A solo developer spent 4 hours building a ridiculous website while his kids slept. He posted it to Reddit at noon, went back to work, and checked an hour later to find 3,500 people actively using his site. By evening, he had 310,454 unique visitors in 24 hours. No marketing budget. No preparation. Just a well-executed joke that solved a real problem.
📍 What It Is
The Humor + Utility Formula: Creating something absurdly specific that genuinely helps people, wrapping useful functionality in entertainment, and executing it so well that your peers can't help but share it.
🎯 Why It Works
Reddit loves useful humor - Comedy that actually solves a problem gets shared aggressively
Low barrier to virality - A simple, focused tool spreads faster than complex products
Peer endorsement - Developers sharing with other developers creates credibility instantly
Memorable branding - Profanity and humor make it impossible to forget
Cross-platform amplification - Reddit virality spills into Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
The formula: Do something ridiculous and absurd, but execute it unnecessarily well. Reddit rewards craft, even (especially) when applied to silly ideas.
⚙️ How It Works
Step-by-step implementation:
Identify a frustrating micro-problem in your niche - Not "how do I build a business" but "which programming language should I learn?" The more specific and relatable, the better. Bill was genuinely frustrated trying to choose a programming language—he wasn't manufacturing a problem for marketing purposes.
Add absurd humor to the solution - Take it seriously enough to make it work, but package it irreverently. The site was titled "What F*cking Programming Language Should I Use?" The profanity wasn't random—it captured genuine developer frustration.
Execute it exceptionally well - This is the critical part. Bill spent 4 hours making sure the decision tree logic was sound, the writing was funny, and the user experience worked. "Unnecessarily over-executed" separates viral content from ignored content.
Choose the right subreddit - Bill posted to r/InternetIsBeautiful (creative web projects) not r/programming (might be seen as spam). Match your content to communities that appreciate creativity and humor, not just utility.
Prepare your infrastructure - Use CloudFlare or similar CDN to handle traffic spikes. Nothing kills viral momentum faster than a crashed site. Bill's site stayed up despite 6,000 concurrent users.
Post during peak hours - Bill posted around noon EST. Aim for 9-11 AM or 1-3 PM EST on weekdays when Reddit activity is high and you can respond to early comments.
Engage with comments immediately - The first 1-2 hours determine if you trend. Bill tried to respond to as many comments as possible before getting overwhelmed. Early engagement signals boost algorithmic visibility.
Pro Tips:
Add a "Back" button or intuitive navigation—Bill's #1 user request
Don't overthink the email capture—Bill's cryptic form still got 220 valid emails despite an "anti-value proposition"
Enable social sharing buttons after you see traction, not before
Have a portfolio or contact page ready—Bill regretted not having one prepared
The Mindset: Don't build something to go viral. Build something that makes your peers laugh while actually solving their problem. The virality is a side effect of genuine utility wrapped in entertainment.
🏆 Real Example
Creator: Bill Broughton (solo developer)
What he did: Built "What F*cking Programming Language Should I Use?" over one weekend in 4-hour morning sessions while his kids slept. It was a tongue-in-cheek decision tree to help developers (including himself) choose their next programming language. He posted it to r/InternetIsBeautiful at noon EST with no expectations.
Results:
310,454 unique visitors in 24 hours
6,000 concurrent users at peak (5:50 PM when it hit front page)
4,069 upvotes and 1,187 comments on original post
Cross-posted to 4+ subreddits organically by the community
1,083 Facebook shares, 300+ tweets, 103 LinkedIn shares
220 email signups from a deliberately vague form
50,000+ additional visitors in the weeks following
Multiple business opportunities including project work and job offers
Technical setup:
KnockoutJS + Twitter Bootstrap
CloudFlare CDN (critical for handling traffic)
Hosted on small OpenShift gear
Total build time: 4 hours
Key takeaway: Bill wasn't trying to get clients or build a business. He made something funny to solve his own frustration. The business opportunities came because he demonstrated skill through entertainment. When you showcase competence wrapped in humor, people remember you.
What happened after: Despite no portfolio prepared and missing most of the initial traffic, Bill got introduced to potential clients, landed project work, received job offers, and eventually became a co-teacher helping others launch similar projects.
💡 Your Turn Pick one topic you want to own in AI search. Run it through ChatGPT and Perplexity this week to see who's currently getting cited.
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