Viral Videos we love or hate

There are a lot of viral videos we can pick up in the internet, and they can either be hilarious or annoying. Some can be found in your inbox, or in some blog post, and most commonly in video streaming sites such as Youtube.com. Those videos come in many different kinds and lengths: it may be a short clip of some goofy antic, or live performances which has given birth many internet idols. Here are some of the examples of videos that somehow reshaped internet in their respective times:

1. The Numa Numa Dance: here, you can see Gary Brolsma dancing and lip-syncing to the tune of Dragostea din tei, a Romanian song that hits back in 2002. With his funny facial expressions and frantic hand movements, the numa numa video has entertained over 700 million people worldwide, and boosted Brolsma to internet fame. Brolsma appeared in several newspapers, radio and TV shows, and was even voted as the number 1 internet icon in VH1’s top 40 Internet Superstars.

2. The “Hitler” Meme: Have you ever seen Adolf Hitler bashing Hannah Montana, or complaining about his friend’s absence in his birthday party? Several of Hitler’s complaints are found in Youtube.com, and as the time passes, he tends to make more complaints. This video is actually a parody of a scene in the German movie Der Untergang, a movie about the final days of World War 2 in Berlin. Irrelevant subtitles are added to the scene, making it seem like Hitler is ranting. As a result, Der Untergang became famous worldwide. However, it is ironic that Youtube pulled out all Hitler parody videos because of copyright.

3. The Annoying Orange: This is a video of an orange in a regular kitchen, annoying the hell out of every other fruit and vegetable he sees. Created by Dane Boedigheimer, the first video entitled “Hey Apple!” that was uploaded in October 2009 has reached over 18 million views in Youtube. There are currently around 10 million views and over 600 thousand subscribers of the Annoying Orange’s Youtube page that began in January 2010.

And of course,

4. Rickroll: Your friend is telling you about a movie you’ve always wanted to see. You’d get all excited, psyched up about the movie! Your friend then gives you a link of the trailer. Then you click the video—

“We’re no strangers to love,

You know the rules, and so do I

A full commitment’s what I’m thinking of

You wouldn’t get this from any other guy”

Oh no… you’ve been Rickrolled. It is a practical joke using Rick Astley’s song “Never Gonna Give You Up” back in the late 80’s. The prankster will give the victim a link, claiming that it is a relevant video. To the victim’s surprise, it is a link to the “Never Gonna Give You Up” music video! As of today, there are nearly 35 million people who were rickrolled.

There are actually a lot of viral videos. Love them or hate them, they have caught the attention of web surfers worldwide.

The Numa Numa: A Guy and A Good Time

Regardless of what it’s used for, the Internet has become a part of our everyday lives. We use it to augment research papers, connect with new friends and old through social networking sites and even play games. However, there is a great potential of abuse in contrast to all these uses. With the right amount of malice, people spread rumors through an international scale and upload videos that can hurt lives and reputations. Because of the internet’s open nature, anyone can access this content. On a smaller note, given the unwarranted self-importance of some individuals, we often see videos and blogs that showcase their startling arrogance and metaphoric exhibitionism.

Then, we have Gary Brolsma.

To the unfamiliar, Mr. Brolsma looks like the stereotypical internet geek; bespectactled, fat and probably a loser. He was also the creator of the “Numa Numa” video, released in 2004. The video’s contents showed him lip-synching to a Romanian Eurodance song, “Dragostea din tei”, complete with animated gestures of his hands, head and shoulders and the song pumping through his headphones. Not the best model of conventional success, but it has been proven that unconventionality wins the hearts of the so-called “net-izens”.

Three months later, the video had been viewed more than 2 million times at Newgrounds.com, the site where Mr. Brolsma originally uploaded it. By November 2006, impression figures had calculated that “Numa Numa” was the most second-watched video of all time at 700 million views, being beaten only by “Star Wars Kid”, the video of a teen waving around a golf club like the Jedi from “Star Wars”.

At first, Gary Brolsma was described by the New York Times as an “unwilling and embarrassed Web celebrity”, cancelling any media appearances. But by then, he had been covered by mainstream media, shows like Tonight with Jay Leno and Good Morning America.

His reluctance did not last. Since his video became popular he had been uploading new versions of the video, adding puns based on the lyrics and pictures. By September 2006, he, along with a band, reappeared with a professionally produced video “New Numa” which was hosted by Youtube. There was even a contest to see who could make a video just as good as Brolsma’s new video, with cash prizes up to $25000 going to the winner.

The video was reaching phenomenal heights. The controversial hit TV show “South Park” even featured a cameo by him and several other Web celebrities in one of their episodes. Granted, they were killed a few moments later but both fans and pundits loved their appearances. The video was also featured in the sixth season of the TV show “NCIS” and was even used for a popular variety show in Japan.

