April Fooled? A rundown of the Silicon Prairie’s April 1 pranksters

Never let it be said that the hard-working entrepreneurs and creatives of the Silicon Prairie don’t also know how to have a little fun. That much was evident in the way folks around the region celebrated …

Never let it be said that the hard-working entrepreneurs and creatives of the Silicon Prairie don’t also know how to have a little fun. That much was evident in the way folks around the region celebrated this first day of April.

Perhaps suffering from an acute case of Beiber Fever, the team at Omaha’s SkyVu Pictures tried to hoodwink us into thinking they’d brokered a deal with Justin Bieber to feature the teen pop sensation in a new movie, Battle Beibers. As if!

Down the road in Lincoln, Nebraska Global leaked via Facebook that founder Steve Kiene had shorn his signature locks and trimmed his trademark beard. (And there was even a photo to prove it!) Alas, Nebraska Global went on to reveal that the hair-razing rumor was just that — a rumor. For now, at least, Kiene won’t be going the way of Samson. (A Photoshopped Steve Kiene, at left, from Nebraska Global on Facebook)

Archrival, meanwhile, released a video indicating it had enlisted the services of a sassy new assistant, The Crazy, Nastyass Honey Badger, to handle its after-hours phone answering. But the honey-badger hire, which would have been equally effective warding off attacks by the Bronx Zoo Cobra and driving away costumers averse to diva weasels, was a lark. (Update: the Archrival video was released on April 1, but it was no lark. “It really is Randall from the honey badger vid and really is our voicemail,” Archrival creative director Clint! Runge told us in an email.)  

Video below from of Archrival on Vimeo

Last but certainly not least — OK, maybe least — we here at Silicon Prairie News got in on the April 1 fun. Jeff Slobotski stirred some speculation in the Twittersphere about what he and his wife Molly were “expecting” — only to reveal that the source of those great expectations was a weekend with their sons. Turns out, our Chief Community Builder is also our Chief Trickster.

And, while filling in for Jeff and Dusty Davidson on the Weekly Wrap Up, Danny Schreiber and I tried to convince our loyal viewers that we were, in fact, Dusty and Jeff. Danny nailed his Dusty impression; my Jeff left a lot to be desired. But what we lacked in character-acting savvy, we made up for with enthusiasm (and confetti!), proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that we’re a couple of wild and crazy guys

But April Fools’ Day is creeping toward its conclusion, and the weekend is drawing near. So that’s it from us on this first day of April. Here’s looking forward to a much more believable — but no less fun — remainder of the month.

Editor’s note: No badgers were harmed in the writing of this post.

 

 

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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