Planking - by Thao Elizabeth Nguyen

Assignment # 2 – “PLANKING”

By: Thao Thi Phuong Elizabeth Nguyen

“Planking” is a game/activity where you lie on your stomach with your face down on strange, crowded, famous or unusual places. After finding a perfect place to do the “planking”, pictures are taken, and spread around through social networks. This action was meant to be mimicking of a wooden plank. The popularity of this game expanded at the beginning of 2011. I supposed this game has expanded a lot through the social networks the last couple of years, just because the concept seems ridiculous and funny at the same time. It both brings humor to the person doing the “planking”, at the people watching these pictures. With today’s technology, camera is not rare, and “planking” would be a free activity, ANYWHERE.  Location selection and the planking environment is everything.

It is also not sure who invented or started this activity, comedian Tom Green claim he invented this concept already in 1994. Gary Clarkson & Christian Langdon claimed they invented it (by the name: Lying down Game) in 2000. Then the Australian they invented it in 2011, through the name: Planking. But there must be some agreement to the writer on planking-pics.com – “Playing dead has been done by animals for 1000s of years as survival instinct, so they win”.
These pictures could be shared and downloaded through sites like: Ratemyplankings.com, or bestplanking.com, but the best and most effective social network that has been used is: Facebook.

            
David “Wolfman” William who’s a famous Australian rugby player, scored in March, 2011 by planking over the goal line. This score created a huge media coverage, which also made this concept reach out and influence a lot more individuals.
            
The popularity of this game seems to be shrinking, considered from this year, 2012, but there are other variations of this game. Examples: Mimicking an owl, or forming like a teapot.  But after all, the popularity of this game went far and big, that it even reached to Hollywood stars.

Google Insight - 2011