7 Very Good Reasons to Like the Oatmeal
In the race to discover the next meme or be the new bacon, every marketing guy and "social media expert" is trying to figure out what the Oatmeal already knows: "if you want to make something that people like, just make something likable."
Image from the Oatmeal's site. This is how you should feel about this article.
1.) He's on Team Scully: Sharp, young and on a first-name basis with the bartender, Matthew Inman is, himself, likable. The 28-year-old, who was previously an entrepreneur and the true spawn of the dot-com boom, has clearly got this media thing down. And he knows his shit: he's been making websites since he was 13 years old. His first site was on AOL and hosted "the world's largest collection of pictures of Gillian Anderson." Oh, how far he's come.
2.) He's a hard worker: Fresh off a 12(ish) stop book tour, Matt's not afraid to admit that he's a little worn out. After all, while his first book, 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth, is still selling like crazy, he's already got a second one in the works. In fact, he's on a deadline:
"Oh yeah. It's due on June 1. Like, a full year before it's coming out," he says.
3.) He's got the chops: In case you're somehow unfamiliar (because you're from the past, probably), both the book and the site feature comics depicting every-day situations, as well as grammar lessons, lists and advice. Much of it draws on his experience as a web developer and designer--which he has plenty of. During the time before the launch of The Oatmeal we know today, Matt developed, built, and sold a dating service that wasn't like the others: it was "populated with quizzes and comics and other stuff." He was then hired on by the company to stay, essentially as their token funny guy. But, he said, he found that what he was doing was going above and beyond the needs of the site, so he quit and launched The Oatmeal. Within seven months, he'd done it: he's made something likable.
4.) He's not out to offend: While Matt's brand of humor does pick on some people (and web practices), he doesn't want to make you squirm.
"If you can make something that's gut-bustingly funny, without using a single swear, that's like...really hard. And good." But, he admits, he usually ends up "adding in a dick or a poop." And people love it.
Despite the success of the site (netting over 4 million hits per month), it's still mostly a one-man operation;Matt's only employees are his mother and sister, both of whom work doing distribution. If you order a poster, he says, it's his mom who takes it to the post office. And while his mom "totally loves" what he does, he says, there are still plenty of people who aren't in on the joke.
5.) He has a hard time describing his job: "At first, I'd be like 'I'm a web developer,' and they'd say 'Oh, that's cute. Can you make me a website? Do you also work at Best Buy?' Then it was like 'I have a comics site' and they'd be like 'Oh, that's cute. Are you in the paper? Oh, just online, huh? Do you also work at Best Buy?' Now, with the book, at least it's like 'I was on the New York Times Best Sellers list.' And then they're like 'Oh...so you're arrogant.' You really can't win sometimes."
6.) He's like you, but awesomer: Sounding arrogant is definitely something he's wary of--even though he's got every reason in the world to be a little boastful. For example, in addition to being a published author, web guru and nominated for Seattle's Sexiest Geek by the Seattle Weekly, he's also an endurance athlete, with at least one half Iron Man and multiple marathons to his name.
"I'm training for an ultra-marathon," he tells me, which is "anything more than a marathon." And even as he's explaining the 50-mile race at dizzying altitudes he's got his eye on, he says it like he's explaining how banana peels and coffee grounds become compost. It's just a thing that happens.
7.) ... But he'd never admit it: "I'm just a guy who's been making websites. But that's why people like it....I'm not trying to get them to like a product, I'm just making stuff that people like."
Being "just a guy" also means that Matt's not immune to mishaps. Like how "broke" his Facebook page:
"Initially, I thought it would be funny to just accept every friend request that I got. But then that was too many, so I started accepting any invites from cute girls or beards. But then that was too many, too--now I've exceeded my friend limit, and my wall is bearded dudes and cute girls...so, now that's kind of done, too. So....I can't really use Facebook."