So where is this all going? It is true that the internet can seem to be a playground for those with no self-esteem to trash and badmouth one another. It is also the target of satire and alarmist journalism. But every now and again, there will be the one pure innocent person who will submit a funny video, just for the fun of it and then in an instant we’ll have the next Numa Numa phenomenon.

Viral Marketing and Mass Media

The scene opens with a gathering, a party. We have a close-up on Rob, the person whose honor the celebration is held for. There are various close-ups on his friends and co-workers, who ask where he’s off to or simply to wish him luck on his new job in Japan before we focus on Rob saying that this night “will be the best night ever”. Suddenly, the power cuts out and the scene shifts to a shot of the darkened New York skyline with a massive explosion. Scene shifts again, something big bouncing against buildings and crashes into the pavement right next to the camera; it’s the Statue of Liberty’s head…

All that more is what awaits viewers watching ‘Cloverfield’. Now, before you write off the experience as just another monster movie, one has to remember all that went to spreading word of this movie around, to say nothing of how it was shot.

Viral marketing.

Now, the definition of the above word states that this is advertising using pre-existing social networks. The process used to achieve this is akin to the self-replication of computer viruses. Not just websites are used to spread word or brand awareness around. Video clips are used as well like Youtube. Flash games add a level of interactivity to the advertisement. Then there are text messages and images.

Around 2008, viral marketing has been used to spread word or support of movies around. JJ Abrams’ movie “Cloverfield” used the popular social networking site MySpace, creating accounts for the characters in the movie. They even went out of their way to create websites for the companies alluded to, like the company Rob was going to work for, “Slusho!”. The movie itself was shot in this authentic home video style that looked like any amateur video uploaded to Youtube. It was so effective that in the darkness of the cinema, people got sick.

For the popular Batman film adaption, “The Dark Knight”, the marketing campaign combined real-life and online elements, resembling an alternate reality game. Techniques included mass gatherings of Joker fans, scavenger hunts on an international scale and even intricately-made websites telling fans and visitors how to vote for political offices in Gotham City. They used the queue lines for the Dark Knight roller coaster rides in the Six Flags amusement parks to hide phone numbers and websites. The final touch to the whole campaign was simulating Gotham News Network, the news website of Batman’s hometown. This site had everything, from information about the city’s railway transport system, a travel agency and the web pages of political candidates. Then there was the word of mouth from the Batman fans the world over.

Viral marketing shows how far multimedia has infiltrated the collective imagination of the populace-with-computers as a whole and how they influence everyone else. And this kind of marketing is only limited by the imagination. Who knows what they’ll come up with in a few years time?

New Numa and Numa Three: The Numa Numa Guy’s Return

The numanuma dance has already claimed the legendary status. Gary Brolsma, the creator and the star of that video has been 2008’s number one internet icon, according to American TV station VH1. The video is a clip of him waving his hands and making funny faces to the tune of Romanian hit song Dragostea din Tei. Watched by over 700 million people around the world, Brolsma’s gag turned him famous in a span of two years, and even now, his fame still echoes throughout the internet. Along with web fame, he also made appearances in various media: in television, in newspapers and radio programs. He also appeared in NFL’s Super Bowl XLIV back in 2005.

At the peak of the numa numa fame, Brolsma, along with Dragostea Din Tei’s composer Dan Balan, made another numa numa video. It featured Brolsma’s band mates in “The Nowadays” band dancing to the tune of a Russian song composed by Balan and the Variety Beats, and sung by Chad Russell. This started a phenomenon of its own, attracting over 14 million viewers to watch it in Youtube from the day it was released back in September 2006 to present. Ultimately, the New Numa is Brolsma’s way of telling the fans how he is doing after the first numa numa release.

Along with the release of the New Numa, Brolsma also opened a “New Numa Contest,” a competition on who makes the best video using the New Numa song. Prizes are: $25000 dollars for first prize, $10000 for second prize, $5000 for third prize and $125 as consolation prizes to those who sent videos anyway. With 26 submitted videos, the winner of this contest was keith3d from Arkansas, USA. It was a video that used a lot of stop motions and random things in a computer room singing the New Numa song.

A year after the new numa craze comes the part three of the video, Numa Three, and was also made by Brolsma. There, he’s seen dancing and lip-syncing around his house to the tune of “Crazy Loop,” another one of Balan’s good songs. The Numa Three did not get as much attention as the two preceeding numanuma videos, having only around a million views.

The numa numa craze changed the face of the internet for a couple of years. It entertained us to an extent and taught us that it only takes a good sense of humor to appreciate even the littlest things in life. All in all, the numa numa craze cracked open some smiles and laughs, and made the world, though in a small way, an even better place.

Viral Videos and Instant Fame: How Internet Redefines Stardom

Back in the pre-internet era, becoming an icon or a sensation proves to be very difficult. You will have to wait in long lines for auditions, enter singing contests, form your own band, do something really, really embarrassing in your neighborhood, or, with luck, be discovered by talent scouts here and there. And most take years to take a place in the spotlight.

