Last month, Apple rejected the Someecards iPhone app because it contained satirical comedy about public figures. After attempting to make their case and getting stonewalled, Someecards eventually gave into Apple and removed the offending cards which made fun of Hitler and Roman Polanski, among others. Apple swiftly approved the app and all was well.
Well, not exactly.
Apparently, Apple contacted Someecards a couple days ago because of some new content in the app — Someecards pushes new cards into the app just as it does on its site. There was one in particular that Apple did not find amusing, and wanted clarification on: A card making fun of President Obama Halloween costumes. It’s fairly easy to see why Apple wanted some clarification, the card involves race. Here’s what it says: “Just double-checking that your Obama costume will involve a mask and not shoe polish.”
Perhaps you’ve been following the drama surrounding the Someecards iPhone app the past several weeks. If not, basically, Apple rejected the app on the grounds that it was making fun of public figures, like Roman Polanski and Hitler. Satire, it seems, it not okay in the App Store. And that’s fine except that potentially more offensive material like Asian T&A and upskirt apps, are apparently fine.
So Someecards decided to give in to Apple and remove any offending content. As such, their app was quickly approved (do what master says and get a cookie). But they’re not giving up the good fight. The guys behind Someecards realize the hypocrisy in Apple’s ways just as much as anyone. But they’ve decided to get their app out there the only way they can and move their fight over to Twitter.
Every so often I think to myself, “what ever happened to Evite?” Then I get an email invitation and realize that it’s still alive. While some of the early adopters and tech elitists may have switched to services like MyPunchbowl, Socializr, Pingg, Cocodot, and even MySpace and Facebook, Evite lives on in the minds of many of those outside of the tech sphere. And that’s why Someecards now wants to kill it with a new Invites section of their site.
Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh. “The thing is, there’s really nothing wrong with Evite. It’s just not fun, which is really our big point of differentiation. Our site will be fun. And if you’re planing a party, shouldn’t it start off from the point of sending out the invites being fun rather than lame?,” Someecards co-founder Duncan Mitchell explains.
Someecards is so damn funny. Too funny, apparently for Apple.
In a move that is only surprising because Apple has been getting better about ridiculous app rejections, Apple has rejected Someecards iPhone app on the grounds that it “contains objectionable content and content that ridicules public figures.” Anyone who has ever visited Someecards will know that this is standard practice, and one of the things that makes the site so funny.
So who are those public figures? Well one is Hilter. Another is Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld). And a third is Roman Polanski (by way of Jack Nicholson).
As we wrote about a couple weeks ago, Someecards, makers of hilarious online greeting cards, are delving into doing video cards. The first batch are now online. And yes, they’re quite good.
The cards feature the same solid color backgrounds that are distinct on Someecards, but rather than black and white drawings, they have actors acting out short video skits. The first ones feature comedians Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, who are promoting their new Comedy Central show, Michael & Michael.
Most online advertising is lame. Yes, the idea of a click-through ad is great, but let’s be honest, a lot of time that involves tricking people into clicking on your ad. Whatever happened to building brand awareness through compelling advertising? I think someecards is pretty damn good at that — and they’re going to get better.
You probably know someecards as the startup that makes those hilarious online greeting cards with the oddly black and white, and usually outdated pictures. If you don’t know what I mean, just look around at any of the examples I’ve included in this post, I’m sure you’ve seen them before. But what you might not know is that the company is also doing branded advertising on some of its cards. For example, they offer cards branded by the hit Showtime show Weeds, the show Bridezillas, the shoemaker Puma and Jose Cuervo.
Warning: some people may find some of the content in this post offensive.
If you are a fan of The Onion and can never seem to find just the right ecard to send to friends and family, you’re going to love Someecards. The company is announcing a seed round financing today – more details below.
The company was founded by former Onion writer Brook Lundy and Duncan Mitchell, and quietly launched in April 2007. It’s fairly straightforward – they create simple ecards like the one above with Onion-style humor, and let people email them to each other. Without any launch notice, press or marketing, the site has grown virally to 1.5 million unique monthly visitors, who are pretty passionate about the site. A few recent emails that the team have received:
To date, the team, which includes six part time writers, has created 1,900 cards. The most popular are here, but, really, you could spend a happy afternoon reading all of them. I’ve put three of them in this post.
The site was a part time project for the two founders, but the unexpected popularity of the service led to them to seek outside funding so they could quit their day jobs. Today they’re announcing a $350,000 seed round, led by Betaworks and notable angel investor Chris Sacca.
Apologies for this last one, but it definitely shows the edgy content on the site. Compare this to the American Greetings site dedicated to off-humor stuff, Kiwee (example), and you’ll understand why Someecards has a growing cult following.
