YouTube is essentially part of everyones everyday life. I cannot think of one day when I do not go on the website to watch a video that someone has suggested to me or just to pass the time. It is amazing how, with one click of a button, a video can go viral. It doesn't take but one person to send it to someone else who then sends it someone else and before you know it the video has been viewed by millions of people. In a segment titled Why Videos Go Viral Kevin Allocca talks about different ways videos spread like wildfire through the community. He begins with talking about tastemakers. Basically, this just means the people that send this video on the trend to becoming viral. For instance, he mentions Jimmy Kimmel tweeting the link to a video, which was then viewed 23 million times. This video was nothing more than a guy looking at a rainbow. It is amazing how the simplest of things can turn into a phenomenon. Speaking of phenomenons I am sure that most of you will recognize this image below....
Screaming Goat
How many of you have watched some video that relates to a screaming goat? It seems that those videos are everywhere, most notably compilations and music videos. I was just at a Brad Paisley concert on Friday night and guess who made it an appearance. You guessed it...the screaming goat.
This day in age, it seems that a lot of the artists on the radio are discovered by some means of a viral video or people become popular because they posted something on YouTube. Justin Bieber and Colbie Caillat are good examples. Justin Bieber was discovered after Usher discovered a video he posted on YouTube. After that, he was off. Colbie Caillat posted videos of herself singing on Myspace (does anyone even still have that?) which then led to her getting a record deal. It is amazing how videos take off and make people famous. It doesn't even have to be through music though. People can post one video that just hits people in the right spot and then there it goes. There are people that give makeup tips by uploading weekly makeup lesson videos to YouTube. Those videos have made them famous among a certain group of people.
It is not hard to become famous these days. As Mr. Allocca said, "It only takes one video." That's true it does. If the video hits the right person, then it will take off like a rocket and there is no going back. However, there can be a downside to this. All of the funny videos that go viral are great and fun to watch, but what about the videos or photos that go viral that are disturbing and/or harmful to a person's reputation. For instance, the Taco Bell employee who was recently seen licking an entire stack of tacos while on the job. That is not reassuring for anyone who sees it and that photo was posted everywhere. Reese Witherspoon is another example. Her drunken "rampage" was caught on camera and then released to the public. That video went viral and there was nothing she could do to stop it. In this day in age people need to be wary of the things that they say or do because anything can be releasd to the public. Almost everyone I know has a smartphone, so they have the ability to film anything they want at any time. It is a scary thought, but it is the day we live in. A person can rise to fame or crash and burn in minutes and it can all be because of one video.
In my world of YouTube, I like to focus on the videos that make me smile, laugh and put me in a good mood. For me, that's what most viral videos are right now. I mentioned earlier the screaming goat. They are completely ridiculous, but as hard as you try you really just can't help but laugh. (This video has been viewed over 18 million times.)
I will post one more video just because it makes me smile, which as I said earlier is why YouTube videos so great. This video was only posted 3 months ago and it already has over 6 million views. It is a video made by the company Three out of the UK and they were able to make a video that not only got a group of "tastemakers" to spread it, but there were able to include the viewers in on the fun. With this video they created a website so the viewers can make their own version of the video. By doing this they garnered the attention of people and kept it because not only did they interact with the public, but they made it fun as well. It was a great way to market the company. Obviously it worked because I'm in Alabama talking about a video that was made by a company in the UK for promotional use. These different examples of viral videos and photos are just a few of the videos that have sent individuals to stardom. This day in age it doesn't take much, but content means everything. Without the proper content that is going to get the attention of people you have nothing. So...please enjoy the commercial that will most likely bring a smile to your face. I give you "The Dancing Pony."
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