BREAKING ROLL: OREGON WON'T GIVE UP ON RICK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZi4JxbTwPo

Yes, you have just been the subject of the infamous Rickroll.   This internet meme has gained cult status, and has been featured in classrooms, newsrooms and even a baseball stadium.

The meme features a music video of Rick Astley singing his 80s hit "Never Gonna Give You Up".  The song was a pop hit internationally and reached number 1 in the UK singles chart among others.  Astley's career peaked with 'Never Gonna Give You Up' and he disappeared into obscurity until the famed internet meme was born on mass bulletin site 4chan's video game board in 2007.   Users on 4chan's video game board were anticipating the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, a popular game, and one crafty user posted a link redirecting to 'Never Gonna Give You Up'.

Since then, the meme has grown in popularity and has been used to humorous effect.  The term for the meme's purpose is bait-and-switch.  The idea of the Rickroll is to refer someone to a link intended for serious purposes and redirect the user to the video of Astley.

The Rickroll has since become the bait-and-switch link of choice, and has been used to lighten moods and play pranks the world over.  The significance of this meme is its various spinoffs and use in real life situations.   Rarely do internet memes reach out beyond the realms of web entertainment, but the Rickroll has highlighted how a good internet meme can spread as a marketing tool across different media.

For the record, the baseball team that got Rickrolled was the New York Mets in April 2008.  They played the song during the home opener to loud boos.

http://youtu.be/N8ErbVOfvqw

The Rickroll has decreased in popularity since its heyday in 2008, but when it was in its prime, it was the meme to beat, and even found its way to Congress.  Here is a video of a spinoff featuring John McCain in his unsuccessful campaign for president in 2008.  The Rickroll video was imposed on the screen and didn't actually play, but the spinoff became so popular, it won the Favorite User Generated Video Award at the 35th People's Choice Awards in 2009.

Despite the huge success of Astley's song, rumors are that Astley has made a mere $12 in royalties from YouTube despite acquiring over 40 million hits on the official video.  However, he has found a way to make big money out of the meme, and here's how he did it!