Puns are the highest form of comedy. Did you know I felt really awful when I lied about chopping down that cherry tree? It was the pits. -- George Washington
LinkedIn CEO On ‘Linked-Lin’: ‘Clearly Linsanity Knows No Bounds’
As you may have gathered by that 100 percent factual and historically accurate quote, we’re going to talk about puns here. I love puns, I really do. I realize that some people find them cheesy, but they’re grate. (Look alive, people.)
And really, that's why Jeremy Lin's emergence is so amazing -- in both senses of the word -- because of the pun capabilities of his last name. Lincredible. Lin-ning. The Other Bo-Lin Guy. And, of course, Linsanity. Twitter has become the breeding ground for these Lin-puns ... and that is both a good and terrible thing. (And a very lazy thing, since the Lin Words Generator exists.)
Spencer Hall has already covered all the remaining Jeremy Lin puns here at SB Nation, and Matt Ufford has highlighted the top-five pun-based endorsements for the Knicks' overnight superstar. But they missed one: The social media/corporate synergy pun. I'm speaking of course of "Linked-Lin."
ESPN ranks "Linked-Lin" the #3 Jeremy Lin nickname: "He's connecting continents, people, classes, races..." via @espn lnkd.in/m8FEq3
— Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner) February 13, 2012
That’s Jeff Weiner of “LinkedIn CEO” fame.
”First time I saw that nickname was via [ESPN’s “Top 5 Lin Nicknames” video],” said Weiner. “Never thought I’d see the day when LinkedIn made its way into an ESPN segment on top nicknames. Clearly Linsanity knows no bounds.”
Tom Penn ranks both “Linderella” and “Linspiration” higher (I’d argue the latter isn’t really a nickname, it’s just a pun, but whatever).
ESPN’s Penn comments on “Linked-Lin,” saying, “Let’s face it -- had he not been given that opportunity, he might have been on LinkedIn, looking for a better job like the rest of us are.” Trouble in Bristol, Tom?
But Weiner says that it’s the other way around -- Lin should be giving the rest of us tips.
“Rather than receiving career advice, Jeremy should be giving it -- starting with the fact that if you know what you ultimately want to accomplish in your career and are optimizing for your skills and passion, virtually anything is possible.”
“Anything is possible!” - Kev-Lin Garnett
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