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We Don’t Need More “Gangnam Style” Bloggers

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The Gangnam Style  music video has swept the Internet, and while it isn’t unusual for a pop song to be so heavily played and inspire so many parodies (including this awesome video from Hubspot), this is a unique case because the song isn’t in English. In fact, many of the song’s biggest fans probably don’t even know what “Gangnam” means.

Actually, it’s a district in Seoul known as one of the most affluent areas of Korea. Singer Psy has said that the song is about how the girls in Gangnam are ladylike, classy, and perfect during the day, but aren’t afraid to party and get crazy at night. So of course, people have latched onto this notion of “I’m classy but like to have fun too.”

Only that’s not the entire story.

Gangnam Style is also a song that pokes fun at itself and at the Gangnam region. There’s subtle social commentary in this song about classes and wealth.

And perhaps most importantly, Psy himself has mentioned that people who actually do have Gangnam style would never announce it, kind of in the same way someone who truly has class would never walk around saying “I’m so classy!” Announcing that you have Gangnam style is kind of like flashing a wad of cash around. If you have to tell people you have Gangnam style, you probably don’t have Gangnam style.

We definitely don’t need more bloggers with Gangnam style.

We don’t need more people flashing their advice and money and shouting “I’m an expert!” We just need people who are experts, or rather, who are learning all they can about this new media world and passing it on.

If you have to tell people you are an expert, you probably aren’t an expert.

It’s not just the terminology either. We can debate all day long about whether you should call someone an expert or an influencer or a professional or something else, but that’s not my point. My point is that we all need to stand on our own merits of action and experience, rather than just doling out advice. If you’ve never made money blogging, for example, don’t start a blog teaching people how to make money blogging.

What have you done? What do you know? What is your passion? The next time you sit down to write a blog post, try answering these questions first. Leave the Gangnam style to the pop stars.

Join the conversation! Do you think too many bloggers are focused on their “Gangnam style”? Leave a comment!

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Texas Teen Ben Breedlove Uses the Power of Words and Video to Touch Thousands

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There are most likely hundreds of blog posts on tips and tricks to making a video go viral. You ask yourself what your audience wants to see or if you should upgrade to a better camera. Or maybe if you just had that high priced video editing software, your videos would be shared with thousands.

What if you just simply shared something of importance? No fancy equipment. No music. Just you and your message.

Texas teen Ben Breedlove sat silently in front of a camera, with some notecards he had written on and held them up for all to read. Nothing fancy. Just his words he needed and wanted to share.

This was a two-part video the 18 year old shared about the heart condition he’s been living with called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He shared how he’s cheated death 3 times and what he remembers from those moments. He ends the video with “Do you believe in angels or God? I do.”

Breedlove died on Christmas Day (December 25, 2011) and these videos titled “This is My Story” were uploaded just a few short days before he passed. His videos now have more than 2 million views.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Ben Breedlove.

YouTube’s 2011 Year in Review

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I rounded up some of the best viral videos of 2011 here and now YouTube has posted their 2011: Year in Review. It’s no surprise Rebecca Black topped the list. She’s a viral video wonder whether we like it or not.

You might be wondering how YouTube comes up with their Year in Review lists and Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, answered that question in a blog post from today.

“To compile these lists, we looked at global view counts of popular videos uploaded throughout this year, and, in some instances, we aggregated views across multiple versions of the same video. 2011 was a year of amazing new channels and new stars being discovered, awesome creativity, and of course, Rebecca Black. It was also a year of powerful news stories playing out on YouTube, as people witnessed and documented uprisings and natural disasters, touching personal moments and moments of protest.”

