Huh

Cheezburger Network founder Ben Huh certainly has received his fair share of press in recent months. And I've been among those interested in the rise of this truly odd Internet business.

But Brian Raferty's profile of Huh -- titled "King of Cheez: The Internet Meme Maestro Turns Junk Into Gold" -- is among the best I've read of the Seattle entrepreneur. The Wired reporter not only discovers that the company approached nearly $4 million in revenue last year, but Raferty also notes that Huh has been the subject of online attacks and death threats. We also learn that Huh owns about 1,000 domain names and has been in discussions with Hollywood producers about a possible TV show.

Raferty writes that Huh is frequently criticized by members of the 4chan community who think he steals ideas and repurposes them as his own. He writes:

As Cheezburger expanded, Huh refined the company’s modus operandi: Rip off a concept from the Web and seed a site devoted to the idea with material that’s already floating around. Next, if needed, sharpen the content with snark produced by a stable of moderators and writers. Then turn it over to users to riff on the meme. Huh has attempted about 40 sites so far, not all of them successful.

The story also gets into the nitty gritty of how Huh and his team of editors and writers figure out what content to feature on the network of sites, which include Fail Blog, GraphJam, I Can Has Cheezbuerger and more than two dozen others.

“I used to want to create memes more,” Huh tells Wired. “But what’s more satisfying: playing on the playground or building a playground for a bunch of people to enjoy? I’m much more the person who’d rather build it. That brings me satisfaction.”

Well worth the read for anyone interested in one of Seattle's more unusual businesses.