When Google Was Funny

Google’s April Fools’ jokes were actually funny, which is to say they were the only ones that worked. When the company still had some kind of personality, they’d drop something sharp every year. You could catch Pokémon on Google Earth one April, find Pac-Man on Google Maps in Berlin the next.

The Berlin Pac-Man thing made sense in a stupid way. You don’t want to go outside—the weather is garbage, the wind is knocking you sideways—so instead you chase a yellow dot around a map. Pointless. Perfect. The kind of thing you do instead of whatever else you were supposed to be doing that day.

What’s stuck with me about it is how low-key it was. Just a link, no announcement, no download, no brand moment. You clicked it and there it was. It felt like hanging out with someone who actually had a sense of humor, who wasn’t performing being cool. That’s what Google managed to be, back then.

These things got weird pretty fast. Somewhere along the way they realized they could announce the prank beforehand and make sure you knew it was coming. The whole point used to be the surprise. Once you start promoting your spontaneity, it’s not spontaneous anymore. Google figured that out and just gave up. Now it’s all about hashtags and official apps and making sure everyone sees you getting the joke.

That Pac-Man link, though. That was just dumb fun. The kind you don’t think about while you’re having it.