People of Walmart
Encyclopedia
People of Walmart is a comedy website
that features user-submitted photos
of overweight, poorly dressed, or awkward looking people shopping at Wal-Mart
, the world's largest retailer. The site has been promoted largely on sites like Digg
and Funny or Die
, and linked on Facebook
and Twitter
. People of Walmart was founded by brothers Andrew and Adam Kipple, and their friend Luke Wherry, who grew up together in Harrison City, PA and attended Penn-Trafford High School. People can submit photos of the strangest people they encounter in Walmart.
Andrew, his brother Adam and their friend Luke started People of Walmart after a shopping trip to a South Carolina branch in August, 2009. They turned a corner, saw a stripper with a shirt that read “go f*** yourself” with a 2 year old kid in one of those harnesses that look like a dog leash. The men shop there regularly, sometimes while wearing ugly clothes, themselves. Inspired by the experience, they went home and created the website. They thought only their social circle would contribute to the site, but it went viral the same month it started, with its traffic increasing by 700% on August 27th, 2009 alone. There are some types of photos that they refuse to post: photos of disabled people or Walmart employees who are just doing their job.
The success of People of Walmart has enabled Mr. Wherry and Adam Kipple to quit their day jobs. Andrew Kipple continues to contribute while going to classes. The site's creators haven't had contact with or reaction from the retail giant.
Melanie Wheeler’s was extremely upset when she found her mother’s image among America’s teeming masses yearning for deep discounts, accompanied with the caption, "A member of the Canadian division of the Trench Coat Mafia." They went to the press to express their disgust in the website and how violated they felt, but luckily, the People of Walmart FAQ does state that if you find yourself and want the picture taken down, "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."
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that features user-submitted photos
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
of overweight, poorly dressed, or awkward looking people shopping at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, the world's largest retailer. The site has been promoted largely on sites like Digg
Digg
Digg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
and Funny or Die
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions with original and user-generated content. Funny or Die contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors and also has its own Funny or Die Team, which creates...
, and linked on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. People of Walmart was founded by brothers Andrew and Adam Kipple, and their friend Luke Wherry, who grew up together in Harrison City, PA and attended Penn-Trafford High School. People can submit photos of the strangest people they encounter in Walmart.
Founders and Startup
The website’s founders are three guys in their early 20s who aren’t really interested in stereotypical rednecks or run-of-the-mill mullet sightings. “Mullets are too common,” says Andrew, who resides in Indiana. “We want to document the kind of stuff that when you see it, you immediately have to call someone and be like, ‘dude, I’m at WalMart and I just saw a goat’”.Andrew, his brother Adam and their friend Luke started People of Walmart after a shopping trip to a South Carolina branch in August, 2009. They turned a corner, saw a stripper with a shirt that read “go f*** yourself” with a 2 year old kid in one of those harnesses that look like a dog leash. The men shop there regularly, sometimes while wearing ugly clothes, themselves. Inspired by the experience, they went home and created the website. They thought only their social circle would contribute to the site, but it went viral the same month it started, with its traffic increasing by 700% on August 27th, 2009 alone. There are some types of photos that they refuse to post: photos of disabled people or Walmart employees who are just doing their job.
The success of People of Walmart has enabled Mr. Wherry and Adam Kipple to quit their day jobs. Andrew Kipple continues to contribute while going to classes. The site's creators haven't had contact with or reaction from the retail giant.
User Experience and Site Features
The People of Walmart site is broken up 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 like 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.Backlash
Wal-Mart 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".Melanie Wheeler’s was extremely upset when she found her mother’s image among America’s teeming masses yearning for deep discounts, accompanied with the caption, "A member of the Canadian division of the Trench Coat Mafia." They went to the press to express their disgust in the website and how violated they felt, but luckily, the People of Walmart FAQ does state that if you find yourself and want the picture taken down, "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."