Nowadays, you can achieve fame by having the right resources. With good use of a personal computer and your internet connection, you can now be popular. Nearly every bit of information placed in the internet spreads virally, even videos. Upload a really interesting video of yourself doing some crazy stunt, and in a few days, the rest of the world is watching you. Congratulations, you are now the star of a viral video.

A viral video is a video that you can find online that’s either funny or annoying, and will get you asking your friends to watch it. In turn, that friend will ask his friend to watch, and his friend to another, thus spreading like a virus, until it eventually becomes a craze.

Enter Gary Brolsma aka the Numa Numa Guy: he achieved instant fame by uploading the Numa Numa Dance, a video of him lip-syncing and dancing in newgrounds.com. It got over 13 million views two years after it was put there. The video also put him in newspaper stories and guest appearances in radio and TV shows. To date, he has been viewed by 700 million people.

Youtube.com is what you may call a nest of viral videos. You can find a lot of interesting clips there: dancing robots with the use of stop motion, documentaries about the emo culture, practical jokes, guitar solos and covers in front of a webcam, and even live clips of certain performances by anonymous people. Young international artists like Charice Pempengco and Justine Bieber got their share of fame in Youtube.

Rick Astley also had a share of rekindled fame with the video of his single “Never gonna give you up,” which was a hit back in the late 80’s. People use his video as a practical joke: a guy gives the victim a link and claims that it’s relevant to what they’re currently talking about. To the victim’s surprise, he’s already redirected to the video. Astley himself also enjoys and acknowledges this prank.

The internet is a source of limitless possibilities. With the right resources, you can be famous in a snap of a finger. Who knows? The next time you video yourself tripping down a staircase may be the next biggest internet thing. Numa Numa wasn’t a one-off…

Some crazy Fingerboarding tricks

If you haven’t heard of fingerboarding before or you’re under the impression that it’s something little kids do, then you obviously haven’t seen some of the videos on Youtube.

Here’s an example of how crazy some of the fingerboarding tricks out there are:

Of course you need some good equipment and a lot of practice to get anywhere near this level, but it’s really cool to see what sort of tricks one can do with a simple fingerboard and a skate ramp or railing. Start by reading a quick and interesting history of fingerboarding and then check out some of the other cool videos on YouTube. I recommend buying a simple fingerboard to start off with and just practicing on a desk or floor, just to get a feel for it. At first you’re going to wonder if you will ever be able to do anything more than just move the fingerboard from point A to point B, but after a little practice you’ll see that there’s a lot more to it and that fingerboarding is an art that is discovered and shared by thousands across the world.

Grab a fingerboard today and get started fingerboarding. It’s great fun!

Numa Numa Song Phenomenon: How did it start?

Who knew that arming yourself with a personal computer with webcam, internet access and a sense of humor could bring you the Internet’s share of your 60 seconds of fame, and even more? That’s how Gary Brolsma, better known as the Numa Numa guy, became an internet sensation. Dancing and lip-syncing to the tune of a phenomenal O-zone song Dragostea din tei, the numa numa video had over 700 million views throughout the internet.

The numa numa dance began as a flash movie made by the numa numa guy out of sheer boredom. The movie was submitted to a gaming site, NewGrounds.com back in December 2004, he says: ‘for the heck of it.’ Two years after, 13 million people had watched the numa numa video already! It grabbed so much attention that it was featured in the newspapers, radio and in some TV shows like NBC’s The Tonight’s Show with Jay Leno, ABC’s Good Morning America, and VH1’s Best Week Ever. The June/July issue of The Believer featured everything behind the numa numa phenomenon, quoting, “singlehandedly justifies the existence of webcams (….) It’s a movie of someone who is having the time of his life, wants to share his joy with everyone, and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks…”

Originally, the video was intended to make his friends laugh by goofing off. Brolsma never dreamt that his “joke” would later be a phenomenon in the world wide web. “I’m just a regular guy that sits in front of his computer bored out of his mind messing around on the internet looking at funny videos and other websites to pass the time,” Brolsma said in an interview.

He also had no particular reason for choosing Dragostea din tei, either. “The song itself was pretty random, I found it in another (I believe it was Japanese) flash animation with cartoon cats, I don’t know honestly.  From what I gathered, they are a Romanian pop band, now recently broken up,” said Brolsma. His viral video has also caused the song to climb the top of the music charts both in their country and worldwide.

Brolsma also added a new video, entitled “New Numa” or “Numa Two” as a ‘sequel’ to the numa numa craze.  According to him, New Numa was just a reaction to fans to give them something new from him, and to let them know he’s still around and doing well, and just overall conveying the message of fun and laughter. It has already been viewed over 14 million times in YouTube.com already.