What's in a name? That seems to be the real question on the Indian internet. Binod has turned social media upside-down, but nobody really knows who Binod even is. As brands adopted the startlingly common name, the curiosity regarding who Binod has only increased since.
On Friday, Paytm turned Binod for a day, and on Saturday Kingfisher had turned 'Binodfisher'. This new trend began with one lone YouTube comment. Yet, it's shown us the meme-potential in India.
Binod, the buzzword
For the past few days, all that Indians seem to be talking about on the internet is centred on the elusive 'Binod'. By now, everybody's aware that the strangest things can achieve virality for the most bizarre reasons. There's no formula to social media, is something Binod has yet again proved.
Suddenly, on Friday, when challenged Paytm cashed in on #Binod as a trend and took on a dare to change their name on Twitter. Of course, what ensued was peak curiosity on who and how Binod had such an influence on the internet. Paytm returned to its original name on Sunday.
On the same day, Mumbai Police tweeted, "Dear #binod, we hope your name is not your online password. It's pretty viral, change it now! #OnlineSafety."
'Yes Binod is on Tinder'
Towards the end of the week starting Friday, everyone had begun discussing Binod as the next big thing. Tinder also joined in the trend and put all fears to rest by saying, "Yes Binod is on Tinder."
The flood of memes, however, was unprecedented. In fact, Binod was an overnight star. Some assumed there might be a logical and rational reason for #Binod. However, there really isn't.
It traces back to one lone video on YouTube by SlayyPoint, where two Youtubers discussed how the comments section on the platform had stopped making any sense. They pulled out some of the strangest and inexplicable comments.
Of the selection was one Binod Tharu who left a comment on a video with just his first name, "Binod." No explanation or context. Since, then for all Binods out there, the internet seems to know them without having to do much.
Till now, nobody has been able to put a finger on the minds of netizens. But, with all the news of tragedies, every now and then the internet shows us that all humour hasn't yet been lost.
