Da Da Dee Da Doo Da Doo Doo Dee Da Doo Doo Dee…
How cute!
Hey, that’s great!
Make it stop! Make it stop!
If this doesn’t ring any bells, probably no one in your office has discovered The Hampster Dance (www.hampsterdance.com and www.hamsterdance.com).
The addictive Web site, which is simply a page of cartoon hamsters dancing over and over to the above refrain, debuted in July 1998 and added an e-commerce “HampStore” in April.
Deidre LaCarte, creator of the site – inspired by her pet Hampton Hampster (hence the “p” in the site’s spelling) – says the most popular items so far have been T-shirts, magnets, coffee mugs, note cubes and posters. LaCarte receives a small royalty on the merchandise.
The dance originated on a Geocities site, which has received over 2.2 million hits to date. Hampsterdance.com, maintained by Tilted Media (which makes money through advertising links on the site), has logged over 7 million hits, averaging 15,000 to 20,000 a day.
LaCarte, a student and security guard, says she originally created the page as a “child-safe, nonviolent” spot on the Web anyone could enjoy, and is angered by rip-offs that feature porn banners and violence (such as sites where visitors can blow up the hamsters).
As for as all the other animated dances on the Web – featuring fish, cows, Cartman from “South Park” and yes, even Jesus – LaCarte says “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
Network
