening and it's visibly improving month-by-month.

      I also do some work in the small end of aerospace occasionally (not the big contractors) and I can assure you there's some amazingly exciting stuff coming down the pipeline. Read up on Skylon and the Sabre engine for example.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    4. Re:OMG that's awesome... by smaddox · · Score: 1

      I think the problem is that Moore's law lasted for so long that people began to think it would last forever. Not so. Human population can't continue to grow forever, either. Nor can our energy usage. They all must eventually either plateau, or crash. I'm hoping for the former.

  26. Future Potential by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    Bookmarking this site for social broadcasting mischief come next April 1st.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Future Potential by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a job for.. Bookmrkr! Do you love bookmarking? What to broadcast your bookmarks to your social network? Check out Bookmrkr!!

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  27. I absolutely hate this popular webdesign style. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    These randomly generated sites are in the design style that seems to be popular today, with ridiculous vertical scrolling, and very little content per pixel.

    Anyone involved with coming up with that design, popularizing it, or using it, should meet a sudden and violent end and their families forbidden from the internet.

    1. Re:I absolutely hate this popular webdesign style. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the new fad sucks, that's for sure..

      it's "responsive", "mobile first" and "touch friendly"... there's three buzzwords to bury.

      big.fucking.deal.

      those sites suck to browse on the desktop.. so much real estate, so little content, so much scrolling.

    2. Re:I absolutely hate this popular webdesign style. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Desktop users don't matter anymore. Get with the times!

  28. Perfect! by linearZ · · Score: 1

    The Tinder of websites for startups that are the Tinder of randomly created nonsense.

    --
    Revolution is the opium of the intellectuals.
  29. and just like a real overhyped startup.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they fucked up.. they put all their code online.. in scripts (in fact, scripting is required to view the randomness of the site)

    but besides that... the project is also a showcase of how pathetic the trend of one page near-contentless web sites has gotten.

  30. Looks right to me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    They load from three different Google domains (ajax, fonts and analytics) and one CDN, and if you don't let them load third party content, you only get a blank page. 100% on the mark. Only stupid people make their web site absolutely depend on third party content.

  31. Where's the beta signup? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    These are hilarious. The only thing missing is the declaration that it's in beta and asking you to provide your email.

  32. Now they have a tool to sell! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For all the websites that are simply empty and desolate, they can add some content to make them appear slightly useful.

    Then just add some advertising links, some random search engine tags, and voila, money will come and you can fund your startup venture.

  33. It's not just for startups... by MtHuurne · · Score: 1

    Large electronics company branching out into mental healthcare.

  34. "You like to sigh. Sighr does too." by foreverdisillusioned · · Score: 1

    Good hook, but it kinda goes off of the rails after that.

    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...

  35. SparkleLink vs. SufferLink by foreverdisillusioned · · Score: 1

    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...

    They may be onto something there.

    I think the crosshairs graphic makes this one work:
    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...

    This is so fucking stupid, but I can't stop:
    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...
    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...
    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...

    1. Re:SparkleLink vs. SufferLink by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't stop laughing:
      http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=891465728280

  36. Bug or Easter Egg? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you use the seed 0, everyone on the team is called Jacob Passa.

  37. Amazing, but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fantastic work :)

    Sadly, after 20+ years in comp software dev, and being great at it :D , I still don't have the web/graphic/design skills to produce a website that could compete with these!!!

    Nooooo!

    LOL

  38. A Death start-up by hazeii · · Score: 1

    Here's a particularly fine example - a start-up for Death:-

    The death you've been waiting for.

    Satisfy your niche in the death ecosystem with online branding that’s built by active people for right consumers.

    Quote: "Death was prompt, current, and current. Ten out of ten!" - Alexandra Sanders, San Gabriel, California

    --
    All your ghosts are just false positives.
    1. Re:A Death start-up by Megane · · Score: 1

      Death was current? So they've finally developed the electrocution-over-internet protocol that everyone has been waiting for? This should be a success just from the people having to deal with Comcast customer support!

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    2. Re:A Death start-up by daremonai · · Score: 1

      Well, yeah, one of their partner firms is Youshock: http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?..., "The Thorough Way To Shock."

  39. These definitely look familiar by buckfeta2014 · · Score: 1

    Are they trying to rip off a particular web CMS platform that churns out all these hipster sites, or is it just coincidence that they all look the same?

