1. Personality Quizzes
How else could I possibly know out of all the ’90s toys, I’m a lite brite, or my BFF and I are actually Aladdin and Genie or my relationship deal breaker is someone who doesn’t like cheese? BuzzFeed enables users to experience moments of deep self-discovery and personal clarity that they haven’t experienced since the days of Teen People or J-14.
2. The Try Guys and Girls
A standing ovation goes out to the brave souls of the BuzzFeed staff who boldly stand in front of the Internet trying on the underwear of the opposite sex, eating foods from various foreign countries, peeing in ways they aren’t comfortable with, transforming into drag queens, trying out nude modeling and so much more. Claps for you guys, because I could never do any of that for the Internet.
3. They answer life’s real important questions you’re too afraid to ask anyone else
Many people turn to the Internet to answer life’s important questions – just read some of Google’s autofill responses – but BuzzFeed supplies genuine answers to somewhat taboo or socially unacceptable questions you might be too afraid to type into Google. “What it’s like to be colorblind,” “Questions you Want to Ask a Lesbian About her Girlfriend” and “Boner facts that will blow your mind” provide appreciated answers to some of those questions.
4. Digestible content
BuzzFeed forces you to understand current events. With the average American reading at a 7th or 8th grade reading level, according to National Assessment of Adult Literacy, BuzzFeed keeps most of their content short, sweet and to the point. The site’s current event-based lists like “16 Homoerotic Photos of Vladimir Putin” or “These 7 GIFs Explain The New Super-Secret Report on Afghanistan” break down news into a form most readers can understand and remember.
5. Unifying generations
Whether you’re a new parent, a twenty-something or a high school student, BuzzFeed has a list of woes, advice, #struggles and motivational sayings that you can relate to. BuzzFeed enables each generation to commiserate about how their lives are harder than other generations’ lives, while maintaining a target audience of 15-35 year olds.
6. Do It Yourself (DIY) articles
BuzzFeed’s DIY section is like Pinterest but it doesn’t judge you for not being a fit housewife making crafts in your mansion after your PTA meeting.
7. Babies are drunk adults
I don’t know if BuzzFeed was the first to point out this mind-blowingly hysterical idea to humanity, but it’s genius and they have multiple posts comparing babies to drunk adults. It’s everything.
8. It’s loaded
Real talk for a second: BuzzFeed is worth $200 million, according to Business Insider. How? Because of its use of sponsored, or “branded” content. The site enables advertisers to create lists that get strategic places on buzzfeed.com. Users interact with products and gain an association with them, which has been proven to work more than simple banners or pop-up ads on websites. In a world where “journalism is dying” is a common worry, BuzzFeed has created a new formula to fund “real news” content using fluffy and outrageous content, according to Contently.com.
9. All the cute animals
BuzzFeed’s collection of animal-related listicles varies from the things you wish you could text your pets to the sassy things that cats do to their owners. It has everything you might want including things you might not even know you want, like “9 Disney Animals Who Could Definitely Get It.”
10. Turning non-motivational quotes into motivational posters
Who would have thought this would be so amusing? BuzzFeed, that’s who. You should be thanking them for Jesse Pinkman quotes printed on sunsets.
11. Resurrecting celebrities that faded off your radar
You probably didn’t even realize you were wondering how Ethan Craft from Lizzie McGuire, the cast of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Freddie Benson from iCarly, Janice from Friends or Kimmy Gibler from Full House were doing. But now you can find out. Those are just some of the celebrities who have been brought back to life on BuzzFeed’s celebrity page.
12. Realistic images
“If Disney Princesses Had Realistic Hair,” “13 Photoshop Fails You Won’t Believe Actually Happened” and “If Kim Kardashian Had A Realistic Waistline” provide a critical look at the unrealistic expectations society has for young girls and their bodies. #feminism #girlpower
13. It’s innovative
If you don’t know, BuzzFeed was founded by Jonah Peretti as a platform for figuring out how to create viral content on the Internet, according to a NY Magazine article about the popular website. The site is creating a new platform to mix advertisements and popular content and it’s going viral. BuzzFeed is the future.
14. The Obama interview
If that doesn’t make you a legit news source, then I don’t know what else does. And no, the site didn’t write a “54 Funniest Things Obama Said In His BuzzFeed Interview” listicle. BuzzFeed Editor-In-Chief Ben Smith wrote a hard-hitting news story about ISIS and gave BuzzFeed fans the ability to ask the president their own questions. But yes, BuzzFeed did make Obama the star of another “things everybody does but doesn’t talk about” video. Obama likes BuzzFeed and you should too.
Rachel Kramer is a Managing Editor and can be reached at rachel.kramer@ubspectrum.com
Disagree? Read the anti-BuzzFeed column here.
