Amazing basketball shots - the Numa Numa of sports dudes

I stumbled across a crazy video on youtube.com with a bunch of guys doing insane backyard basketball shots. I really can’t tell you if this video is fake or not. I’d definitely like to believe that it’s fake, but a part of me wants to give them credit and say that they did enough takes to be able to actually pull off these crazy shots. Regardless, I think the shots are super cool and these guys are just too cool to ignore. The video is down by a crowd called ‘Dude Perfect’ and the music is way cool too.

Once again the web brings us a video that you can’t help but pass along to your buddies and colleagues. It’s that good old Numa Numa style viral video effect. The trick is what they have done beyond this video and whether they’ve actually monetized this or made a name for themselves through it. It’s cool enough for me to want to help promote them either way.

The famous YouTube.com Guitar video

This is one of those videos that have hit the big time on youtube, but there are many people that don’t buy it. They think it’s fake. I’m posting the video so you can judge for yourself and voice your own opinion.

The most important factor from the video’s standpoint though is that the thing has generated a ridiculous number of hits. Over 58 million to date. A large percentage of these hits are from sites and blogs around the globe showcasing and discussing the video itself. They say that all publicity is good publicity and I have to agree in most cases, especially this one.

YouTube is an incredible platform for showcasing one’s work and skills to the world and the Google/YouTube partnership makes it the most powerful medium for doing so. Where else can you post a piece of work for free (unbelievable) and have it viewed by this many people!!

Watch this video and admire the simplicity that results in marketing genius for their site:

Fake viral video marketing Ronaldinho touch of gold

Every once in a while a video crops up that makes us sit back and wonder whether it’s real or fake. A classic example of this is the Ronaldinho soccer/football crossbar challenge. The video appears to be a cheap homemade video shot by someone who happened to be filming the star doing his magic during training. I won’t get into the exact detailsof the video but when you watch it you’ll understand what the dilemma is. The genius of it was that the creators who turned out later to be Nike did not want people to know whether it was real or fake. They wanted people to wonder and as a result to send it to their friends to ask for their opinion. Those friends would in turn send it on to their friends and so on and so on. This is the genius of fake viral video marketing.

Keep in mind that the Nike branding only came later on. The original video that circulated the web did not have the Nike branding and looked exactly like any other amateur video.

Here’s the YouTube video entitled Ronaldinho Touch of Gold:

The Evolution Of Dance classic YouTube video

One of the most brilliant YouTube videos you will ever see is the Evolution of Dance (video below). This video is arguably the most popular of all time on YouTube with over 114 million views to date. It was added to YouTube on April 06, 2006 and I honestly can’t see this video ever being dated. It’s an absolutely brilliant display of comedy and talent by a professional comedian called Judson Laipply. His new site is worth checking out.

This is another example of how a catchy video is the way to go. There’s nothing fake or overly commercial about this video. It’s just downright funny and entertaining and you can’t help but want to share it with your friends and family. The key to any great viral video in true Numa Numa style.

A lesson in life and in viral marketing

Sometimes in life we celebrate a little too early on. The finish line is in site and it seems like success is a given. We take our eye off the prize for a second and everything falls apart.

This video is an example of a good viral video because it’s both funny and sad at the same time. We laugh at the failure because it reminds us that others also make mistakes and fail just like we do. On the other hand we also feel sickened by the failure because we like to root for the underdog and the moment things go wrong this guy becomes the underdog. If we were in that situation we’d want to imagine that we could jump back on our bikes and still make it.

The lesson we need to take from this is that even when our site or product or video seem like they are a huge success, we cannot take our eye off the prize. We can’t sit back and pat ourselves on the back. We need to make sure we accomplish our goals first and foremost and then there will be time for celebration. Keep your eye on the prize until you actually have crossed the finish line. Otherwise you may just find yourself on youtube for the wrong reasons. The numa numa phenomenon continues, but in this case it’s at the expense of someone else’s failure.

The value of good video content

I have seen too many people try to jump on to the viral video bandwagon and hit an “overnight success” with some extremely stupid or over-the-top video that was produced for the sole purpose of getting hits. It’s easy to fall into this trap. Take one look at some of the latest videos on Youtube.com and you’ll immediately realize the power behind some of these viral videos and the unbelievable number of views they generate. The important thing, however, is to keep in mind that ultimately it is true content; legitimate content that wins at the end of the day. Sure it will take you longer to garner the number of hits you’re dreaming of, but the people that find your video will be watching it and interested in it (and potentially any site associated with it) because they are genuinely interested in that niche. That’s the key folks. Rather have a fraction of the views but a higher level of interest and a far more targeted audience.

Now if you’re simply out for bragging rights and want to have a video that gets an insane number of views with no real rhyme or reason then you should get one of your friends to film you being knocked out or make a total goof out of yourself, but if you’re being smart and really want to have your audience interested in a specific site or product then you should ideally be producing genuine, targeted, Google-compliant material.

Keep on participating and enjoying the Numa Numa trend…

You can have a meme

You can tell the internet meme (or viral video) craze has reached a high point when even President Barack Obama isn’t safe from Rickrolling. From Rickrolling–a popular bait and switch tactic design to trick internet goers into clicking a link of the 1987 Rick Astley video, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” no matter what the subject matter–to the ever popular Cat Macros seen on icanhascheezburger.com, internet memes are slowly weaving their way into our everyday lives, and even the media is taking notice. The story of Christian the Lion, a video depicting the amazing event of a wild lion once nurtured in his youth by two men, recognizing and embracing them upon their reunion nearly a year later, made headlines on the The Today Show. Even Yahoo has its own video section that features the occasional viral video. You can have a meme, too.

The next big viral video

It happened so fast, even before the launch of YouTube. Then it spawned a phenomenon.

Gary Brolsma, the kid who rose to fame in late 2004 for his lip-sync video of the then-unknown foreign song Numa Numa, probably didn’t realize that his video post would lead to more, and at times, bizarre viral video trends.

He wasn’t the first, of course, but with YouTube’s start in 2005, the Numa Numa Kid, as he’s become known, was the start. And folks aren’t lip-syncing anymore, either. Witness Tay Zonday, whose Chocolate Rain has become such a phenomenon, he received a remix courtesy of rap product Lil’ John.

Who will be the next Numa Numa Kid? Nobody knows. But one thing is certain - Plenty of people are trying.

How the Numa Numa phenomenon started

Many of the people on the internet have seen Gary Brolsma dancing to O-Zone even if they didn’t know it. Gary, also known as the “Numa Numa guy” received sudden internet fame when he posted a video of himself dancing to “Dragostea din tei”,” a Moldovian pop song, on a website known as Newgrounds.com back in 2004. This video quickly went “viral” as Newgrounds users began to pass it around between one another and post it in various forums. The video ultimately crested at over eighteen million views, making it one of the most widely viewed submissions on Newgrounds.

This sudden and undesired fame initially was hard on Gary, but he quickly adapted to it, and he has since posted additional videos on his own website, though they have failed to capture the fame and viral spread of the original work. Still, the “Numa Numa Dance” is an example of how a simple, funny video can quickly become powerful through the voice of public opinion, as demonstrated on the internet.