We all know @reddit as one of the places where most of the internets& #39; top stories are born.

This is the tale of one of those stories, told by its founder, @alexisohanian .

Get ready to meet Mr. Splashy Pants, the WHALE that managed to stop the Japanese government. A THREADhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">
If you don& #39;t know what @reddit is, the best definition would be a "democratic front-page of the best stuff on the web".

How does it work?

1 - Find interesting content
2 - Submit it
3 - People upvote or downvote
4 - Content moves up or down the ladder
But this is not about @reddit, this is actually about humpback whales.

@Greenpeace wanted to stop the Japanese government& #39;s whaling campaign (whales getting killed)

The idea was to put a tracking chip inside one of the whales. And, to personify the movement, they needed a name.
So, they put together a poll, where they had some very thoughtful names like:

- Anahi (the Farsi word for "immortal.")
- Or Kaimana ("divine power of the ocean" in a Polynesian language.)

And then there was "Mister Splashy Pants."
Someone on @reddit decided to ask people to upvote Splashy as a name.

The thread became insta-popular. Even Reddit changed the logo for a day! Plus, some other popular pages at the time got behind the proposal too.

The internet was saying "We love Splashy Pants!"
Early on, MrSplashy Pants had 5% of the votes on the poll.

After the @reddit thread, that number rose to 70%.

@Greenpeace wasn& #39;t happy about it, so they gave to one more week to vote.
Reddit wasn& #39;t happy about that, so Splashy became angry Splashy as they changed their logo again.

The rest of the Internet got behind this. The idea: "Vote your conscience, vote for Mister Splashy Pants."

By the time of the final vote, the percentage was 78%.
Instead of being a sore loser, @Greenpeace decided to embrace the new name.

They created Splashy merch (shirts, pins) and even an e-card for Christmas.

Due to the huge attention, the Japanese gov was forced to call off their whaling expeditions. Yay! https://youtu.be/M8SelWVY_J8 ">https://youtu.be/M8SelWVY_...
Lessons learned in @alexisohanian words:

â–şThe Internet provides a level playing field: Your link is as good as my link
â–şIt costs nothing to get content online. Post.
â–şBe genuine. Be honest, up-front.
â–şFor brands: Message is no longer top to bottom. Be OK with losing control
You can follow @AlexLlullTW.
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