Here are the 10 most viewed YouTube videos globally: (excluding videos from major music labels)

  1. Rebecca Black – Friday (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
  2. Ultimate Dog Tease
  3. Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton)
  4. Talking Twin Babies – PART 2 – OFFICIAL VIDEO
  5. Nyan Cat [original]
  6. Look At Me Now – Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes (Cover by @KarminMusic)
  7. The Creep (feat. Nicki Minaj & John Waters)
  8. Maria Aragon – Born This Way (Cover) by Lady Gaga
  9. The Force: Volkswagen Commercial
  10. Cat mom hugs baby kitten

Cats, babies and music always seem to be popular. Which video, out of the 10 listed, is your favorite of 2011? I’m going to have to go with the talking babies.

YouTube’s 2011: Year in Review

10 Best Viral Videos For 2011

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It’s that time of the year again where we take a look back at the Best Viral Videos for 2011. From a cat meme and a cat lady to Justin Bieber and one nasty badger, these are some of the best ones for 2011. If you have a favorite I left off, feel free to leave a link to the video in the comments below.

1. Justin BieberUnder the Mistletoe

Some of you might be cringing because I started off with this one, but let’s face it, the kid can bring in the numbers. With currently 68 million views, Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe music video won over the hearts of his fans worldwide. When the public heard he was coming out with a Christmas album, some predicted it would fail. Oh how they were wrong. So very wrong.

2. Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton) – Saturday Night Live

What’s one of the best ways as a celebrity to make a video with you in it go viral? Make fun of yourself. It works *almost* every time. Michael Bolton was a guest on Saturday Night Live and spoofed several movies – mainly Pirates of the Caribbean. Does this make Michael Bolton relevant again?

3. Nyan Cat

What do you get when you take a cat’s head, put it on a pop tart for a body and make it fly through the air leaving a rainbow trail? Apparently an instant viral video hit. Just the video itself has over 52 million views and when you count in all of the parodies, this is one crazy successful meme.

4. eHarmony Video Bio – The Woman Who Just Loves Cats

Yes, it’s another viral video that involves a cat. I am fairly certain cats will take over the world someday. Or, at least the internet. I posted about this video back in July. It was the most popular video about cats, that didn’t contain any cats. This video reached 2 million views in just one day and now it’s over 18 million. We all found out later this video was indeed a joke and a funny one at that.

5. Rebecca Black‘s My Moment Music Video

I’m sorry to do this to you. I really am. But we can’t talk about viral videos and not mention Rebecca Black. Well, actually, I could – but I’m not going to. Love her or hate her, Rebecca Black became an instant YouTube sensation. In March of this year, her “Friday” video had over 10 million views in just one week. It has since been taken down for copyright issues. Rebecca recorded another video called “My Moment” and it’s received over 30 million views so far. Why? That still seems to be an unsolved mystery.

6. Volkswagen – The Force: Volkswagen Commercial

Watching this Volkswagen commercial never gets old for me. I am sure I’ve raked in at least 50 of those 45 million plus views it has received. This originally aired as a commercial in February during the Super Bowl. I watched all of the Super Bowl commercials and this one was by far my favorite.

7. The Crazy Nastya** Honey Badger

This one just grosses me out. It’s funny, but I have to watch it with one eye open. It’s the narration that gets me and makes me laugh! This badger is on an eating rampage. He eats snakes and a bird and more snakes…What do I learn from this video? Do not EVER mess with a badger.

8. Webcam 101 for Seniors

This is one of the best viral videos of all time. Bruce and Esther Huffman from McMinnville, OR – AKA – “The Happy Huffmans”, were trying really hard to get their webcam to work. What they ended up with was one heck of a funny video. These two are definitely in love and seem like they have a great time together. They have uploaded a blooper reel, as well as more videos on their YouTube channel. I now know who I want to be when I grow up.

9. Golden Voice, Homeless Man Find a Job After YouTube Success

Have you heard the inspirational story of a man named Ted Williams? He’s the homeless man who was discovered for his amazing voice. A local Columbus, Ohio reporter found him on the street corner begging for money. Williams had been living in a tent, as well as served time in prison. Needless to say, he had led one rough life. He now has a job and is turning his life around.

