You did it! You exercised your right to make your voice heard! The result? A new class of icons in this year’s Daily Dot Hall of Fame.
You had a lot to chew on this year. We looked at the whacky world of TikTok and the viral movements that emerged there. We delved into the mysterious side of the internet and explored your favorite urban legends. We took a vibe check and polled you about this year’s biggest moods. We looked back at the most pressing discourse of 2023 in our cultural moments category. And finally, we gave a round of applause to the people who ruled the internet. You might call them vanguards.
We know you’ve been dying to hear who the winners are, so we won’t make you wait any longer. Here is the Daily Dot Hall of Fame Class of 2023, as decided by you all, the web crawlers. May they live forever in our hearts.
Only subscribers of web_crawlr got to vote in the Daily Dot Hall of Fame. If you want to vote in the next hall of fame, subscribe to web_crawlr here.
TikTok Movements:
Teacher Tok
It was our closest race this year, and TeacherTok took the lead with 23.1% of the votes. Many of you couldn’t look away from the difficult truths illuminated by this TikTok niche, where teachers share how the U.S. education system is fundamentally failing its students. Fun stuff!
BookTok came in at a close second with 21.6% of the vote, because no one does internet drama like rabid romance fans.
Urban Legends:
M3GAN
It’s hard not to be charmed by a psychotic dancing and singing doll, even when she turns out to be a serial killer. That’s probably why 26.1% of you voted for M3GAN in our Urban Legends category. She went viral before the movie even came out, and the memes were immaculate. No surprises here.
Those fake alien corpses out of Mexico came in second with 23% of the vote, because who doesn’t love an extra-terrestrial hoax?
Loab, that unnerving AI-generated woman who just won’t go away, came in dead last at 13.19%, likely because no one wanted to look at her face anymore.
Big Mood:
Not Caring That Aliens Are Real
You know what’s a big mood? Voting for the Big Mood category in our Hall of Fame, which more of you did for any other category. Aliens were one of the biggest moods in 2023, but so was apathy, which is why Not Caring That Aliens Are Real won this category with 26.1% of the votes. We’re simply living through too many historical events at once to care about being abducted by little green men.
Corn Kid, who should win an award for inspiring the most wholesome meme of the year, came in at second place with 27% of the votes. Justice for corn.
Cultural Moments:
Tipping
There were dozens of endlessly debated topics on the internet this year, but web crawlers overwhelmingly agreed one cultural moment was the hottest topic of all. Tipping was the runaway winner in this category, coming in with a whopping 45.5% of the votes. Conversations about money always get people hot and bothered, but the tipping discourse has taken on a life of its own. Do we need to start tipping machines? What about automated services? Do robots deserve rights?
Before we get too far down that particular rabbit hole, let’s take a look at second place, which was Nepo Babies. 24% of you were here for the nepo baby discourse, which still rages on today.
Vanguards:
Quinta Brunson
The people have spoken: Quinta Brunson takes home the prize for first place in our vanguards category. 35% of you agreed that Brunson deserved the crown this year, and for good reason. Brunson and her show Abbot Elementary had a landmark year in 2022, and they were nominated for another eight Emmys in 2023. Brunson’s many iconic memes still populate the internet to this day, and her network TV success means she’s beloved amongst viewers young and old.
Chicken shop queen Amelia Dimoldenberg came in at second place with 25% of the votes. Considering she just interviewed the legendary Cher, there’s no doubt her star is still on the rise.
Thanks to all of the web_crawlr subscribers who voted in the second annual Daily Dot Hall of Fame! If you want your daily round up of essential internet culture news in your inbox everyday, sign up for web_crawlr here.
