April's Fools vs Google

Any resemblance between this picture
and real characters is purely coincidental 

I have been playing pranks on friends, colleagues and family for as long as I remember. And by prank, I could be referring to something from a very short "one-liner", all the way to a more complex elaborate set-up. The only rules I set for myself for running pranks were the following:

1. Always keep it light
2. Make sure that even the victim can find some humor in it eventually.
3. Make sure nobody is hurt physically but also psychologically in the process.
4. Never prank anyone on April 1st. 

While we may go into debate on how humor is subjective and how the victim might still be hurt and pretend to find it funny, I won't open that can of worms at this time. Instead i want to talk about the pranks that take place on April 1st and why I do not jump on the bandwagon with everybody on that day.

Humor is indeed subjective, some studies have associated it with intellect, others with cultural background and some with personalities. I think they are all right and that it's a mix of each.
So inviting everybody to pull off their own stunt is basically like having a prank-orgy day which, in my book, amounts to just one big accident waiting to happen.
Yes, yes, I know, I should lighten up but the amount of lame, half-baked jokes I have witnessed on this day has exceeded any tolerance level I could have.

And then came Google. With their carefully crafted, witty and well balanced jokes and hoaxes, they managed to restore my faith that April Fools' can be a fun thing especially for those of us with a lively presence online.
The list was endless and more and more creative as years went by. You can check it here on Wikipedia.

But then also came 2014. In the Era of the Hyper-Connected Society and Online Trends, almost anybody who was anybody, from Tech firms to SMEs decided they were...Google, and took a shot at being funny.
Well, here's news for you...you are not...pretty much like this post or my entire blog. It's not funny and humor is purely accidental here.
And here I am back to hating April 1st because of its fools...not the ones who fall victim to pranks but those who think they have succeeded in pulling a fast one.
This time over, we can't even hide online...Geez! thanks y'all...