Recently, as you’ve been scrolling through various TikTok communities or Twitter threads, you may have noticed a term: Whosvalora. The term shows up as a hashtag, as a user name, or as a question no one seems to want to answer.
Is it a person? A company? A mistaken viral phenomenon?
In 2023, searching for anything and finding information is supposed to take seconds. The fact that you cannot answer what Whosvalora is means it is a digital ink blot. Perhaps it is a social experiment. Or it could be a euphoric, collective internet phenomenon.
The ambiguity is what makes it interesting. The term means something different to everyone and continues to change as it is used. The phenomenon has no owner, and thus, free to explain or describe what Whosvalora means to them. Ultimately, it is their creation. It is this explanation that has pixcured the one thing that is the goal of every creator: to get people to stop and pay attention.
The Digital Persona
Before discussing Whosvalora, it’s important to consider the concept of the digital persona. A digital persona is an identity designed for an online space. In the case of most “influencers,” it’s an avatar that is a more glamorous version of their actual self.
In the case of Whosvalora, we see the concept of “identity abstraction.” It is more than “a presence pretending to be a perfect person.” Rather, it is a presence pretending to be a person (in this case, a woman).
The Comfort of “Not Being Seen”
In many ways, Whosvalora functions as a digital alter ego. In a culture of oversharing, where we see a favorite influencer’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and know who he, she, or they is dating, this is a welcomed “not being seen,” or anonymity.
There is a lack of photos of Whosvalora, a missing biography, and no explanations of the digital presence’s purpose. It has, for many, the quality of a blank slate. All of this is the answer to the question of why many people were drawn to the account. It is designed as a mystery to be unraveled, as a puzzle to be solved, and it provides evidence that a digital persona can lack a face, and still be a (digital) presence; it can be silent, have no (personal) biography, and still be notable. All that is needed is an aesthetic, a concept, a set of digital spirits, and much more curiosity than is typically found in the digital (social) space.
Whosvalora as a Meme
Many paying attention to the details of Whosvalora may describe it as the art of the typo.
The internet is a hive for study of strange phenomena, often culturally based on how the internet takes mistakes, and runs with them. Consider the gaming community, particularly on Reddit. Gamers believe, for example, that Whosvalora is a typo of the game Valorant by Riot Games, a popular game, or could be a reference to an RPG cast member of a character ‘Valora’.
The Mechanics of the Meme
While Whosvalora may have started in gaming, it has served the internet in a multitude of ways that live up to the traditions of a good meme.
- Repetition: because it is used by those in gaming, many non-gamers get it, and just to be mean, it is used to confuse them, and to be funny, or to be bold, or even for their own exclusive humor.
- New or alternate meanings: because it has moved from gaming, and it has a pretty good life, in a multitude of other contexts, let it flourish.
- Collective authorship: since no one admits Whosvalora as their meme, the internet has become an author of a strange new word.
The point of Whosvalora is no point at all, as in the meme of Covfefe, the cultural catalyst was a term, and for Whosvalora, it is the absence of a clear definition.
Is Whosvalora a Brand?
The more often a word is searched, the more it is likened to a brand. Whosvalora, regardless of whether it was intended to be a brand, is touted to be a clear representation of modern brand identity.
The Name Itself
The wording of the brand is considered to be the closest to branding.
- ‘Who’s’ is a starter word inciting a question.
- ‘Valora’ comes from a myriad of Latin roots, the most appropriate of which are “valor” (courage) and “value” (worth).
In total, the name poses the brand as having a huge, enlightened, and costly potential (Enlightened due to the origin of the firm being modern Latin). A huge portion of a marketing executive’s budget is set aside for the deliberate creation of intrigue that the firm seems to possess.
The circulation of the term is beginning to contribute to the ‘productization’ of the word.
Merch that embodies the neologism is already being produced. The phrase is already being interpreted “out of “glitch-art branded merch, and search optimized blogs are being produced to define the term. We have already begun to witness the evolution of the term from a mere keyword to a tangible commodity.”
Case Studies: The Blizzard of Iconic Internet Phenomena
Whosvalora has the internet creation of several other entities, nearly the same constructs of person, meme, and business. Reviewing precedent internet fads and phenomenons will aid us in assessing the future of Whosvalora.
1. Lil Miquela: The Business Construct of the Internet
As the internet’s example of business, Lil Miquela, does not represent business in a corporeal manner. Also, Miquela is not the first creature of the Brud Corporation, which in 2018, produced the first hyper-real 3D computer-generated characters, which began to populate the internet.
- The Parallel: Like Whosvalora, Miquela thrived on the questioned “Is she real?”
- The Result: Miquela received enormous followers, became a Prada’s model, and produced songs. Most importantly, Miquela conducted a business and generated enormous sums of money, without being in the material world, a brand.
2. Grumpy Cat: The Organic Brand
In 2012, grumpy cat aka Tardar Sauce, became popular on the internet after being utilized on several sites including reddit.
- The Parallel: Like the “Valorant” typo theory for Whosvalora, Grumpy Cat’s fame was not constructed.
- The Outcome: By the time she died, Grumpy Cat had landed a $710,000 copyright lawsuit win, a movie, and multiple book deals. The internet’s fascination turned a single image into a trademarked legal entity and a perfect example of how fast a meme can capture legal protection.
3. Dogecoin: The Community Phenomenon
Dogecoin was created in 2013 and designed as a joke to mock cryptocurrency speculation by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer.
The Parallel: Just as Whosvalora acts as a satire of influencer culture, this was satire.
The Outcome: The community supported the obvious joke, which led to the ‘meme coin’ transforming into a real ‘asset’ with a market capitalization of over $80 billion by 2021. Hence, when a community believes in something’s value, even if it is a joke, it can become valuable.
The Future Of Whosvalora
Looking ahead, one can ask, what is the future of Whosvalora? It would seem that there are three possible avenues for this perplexing enigma.
Path 1: The Corporate Reveal
We could easily assume this has been a type of stealth marketing campaign. Perhaps one day people will find out Whosvalora is a name of a new skincare line or perhaps it will be the name of the next sci-fi Netflix movie. If that is the case, it will be considered one of the most brilliant forms of marketing based on a curiosity-gap.
Path 2: The Fade Out
With no singular figure or tangible product, Whosvalora will simply lose all its internet buzz and attention. It will simply be absorbed by the next obscure and irrelevant name.
Path 3: The Decentralized Lore
This is the most fascinating outcome of all. Whosvalora can easily be carried onto the internet as a permanent case of folklore, a character that is completely open for everyone to create around. It will become a primary icon of the 2020s surrounded by a digital ambience of fragmentation and paradoxical accessibility.
Final Thoughts
Whosvalora shows how we relate to the internet. We are always looking for meaning in the noise. We are drawn to things that contradict the norms.
It really doesn’t matter if Whosvalora ends up being a person, a typo, or an elaborate marketing scheme. The important part is the enigma itself. In a society that thrives on understanding and making profitable the mundane, Whosvalora is a treasure. It gives us the opportunity to ask questions without seeking answers. We can value the inconclusive.
