http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU
One thing that I have always found curious is how and why exactly internet videos go viral.
People have had a fascination with short video clips since the technology of video cameras became easily available to everyday people, as shown by TV programs such as America's Funniest Home Videos and more recently Tosh.0. People, including myself, derive endless amusement from clips of funny animals, stop motion animation, or people humiliating themselves (among other things).
Obviously, the first step in a video's journey to becoming viral is it's creation. Someone must either think up an idea, like in the link that I posted, or just happen to be filming something. Again, obviously, the next step is for the person to post it online... but what happens after that? Is it as simple as sharing it with friends, who share it with their friends, and so on? And if so, how long does it actually take for that to happen?
I also wonder where the term 'viral' came from, in terms of internet videos. When I think of the word, I usually give it negative connotations like sickness and disease... but in the world of an internet video-poster having a video go viral is possibly the best thing that can happen.
I LOVED that video! It amazes me that people come up with things like this. Where do they get it from? I believe these kind of videos become viral from passing it along between friends. I know that all of the videos I have seen I have heard of from friends who heard from their friends. The most popular viral videos would have to be the "Fred" videos. I think everyone in America has seen one or more of these from hearing about it from others. I am easily amused so I also enjoy these kind of videos but I don't know of any unless friends tell me about them.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that "going viral" is often a goal for people who make videos for YouTube or other video sharing websites. "Going viral" is a phrase that illustrates just how fast the world is going now. Something will become popular one day and die off within weeks, with everyone forgetting all about it. Viral videos spread through the network of the world like a virus through the body and go away just as quickly. Viral videos have only been around for a few years after being launched by the explosion of YouTube's popularity in 2006, and already they have fallen into the background of our lives.
ReplyDeleteIt was a big deal back then when a video got to one thousand hits, and a HUGE deal when one got to one million. We would stop everything to show others a video we found. Now we'll see a video, post it on Facebook, and be done with it until someone comments. Now a ton of videos get millions of hits, sometimes with no one you know having seen them, and record companies can post a pop star's new music video and get a good SIXTEEN MILLION hits within just a few weeks.
It's definitely an interesting phenomenon.