Viral Video

Viral videos are videos which are widely (and often quickly) spread among a large audience, usually through the Internet or cell phones.
ABC News has an excellent article about the top viral sensations of 2009. Viral videos have been around for several years.
This video has apparently been watched 900 million times and was rated as the top viral video of all time, according to The Viral Factory, a viral marketing company. Coming in at No. 2 on the list with 700 million views is Nooma Nooma.
Viral videos often involve ordinary people doing silly things. These ordinary folks can become overnight Internet sensations. Viral videos can also be used as an organizational tool, from people who just want to have fun or pull a silly prank like the UNC flashmob group or the Navy Hey Ya video.
Videos with the potential to go viral can be used as a public relations tool to get the message out about a group or organization. For example, a group of students from UGA created recruitment videos for the University, such as Lessons Learned at UGA and UGA: There's No Place Like Home.
Moments of broadcasts from the mainstream media (chiefly television) can also become viral video sensations on the Internet. When students from the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta performed "You Can Vote However You'd Like" on CNN last fall, clips from the performance were spread from inbox to inbox. When Miss Teen South Carolina stumbled with her answer on national television, the mishap was aired over and over again on computer screens across the country. This year, when a frumpy middle-aged Scottish woman first appeared on Britain's Got Talent to sing a Les Miserables tune, the world took notice. I'm talking of course about this year's viral video sensation, Susan Boyle.
Music is often an important component used in quite a few successful viral videos. Musician Will.i.am won the first-ever Emmy for Best New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment for his pro-Obama campaign video, Yes We Can. The video has been seen by at least 25 million people and that number continues to grow.
While Will.i.am was involved in the production of the video including the song he wrote, on other occasions, Internet users will take a song and mix it with other elements to create an entirely new work of their own. One fan took the Dave Matthews Band's "Funny the Way it Is" song and put them to old cartoons. The end result? The Looney the Way it Is video.
When a University of Florida student was subdued by campus police for protesting at a campus speech, his pleas with the officer not to be harmed became a viral sensation. Someone took his cries and mixed it with a 1990s rap video. Don't Tase Me, Bro! meets Hammer is what emerged.
The "don't tase me, bro" incident made headlines in newspapers across America. Even though print remains newspapers' primary distribution mechanism and product, most newspapers are using video on their Web sites now too.
Most media are relient on advertising for the majority of their revenue. Companies make videos that officials hope go viral to promote their product, just like this Dove evolution commercial.
And of course, in order to make viral videos you need video cameras. Our class will use a simple push and shoot Flip MinoHD to record videos. We'll also discuss some video shooting tips from the Knight Digital Media Center.