• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, July 1, 2010

Just when you thought the Internet was getting too buttoned-down and super-serious for its own good, an offbeat startup comes along to remind us that irreverence and wit survive in the new media world of suits and VCs. But when Amazon recently acquired the quirky shopping site Woot, it definitely bought into, well, quirky. Unlike Amazon itself and most first-gen e-commerce plays, Woot does not try to impress with the infinite inventory a digital catalog allows. Instead, like Groupon and Thrillist, Woot sells a sensibility to shopping and in this case highlights only one item a day. The site offers one item for a 24-hour period or until it sells out. How un-Amazon.

But the cool part is Woot's irrepressible sense of humor. The company, which started in 2004 and boasts over 2.5 million subscribers, is prone to express itself in video. The company maintains a YouTube channel where it uploads nicely produced but side-splitting takes on its own business, some of the weird products it features, and even some of its own misguided sponsorship efforts.

You can call them a new style of company video spot, but generally these videos serve as a way to enrich Woot's relationship with users and continually reinforce the singular character of the brand.

And to their credit, Woot did not give up a whit of its spirit when Amazon came to the door with a big fat buy out check. "Woot To Be Acquired by Amazon, Then Left to Amuse Ourselves," the blog announcement read. "Holy crap!" the press announcement on the site started. "Woot has signed an agreement with Amazon - yes the Amazon." In a memo to staff, CEO Matt Rutledge said, "This morning, I woke up to find Jeff Bezos the Mighty had seized our magic sword."

But the best part is the incredibly smart and frank video Woot just released to celebrate the buy-out. The "We Got Acquired by Amazon Rap" is the best, most honest acquisition video we have seen. Okay, it is the first acquisition video we have seen, but we sure hope it starts a genre. "We thought there must be an easier way to make it big, without working like dogs and sweating like pigs. And then, boom, we got acquired by Amazon. So no more rolling in late with our pajamas on. We're gonna have to clean up our act a bit because when you roll with the 'Zon you're rollin' legit."

Yeah, it's that good.