10. Rick Perry – Strong

I hesitated to mention this video because I don’t want this to get political in any way, shape or form. But, I just couldn’t leave this one out. It was uploaded on December 6th and has over 6 million views. I’m not sure if the views are from mostly Perry supporters, or from the fact this video has been parodied and remixed like crazy.

So there you have it. Some of the Best Viral Videos for 2011. Which one was your favorite or least favorite? Like I said at the beginning, if I left any out you felt deserved to be mentioned, link to them in the comments below and I’ll add them as an honorable mention.

I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store when it comes to viral videos. What will 2012 be the year of?

Viral Video of the Week: Dancing With An iPod In Public – Christmas Edition

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What does it take to create a viral video on YouTube? For one young man named Preston Leatherman, it took an iPod, a tacky Christmas sweater and three hours of shooting video at their local mall. If this video doesn’t get you in the Holiday spirit, I don’t know what would.

Here’s last week’s viral video of the week, which currently has 302,910 views and growing. It’s called “Dancing with an iPod in Public – Christmas Edition”.

If you’ve seen Justin Bieber and Mariah Carey’s latest Christmas music video “All I Want for Christmas is You”, then you know this is a parody of it. Or at least I think it is. In the video, Justin is walking around the mall doing some shopping, while singing in a red sweater. In Preston’s video, he’s dancing around the mall with an iPod, in a red sweater.

What’s almost as much fun as watching Preston dance, is watching the mall goers reactions to him. Some gave him high-fives, while other dissed him. He made people laugh, people shake their heads and people stare in bewilderment.

Here’s what Preston had to say about the video:

You know what they say! The best way to spread Christmas glee, is by dancing in public for all to see!

It’s that special time of year again! Santa’s elves are hard at work, Rudolph and the gang are prepping for flight, and I am hard at work making sure every boy, girl, and disgruntled shopper get their Holiday shopping disrupted by a man dancing in a Tacky Christmas Sweater.

Myself and a team of misfits took to the malls of Green Hills and Cool Springs in Nashville, TN in order to film the latest edition of “Dancing With An iPod in Public”. After a quick 3 hour hit-and-run style shoot through these shopping centers on November 27th, 2011, this is the result of our efforts!

Preston Leatherman is a musician and has also been seen Dancing with an iPod in Public to the tune of Footloose. You can read more about him on his website.

Why are people loving this video so much? Probably because we love parodies and watching people do crazy stuff in public.

Jimmy Kimmel’s Halloween Candy Video Goes Viral, 16 Million and Counting

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While at BlogWorld LA last week, a few of us were crammed around a computer laughing hysterically. It was all because of a challenge late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had given parents.

He told parents to tell their kids they ate all of their Halloween candy and film their reaction. What followed was tons of submissions, a lot of crying kids and a video gone viral.

Before I go on, if you haven’t seen it yet, here you go. If you have seen it, you know you want to watch it again.

It’s so mean it’s funny right? The video has done so well and currently has 16 million views and counting. Jimmy Kimmel’s videos usually average around 5 million views a week, so as you can see, this one is a huge hit for him and the ABC network.

Before this Halloween candy fiasco, his single most viewed video was when Justin Bieber surprised a three-year-old fan back in March 2010. Crying kids outrank the Biebs. (For those of you who don’t know, “The Biebs” is a nickname for Justin Bieber. If you already knew that, you’re probably a Belieber.) The Justin Bieber video does have 37 million views, so it will be fun to see if the Halloween candy one can surpass it.

The two kids who stole the show were the ones at the end of the montage – CJ and Jacob. The reaction of “What the heck?” was priceless, as was the little brother trying to add 2 and 2 together. He got 5. So, so close. CJ and Jacob have been invited to Los Angeles to be guests on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” this Thursday, November 10. I can’t wait to tune into that!

So, why did this particular video resonate so well with audiences? It has 16 million views and it just went live November 2nd! I think we all love to be entertained and obviously we all love to see little kids cry. What is wrong with us?!

