Frequently Asked Questions

 
Q: How do I use your logo to watermark, brand, overlay, or whatever you call it, an image?

A1: If you just want to process your image online, go here >>. a. upload your image. b. click on the "wizards" tab at the top. c. click on "overlay image." d. upload the logo. e. use the sliders on the left to resize the logo, decrease its opacity, and even add a cheesy drop shadow. f. click "apply." g. click "save" in the top left corner.

A2: If you want something fancier online that lets you tile the logo, try this >>.

A3: If you want an app on your iPhone for use with Instagram, my two eldest daughters recommend Fused or Afterlight. I'm sure there are dozens of others.

A4: If you have Photoshop or some sort of image editing software, just download one of the logos, put it on a layer above your image, stretch it, enlarge it, tile it (a. edit >> define pattern on the logo, then b. edit >> fill on the image), or whatever; then decrease the opacity of the logo layer and save for web.

 
 
 
Q: How do I get Google Images to display my marked image when somebody searches for "Xanadu"?

A: Ay, there's the rub. Google Images doesn't really crawl and index Instagram directly, but it may crawl and index it indirectly. It crawls Twitter, but in a delayed fashion. It crawls and indexes public facebook posts. It crawls Tumblr and Reddit. And of course it crawls and indexes all sorts of other social media sites, blogs, and plain old web sites. So put your image somewhere online, and hashtag it with xanadu and/or caption it with xanadu and/or name the image itself xanadu.jpg and/or make the alt tag of the image xanadu and/or have the word xanadu somewhere else on the page where the image is. And linking back to this site will then cause the images on this site to appear more frequently when someone searches for "Xanadu."

Q: That sounds technical and boring. How else do I get Google Images to display my marked image when someone searches for "Xanadu."

A: That is up to you. Good luck. You could stencil billboards with the logo and #xanadu, then someone could base a religious cult called Xanadu on the logo, then someone could do a news report on the religious cult, then your stencilled images might come up when someone searches for the word Xanadu at Google Images. It's just a suggestion.

 
 
 
Q: Who are you?

A: My name is Curt Cloninger. I'm an artist, writer, and teacher. I just say "we" on the site because it sounds more official. My uncle and I share the same name, but he is a Christian actor and I am not an actor. We are in a constant battle to hijack the name "Curt Cloninger" from each other on Google Images.

Q: What other projects have you done like this?

A: 1. Google's Greatest Hits. 2. The European Graduate School [under erasure] 3. a digital quilt project. 4. TRAFFIC_REPORT.

 
 
 
Q: Don't you realize this is stupid and it will fail?

A: It is stupid, but it might not fail. And even if it fails, it will fail in the spirit of "Xanadu," because the word is associated with epic historical attempts to create paradise on earth which inevitably result in failure.

Q: If you fail because you were trying to fail, then doesn't that mean you actually succeeded, which in turn means that you ultimately failed?

A: Stop, you're confusing me.

 
 
 
Q: Why did you choose these particular social media buttons instead of others?

A: Reddit because they are likely to hijack the hijack. And a reddit button instead of posting it there myself because I didn't want to self-start it in a particular subreddit. I am more curious to see what the community makes (or doesn't make) of the hijack.

Tumblr because of its association with a certain internet art subculture.

Google+ because we are trying to collage Google Images.

Instagram because of roller disco.

Pinterest because it's meant for images.

Twitter and Facebook because Twitter and Facebook.

But feel free to post whatever you like wherever you like. Really the "download" button is the most promising button.

 
 
 
Q: I want to post the animated gif to Instagram, but Instagram doesn't allow animated gifs. It only allows videos under 15 seconds. Help!

A: Here you go >>

 
 
 
Q: I notice on some of the social media links, in addition to having #xanadu, you also have #xanaduhijack. Why?

A: So we can track the incremental progress of the hijack, until it takes over the word Xanadu. It will be easier to search for a more particular tag like xanaduhijack or a more particular phrase like "the xanadu hijack," but to own such a phrase is too easy and not the ultimate goal of the project. If you have to choose only one, go with #xanadu.