RadioShack Twitter / RatioShack

About

RadioShack Twitter or RatioShack refers to the verified Twitter account of the former defunct electronics retail brand RadioShack rebranding and turning into a cryptocurrency swap, called RadioShack Swap, in mid-2022 after being acquired by a venture capital firm led by Tai Lopez and others. Around mid-May that year, RadioShack's Twitter account gained notoriety and went viral for a series of outlandish and humorous tweets, similar to other meme-centric corporate Twitter accounts like Steak-Umm.

History

RadioShack, originally founded in 1921, was an electronics company that sold radios and other products to consumers. By the beginning of the 21st century, Radioshack was a widespread chain with many brick-and-mortar stores, but broader market forces such as e-commerce and the rise of smartphones led to increasing financial difficulties.^[1] The company declared bankruptcy in 2015 and then again in 2017.

2020 Aquisition

In 2020, the corporation was then purchased by a venture capital firm led by Tai Lopez (famous for the Here In My Garage meme) and others,^[2] who announced their intent to rebrand the company as a crypto exchange called RadioShack Swap.^[7]

The new management invested energy and time into creating a new cryptocurrency called Radio and promoting it heavily online.^[3] Many have called the new cryptocurrency project a scam, although RadioShack disputes these claims.

RadioShack's Twitter account was created in July 2009, early on in the platform's history. Following the firm's purchase in 2020, the Twitter was at first fairly formal, matching the tone of most corporate efforts while posting things such as holiday deals up until the end of 2021.

RatioShack and 2022 Controversies

In May 2022, RadioShack began tweeting more aggressively in a different register, often with posts full of slang and profane language. It briefly changed its display name to RatioShack during this time as the persona of the account became largely aggressive, lashing out at other companies and pop culture figures.

The account targeted internet and crypto journalist Coffeezilla on June 21st, 2022, receiving over 400 likes over the course of a week. The attack against Coffeezilla turned into a recurring gag about using RadioShack batteries in sex toys (seen below).^[4]

On June 29th, 2022, RadioShack went viral for tweeting a controversial message, which was later taken down after receiving at least 37,000 likes in less than a day (seen below).^[5]

In subsequent remarks tweeted later that evening on June 29th, RadioShack expressed that it had zero regrets in a post and received over 269,000 likes in one day (shown below).^[6] As to the identity of the account, it claims itself to be an "intern" while many in its replies suspect Lopez is behind the account himself.

Following

As of July 1st, 2022, the RadioShack Twitter account, @RadioShack, has accumulated more than 337,000 followers on its verified page.

Search Interest

External References