In software development, an Easter Egg is a secret message, joke or screen buried in an application.
Software developers include them for fun, and users delight in finding them.
I recently found one by accident. I was on the New Zealand version of Last Minute, a website where you can find last minute flight, hotel, and car deals. I was reserving a hire car for my family, and when I was on the search results page, there was a banner with a link in the top right saying, “The boss is coming, look busy.”
I immediately smiled, because I knew something was coming.
When I clicked on the link, I was taken to a screen with a fake spreadsheet report filled with corporate nonsense like “innovate mission-critical paradigms,” and “revolutionise leading-edge communities.” This discovery had me chuckling away for a few minutes; just like the software developer intended.
I like Easter Eggs. They’re an injection of personality and daring. They’re also a nice reminder that, sometimes, we should build things just for fun. They may not serve a functional purpose right away, but they make people laugh and get them talking. That’s almost always a good thing.