Long story short, you never really know if a video will go viral or if your idea will take off. As Amber Naslund said in her keynote, “Sometimes you need to take a step on the path before you see where it’s going to lead.” Come up with a creative idea and go for it.

Video: I Just Texted to Say I Love You

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We’re all a little social media and gadget obsessed aren’t we? Come on. Admit it! We’ve turned the words Facebooking and Tweeting into verbs. And yes, they’re both on dictionary.com. I checked. Facebooking (verb) – to communicate with (a person) or search for information about (a person) by using Facebook.

Break Media just uploaded a fantastic music video that I am fairly certain will go viral at some point today. It’s called “I Just Texted to Say I Love You”. It’s sung by American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin and stars actress Sarah Hyland from Modern Family and her boyfriend Matt Prokop from High School Musical 3.

It’s basically pointing out the fact that in today’s society, we’ll do anything to avoid face to face interacting. Have you ever seen a couple out on a date and they’re both on their phones? I’m always hoping they are so enamored with each other that they’re texting sweet nothings from across the table. Or possibly, they’re texting their friends about how lame the date is.

Anyway, enjoy the video. Here’s one of my favorite parts of the song:

Let’s get off line
And grab some food
I’ll yelp the nearest place that has the best reviews
This place sounds good
UrbanSpoon Agrees
And this Groupon gets us an appetizer for free

Top 10 Viral Videos For 2011 (January-June)

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By analyzing the charts at Marketing Charts I’ve come up with the Top Ten Viral Videos for 2011 (or at least the first half)!

From this perspective I can see a pretty clear division among the topics: cute kids vs. heart-pounding stunts. There aren’t really any “non-produced” videos in this grouping. No Charlie Bites or Double Rainbows! But we do have advertisements, informational topics, fun with the Royal Wedding, and all those stunts.

1. Evian – Roller Babies

I mean really, what’s not to love about this video? It has babies. And rollerskates. And cooing. All to the music of Rapper’s Delight, which gets everyone on their feet! It’s actually been around since October, 2010 but still continues to be a hit with viewers.

2. Volkswagen – The Force: Volkswagen Commercial

Volkswagen keeps generating hit after viral hit with their fun and catchy videos. This one features a pint-sized Darth Vader who uses the Force when he discovers the all-new 2012 Passat in the driveway. It originally aired during the February 2011 Super Bowl broadcast and is super cute. (Hmm, do I see a theme with young ‘ens leading the pack?)

3. T-Mobile – The T-Mobile Royal Wedding

With all the fanfare of the Royal Wedding, it’s no surprise that this one went viral. T-Mobile’s Royal Wedding Dance celebrates the marriage of William and Kate with the help of a host of royal look-alikes and music from East 17.

4. DC Shoes – Ken Block’s Gymkhana THREE, Part 2; Ultimate Playground; l’Autodrome, France

Like stunts? Race car driving? Insanity? Then this video is for you. Seriously, just the sound of this video got my heart racing, and it didn’t stop racing until well after the video finished!

5. DC Shoes – Ken Block Gymkhana Two, The Infomercial

Another one by the folks at DC Shoes Film. Actually this came prior to the one above! This one was produced specifically to market Ken Block’s first-ever Rally TeamWorks Collection. It includes stunts, surprises, explosions and … more stunts.

6. Danny MacAskill – Way Back Home

A lot longer than most of the videos (at almost 8 minutes), this video is more of a story as it follows Danny MacAskill on his journey from Edinburgh back to his hometown Dunvegan, in the Isle of Skye. Complete with incredible bike skills of course!

7. Skittles Touch – Cat

Okay. This one gets my vote for “viral because it’s weird”. And a little bit disturbing!!

8. Air New Zealand – Mile High Madness with Richard Simmons

What could be a better recipe for viral than throwing Richard Simmons (and a bunch of Jazzercise-style dancers) in a video that discusses flight safety?

9. Call of Duty – Modern Warfare Reveal Trailer

If normal stunts aren’t for you, why not throw in a bit of violence in the form of a video game? You even have to agree that you’re over the age of 18 to watch.

