Snowstorm Nemo and the Lack of Viral Posts

Source: Tumblr

For the better part of the week, the Northeastern part of the United States has been aware that a blizzard was heading our way.  At the moment, I am sitting in my kitchen while the snow is coming down.  My mom is cooking tons of food, from scrambled eggs and potatoes to meatballs, just in case we lose power and resort to preparing hot food on the woodstove.  Rumor has it that people in the Greater Boston area were getting into fights at gas stations and grocery stores.  Storm’s a-brewin’, and people are battening down the hatches!

The Weather Channel, dubbing the storm “Nemo,” utilized Facebook to get the word out that we should expect plenty of snow Friday night and into Saturday.  So where are all the Finding Nemo jokes?

I have seen a few memes and references, but I must say that there seems to be far fewer than expected.  As soon as I saw the name of the storm, I was certain photos of the little clownfish who stole our hearts in the Pixar film would circulate Facebook and Twitter through photos and memes.  George Takei barely took advantage of this opportunity, posting a meme of Grumpy Cat:

Source: George Takei’s Facebook Page

One thing that made me chuckle a little was a link to a BuzzFeed post that is circulating Facebook: “Surviving Winter Storm Nemo, As Told Through ‘Finding Nemo’ GIFs.”  The post uses clips from Finding Nemo to poke fun at the chaos that often occurs when a storm is heading toward us.  If you haven’t seen it yet, click here.

Though there are Nemo posts, I have yet to see any that have gone viral.  Virality on social media is still something that is unpredictable.  When we expect something to go viral, sometimes it doesn’t.  On the other hand, things that we don’t think much of can often go viral as well.  After all, “Charlie bit my finger” was just a home movie that was intended for a family friend.

What’s your take on viral posts?