    --
    Buck Feta. You know what to do.
    1. Re:These definitely look familiar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's neither coincidence or a particular CMS. It's just a (horrible) trend.

  40. Funny and scary at the same time by Golden_Rider · · Score: 1

    Laughing so hard here right now, they really nailed this.

    suckify - "I've been sucking for 15 years and I've never seen anything like Suckify. They're really something else." http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...

    screwable - Commit. Perform. Screw. "As a professional in the screwing industry, I tell all my new clients to start out with an account on Screwable." http://tiffzhang.com/startup/i...

  41. Pimp that startup! by RDW · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure this one is entirely legal, though:

    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

    Girlfriendable. The Evolution of the Girlfriend.

    'Girlfriendable is a peerless girlfriend service that makes it easy to turn your girlfriends into cash.'

  42. Looks like most kickstarter project websites by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

    The randomly generated web pages look so much like real kickstarter project web sites. How long before the usual suspects use this as an "idea generator" for even more TTMAR kickstarter campaigns than we've already been subjected to?

    (TTMAR - Take The Money And Run)

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    1. Re:Looks like most kickstarter project websites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm already on it, have no fear my friend.

  43. Suckify was founded by people who love sucking. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Oh dear...
    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=679093822241

    Suck something targeted.

    Suckify was founded by people who love sucking just like you! Enter your favorite ways to suck and we'll help you fit it all in. Since we're using fair technologies, you can count on us next time you suck.

    1. Re:Suckify was founded by people who love sucking. by PPH · · Score: 2

      So, we have the home page for Slashdot beta ready to go.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  44. Prince! by plopez · · Score: 1

    Let's party like it's 1999!

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
    1. Re:Prince! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, thanks for the reminder. Gotta do it tonight.

  45. the first 2 or 3 are funny by sribe · · Score: 1

    After that it starts to feel kind of disturbing.

  46. Spew by PPH · · Score: 1

    Remember that old random headline generator? This appears to be a webified version of that.

    Back in the last generation, when the Web was just taking off, we had a guy at a company I worked for who wrote a vision/mission statement generator based on spew. Most of the work appered to be populating the input data table with vision-y/mission-y type vocabulary. It was scary how well it worked to generate the same sort of nonsense that program management was in the habit of creating.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  47. I wish this had been around a few years ago by websitebroke · · Score: 1

    I used to do some web development for a company that primarily resold other peoples' software, and offered training on it. I got in some pretty epic arguments with this one sales guy that always said the website didn't "look like a startup website." I could see myself just sending him one of these and asking if that was what he was looking for.

  48. SuckNow - We Suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "SuckNow is the Facebook of sucking."
    Casey Miller
    Fort Wayne, Indiana

    http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=469967590419

  49. awesome by johnwerneken · · Score: 0

    ROTFFLMFAO - Awesome! Hard to tell from the allegedly real ones.

  50. StartUpIfy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Simply brilliant parody! I am afraid I will spend the rest of the day combing through these to find the next big thing in which to invest!

  51. Best one of all: Slack by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

    Slack is the king of these parodies... Oh wait, that's REAL? Seriously?

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  52. PMSL by benjfowler · · Score: 1

    That is AWESOME. They've managed to take the piss out of every annoying Web fad invented in the last 5 years.

    Incidentally, it does demonstrate the herd mentality of web designers in general... and how when one person used Bootstrap or material design in a website, then a billion other web hipsters will do the same. Result, an Internet where a third of the websites look identical.

  53. A random mix of elements by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    I propose an even funnier idea, just take a random div element from each startup's site and mash them together.

  54. Wait till Google indexes it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No new startup can ever be created.

  55. This REAL site is a perfect example... by Oflife · · Score: 0

    http://www.engie.com/en 1. Cute name to imply everything is now ok - CHECK! 2. Hipster video backdrops that having nothing to do with the service they offer (and that's the point, what DO they offer?) - CHECK! 3. Uppy downy pages that don't say anything - CHECK! 4. Hipster auto generated Kickstarter video music that will one day be farmed out to supermarkets and elevators - CHECK! 5. As per 1, hard if impossible to find out what they do or more so, why they are important - CHECK! The direct contrast to Tesla or Apple. Although the latter does engage in uppy downy pages.

  56. Brilliant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    IBM will certainly acquire these guys!