10. David Cornfield Melanoma Fund – Dear 16-Year-Old Me

And then there’s something with a powerful message. The video from DCMF is graphic, but real, with important details to everyone (but mostly to teens) regarding melanoma. Although it starts of fun and silly, the video quickly delves into the complications associated with skin cancer, and the increased risks of developing it with sun exposure and tanning.

You’ll notice that Friday, by Rebecca Black, is missing from the list. Why? Because it was taken down by Youtube for copyright issues. So, while it may have gone viral (and I talk about it here), it’s not here to stay.

A Lesson In Branding and Buzz: Darth Vader Versus Groupon

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The Super Bowl is more about branding than football these days. Not that I’m complaining – I laughed about the little Darth Vader kid just like the rest of you. I’m more of a Puppy Bowl girl than an NFL fan.

After the game is over, football fans go to sleep off the pizza/wing/beer binge and marketers start talking about the commercials. In fact, people everywhere are still talking about the commercials a few days later. The conversation seems to boil down to two points:

  1. Let’s talk about the funniest commercials, especially the little Darth Vader kid.
  2. Groupon’s commercials were horrendous.

Heck, I’m talking about those two points too. What was memorable? Who hurt their brand most?

But another question I think we need to ask is this: What will the end result be?

The entire point of a commercial is to raise awareness for your brand, hopefully in the positive light, so that you sell more. Funny commercials are usually memorable, so the Super Bowl is filled with them, but those aren’t the only kinds of commercials that can raise awareness for your brand. One campaign that sticks in my mind, for example, is Droid. (I didn’t see any Droid commercials during the Super Bowl, I just mean in general). They had a whole slew of weird alien/robot commercials last year that weren’t funny in the least, but they were certainly memorable. So commercials don’t have to be funny to be good.

Why, then, is there a push to make Super Bowl commercials funny? Because afterward, there are always ten billion people writing about and talking about which ones were funniest. You want your commercial to be part of those conversations so that it lives beyond its air time.

Except I wonder if that really matters. I’m starting to believe marketers need to think about branding and buzz a little differently.

Earlier today, I read an interesting post from Lawton Chiles called The Ugly Truth Behind the Darth Vader Superbowl Commercial (hat tip to @elijahryoung for tweeting the link). In this post, Lawton writes,

See how millions of folks are searching for the Darth Vader kid Superbowl commercial? Pretty nifty right? Seems like a lot of people are searching for that SPECIFIC video.

So, they watch the video, laugh, and then, move on. The fact is, I could not even remember what car company they were advertising. I’m sure 95% of the other folks looking for the commercial were in the same boat as me. I’m sure you were too, right?

What a great point. Does the Darth Vader commercial make you want to go out and buy that specific car? In actuality, no one is searching for that make and model of Volkswagen at all – and what did that commercial do to tell us about the car? It has a push-button start? Lots of cars have that these days. What in that commercial positively changed how I think of the Volkswagen brand? What in that commercial convinced me that I should buy this car over other cars I might be considering? At the end of the day, no one buys a car because the company had a funny commercial.

And as far as awareness goes? I’m more aware of that little kid, but I’m not really talking about Volkswagen. Like Lawton said, most people don’t even remember what car company was showcased in the commercial.

Not that brands shouldn’t have funny commercials. They can sometimes work. Doritos, for example, had some funny commercials that I think worked well to promote their brand. But we saw the same problem last year with Old Spice. While the Old Spice guy was hilarious and got a lot of buzz, sales for their Red Zone products – what he was actually promoting – actually fell.

I also saw an interesting tweet that I thought needed to be part of this conversation.

BobbyRettew: No offense…but those out there fussing bout Groupon Ad last night…they achieve their goal: Awareness. You are talking about #Groupon

Groupon offended me more than once during the Super Bowl, but Bobby is right – people are not only talking about the commercials, like with the Darth Vader kid, but they are actually talking about Groupon. Tons of brand awareness for that company. Even my mom, who is not an Internet person in the least, called me to ask what Groupon is exactly (she knew it had something to do with deals, and my mom can’t resist a coupon) and if she should sign up.

