Type of site Blog Current status Active | Available in English | |
Created by Guru Khalsa and Enrico Mills Slogan(s) "Life is pretty normal today." Website | ||
MyLifeIsAverage (MLIA) is a website where people may submit stories and tales of their day, about average occurrences and average people. MLIA is a spin-off from the website FMyLife. The website's purpose is to demonstrate to its readers that, like them, there are many average people in the world. MLIA seeks to show that a person being average does not necessarily mean that he or she is boring.
Contents
MLIA was co-founded by UCLA students Guru Khalsa and Enrico Mills. Khalsa says that MLIA seeks to "bring to light how much stupid and boring stuff gets posted on the Internet."
Submission
After being submitted, the stories are screened by moderators. If enough users vote that the story is worthy of being posted, then it becomes the first story on the home page, and will later be pushed down the page. The website allows anyone to submit stories for a chance of publication. After being posted, users may click on the story I.D. to leave a comment. The stories almost always begin with the word "Today" and end with the phrase "MLIA".
MLIA has received more than 2,000,000 stories. On average, each story garners several hundred votes. The majority of the users are students in high school or college.
MLIA contains humorous reasons for the existence of its features. When a person attempts to add a story when not signed in, the page reads: "Our mediocre server was being inundated with submissions, so until it recovers, only registered users can submit." As a response to why a user should join, MLIA states: "No one cares. It would let you comment on submissions, but really, does anyone need or want to read your literary flatulence?"
Karin Fuller of The Charleston Gazette found a number of MLIA stories to be her favorites. In The Charleston Gazette, Fuller shared the MLIA post: "Today, I saw a commercial about a dandruff shampoo that said '85 percent of women agree that dandruff is a turn-off.' Does that mean 15 percent think it's a turn-on? MLIA." She also shared: "Today, I met a girl named Unique. She has an identical twin sister. No one else thought it was funny. MLIA." A third story she chose was: "Today, I was helping my 10-year-old brother with his homework. One math problem ended with 'Is Susie correct? Explain.' I told him you never argue with women. He wrote that. He got full credit. MLIA."
MyLifeIsTwilight
MyLifeIsAverage inspired the website MyLifeIsTwilight (MLIT), which was founded by Christopher McElvogue. MyLifeIsTwilight allows users to share stories about how Twilight has impacted their lives. The website publishes submissions that applaud and criticize the Twilight books.
Journalist Emily Handy wrote in The Oracle that "the site offers an entertaining look into the world of Twilight fans that will both entertain and disturb". She shared a MLIT post: "Today I asked my boyfriend if he would hold ice to his lips for a minute before he kissed me, so I could pretend I was kissing Edward. He did. MLIT."