Social:Be like Bill
Be like Bill is a social media meme that began around late 2015, with its popularity greatly increasing in early 2016.[1]
Meme
The Be like Bill meme typically features an image of a simple stick figure, who may be wearing a knitted hat, together with text such as "Bill is on Facebook. Bill is a vegan. Bill doesn't tell everybody about it. Bill is smart. Be like Bill."[1][2][3] The meme has been described as "a way for people to passive-aggressively call out social media behaviours that annoy them."[4] The meme also attracted a large number of detractors who criticized the meme's tone and lack of self-awareness.[5]
Be like Bill has a Facebook page and (As of January 2016) the page had over 1.5 million "likes".[4]
Boston officials used the meme to discourage the use of space savers in parking spots.[6][7] The Queensland Police Service wrote a joke Facebook update stating that they were pursuing Bill for "repeatedly disturbing people’s timelines".[8]
Variants
The meme has spawned foreign versions, including Bilal in Arabic, Rashid in Malaysia, Jose in Spanish[2] and Петя (Petya) in Russian. A culturally-specific Afghani version is called Be like Qodos, written in Dari and Pashto.[9] The Philippines version is called Tularan si Juan, written in Tagalog.[10]
There is a Sri Lankan version සිරිමත්(Sirimat) which was soon changed to සිරිපාල(Siripaala) weeks before the 2015 presidential election. There is a very old Sinhalese poem taught in schools about a fictional boy named Sirimat praising his daily way of life, such as planning the next day before going to sleep and waking up in early morning.[11]
A female variant, Be like Emily, also exists.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Subedar, Anisa (18 January 2016). "Why should you be more like Bill?". BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35344300. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Feldman, Brian (19 January 2016). "'Be Like Bill' Is the Worst Thing on Facebook". http://nymag.com/following/2016/01/like-bill-is-the-worst-thing-on-facebook.html. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ↑ Parsons, Jeff (19 January 2016). "What is #BeLikeBill? Everything you need to know about the meme that is taking over the internet". Daily Mirror. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/what-belikebill-everything-you-need-7207029. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Grossman, Samantha (25 January 2016). "Here's What to Know About the 'Be Like Bill' Meme Your Friends Keep Sharing on Facebook". http://time.com/4192563/be-like-bill-facebook-meme/. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ↑ Dewey, Caitlin (22 January 2016). "The rise of Be Like Bill — a detestable meme instructing an audience of millions". Washington Post. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/the-rise-of-be-like-bill-a-passive-aggressive-meme-instructing-an-audience-of-millions.
- ↑ Annear, Steve (25 January 2016). "'Be Like Bill' and remove your space savers, city says". https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/25/city-makes-like-bill-style-message-remind-residents-remove-space-savers/S58EpBq9wZ8gt2gS5urKCJ/story.html.
- ↑ McGinnes, Meagan (25 January 2016). "Boston made its own 'Be Like Bill' meme about space savers". http://www.boston.com/news/local/2016/01/25/boston-made-its-own-like-bill-meme-about-space-savers/xxTlcu6ySGFbQEaT9dQpJP/story.html.
- ↑ "Aussie police call out 'Bill' for being most annoying internet meme". 25 January 2016. https://www.rt.com/news/330094-australian-queensland-police-bill-meme/. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ↑ Rahim, Fazul (24 January 2016). "#BeLikeQodos: Afghanistan Flips #BeLikeBill Meme on Its Head". http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/belikeqodos-afghanistan-flips-belikebill-meme-its-head-n501946.
- ↑ Rhys, Buccat (January 18, 2016). "Meet the gaming buddies behind 'Tularan si Juan'". http://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/01/18/16/meet-the-gaming-buddies-behind-tularan-si-juan.
- ↑ http://vidula-sinhala.blogspot.com/2011/11/blog-post_30.html
External links