Of course, the flip side to this is that a lot of people are really upset with the Groupon ads, so they didn’t exactly raise brand awareness in a positive light. I think it will be interesting to see stats from the week after the Super Bowl for this company, but I predict that even with all the negativity and people boycotting, they’ll still have a spike in new users. Over time, those commercials might have a more damaging effect on their brand. Only time will tell I guess.

So the main question here, I think, is this: Who did a better job with branding and creating buzz? Volkswagen, a company with a commercial that has gone viral and is one of the highest-rated of the Super Bowl, but that created little brand or product awareness? Or Groupon, a company that pissed off a lot of people, but created tons of brand and product awareness?

Top 10 YouTube Videos of 2010 & Tips For You to Go Viral!

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YouTube released their Top 10 list of most watched videos of 2010 – and there’s definitely some viral madness going on. While you may not have the funds to produce a hugely anticipated film, you can certainly create a video that will reach the masses.

Below is the top 10 list (in reverse order) and I’ve included my tips for how you can use each video’s success to create your own viral video for 2011!

10. Ken Block’s Gymkhana THREE, Part 2; Ultimate Playground; l’Autodrome, France.
Tip from this video: Work hard to be a professional rally racer and then drive an obscene obstacle course. Note: Don’t try this at home!

 

 

9. Jimmy Surprises Bieber Fans.
Tip from this video: Be a hugely successful talk show host – and then surprise young fans who are in love with a hugely successful teen pop singing sensation. Good luck fulfilling this tip!

 

 

8. The Twilight Saga – “Eclipse” trailer.
Tip from this video: Create a film based on a hugely successful Young Adult novel and throw Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner in the mix.

 

 


7. OK Go – This Too Shall Pass – Rube Goldberg Machine version.

Tip from this video: Take some music, some timing, and a huge Rube Goldberg machine. Mix, film, and film some more. This video took 60 takes over 2 days to create (after months of planning the machine). So my takeaways is patience, and lots of it!

 

 

6. Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10.
Tip from this video: Make interesting commentary when shooting a nature video. Without audio, this video would never have received this many views! But it does go to show, that anything … anything … can go viral!

 

 

5. Old Spice: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.
Tip from this video: Have an amazing staff to create an advertising campaign with just enough sex-ay and just enough funn-ay.

 

 


4. Annoying Orange – Whazzup?

Tip from this video: Be annoying. A little creativity helps, but honestly – everyone (at least everyone under the age of eighteen) loves to watch and rewatch and send their friends annoying videos!

 

 

3. Greyson Chance singing “Paparazzi.”
Tip from this video: Sing. Amazingly well. Just sing.

 

 

2. Tik Tok Ke$ha Parody.
Tip from this video: Take a song that begs for a funny parody, and then film said parody.

 

 

1. YouTube bed intruder song.
Tip from this video: I don’t even know what to say here. This video went viral for a variety of reasons – it is catchy, controversial, and Antoine Dodson has been able to use the funds (he received 50% of the proceeds) to move his family to a better area and continue to speak out in support of rape victims. I’m not sure if this idea could even be replicated!

 

 

Okay, so most of these tips aren’t necessarily obtainable! In fact, going viral on YouTube isn’t easy or formulaic. It takes a lot of luck and patience. But you can help your video to go viral by:

  • Producing quality content: Even if your video is meant to be amusing or simplistic, it should still be the best quality possible.
  • Producing something of interest: By appealing to the masses you’re more apt to push your video in front of others.
  • Promoting the video yourself: Push your video out to all of your social media contacts, and ask them to share it too.
  • Tagging and titling your video: People can’t find your video if you don’t tag and title it properly! Use appropriate tags and a catchy title.

What other tips do you have for going viral?

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