Viral-Tube

Chongalicious!

This popular viral video is another example of the stars becoming overnight celebrities. In April 2007, The Chongalicious girls, Laura DiLorenzo and Mimi Davila uploaded 'Chongalicious', which was a parody of popular artist Fergie's hit 'Fergalicious'.

As an Australian, I was quite bemused as to what 'Chongalicious' meant. After a bit of research I discovered that the term 'Chonga' is a slang term for the behavior of Hispanic girls in America. Common stereotypes are acted out in the clip and throughout the vocals.

As you can see, this clip is not professionally filmed at all. In fact, it was recorded on a digital photo camera and the vocals were later recorded with a computer microphone!

The video exploded online, and within a week, radio stations across America were playing the song by listener request! As of today Chongalicious has had almost 3.5 million views!

Since finding fame, the Chongalicious girls have made guest appearances on popular TV shows and radio stations. Their 2nd video released in October 2007 'I'm in love with a Chonga' was filmed in a professional studio offered to them for free.

The Chongalisious girls decided to part ways after graduated in 2008, both of which pursuing theatrical careers.

Have you found any videos that have generated overnight fame? Let me know!

Sir Tube

Noah Takes a Photo of Himself Every Day for 6 Years

This one is an oldie, but a goodie. Back in January of 2000, a 19 year old Noah Kalina decided to start taking basic photographs of himself every day. These weren't exciting photos, or of Noah doing anything. Each photograph was basic and relatively lifeless with Noah staring blankly at the lens.

Noah managed to continue this daily tradition and 6 years later he made a video with all the photo's (that's over 2000 photographs!). Since originally uploaded on to YouTube in September 2006, the video has been viewed a mind-blowing 12.3 million times!

The clip is quite hypnotic, have a look!

What I now suggest you do is look at Noah's face at the beginning of the clip, and then flick straight to the last shot of him. He changes a fair bit in 6 years doesn't he? While you watch the whole clip, his changes are so gradual that you barely notice.

Noah continues to take a photo of himself everyday, and again has changed a fair bit in the past 3 years. You can see what he looks now by clicking on www.everyday.noahkalina.com.

The beautiful piano in this clip is by Carly Comando, who was Noah's girlfriend when the clip was first uploaded. This is a great example of Internet celebrities, as both Carly and Noah are now quite well known. This piano score is now commonly used across mainstream media, and Homer Simpson takes a picture of himself every day for 39 years in an episode of The Simpsons. Not too bad considering Noah originally thought 'only a few people would watch it'!

There are other amazing videos on YouTube like Noah's based around the 9 months of pregnancy, weight-loss and children growing up. Have a look!

Sir Tube

Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog

Hi fellow tubers!

Meet Bizkit. Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog, the Labrador that has no idea that he is the star of the latest viral video 'must-see'. Since first discovered on 22nd February this year, it has attracted almost 7 million viewers already! Have a look at what the fuss is all about:

Let me guess . . . you watched that more than once?

It makes me wonder if this as a case of a camera being in the right place at the right time, or does this poor canine do this on a nightly basis? For Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog's sake, I hope it isn't the latter - or else he would probably have a constant headache. If it were my dog, I would have definitely fitted him with a helmet (or if I was a horrible owner . .  roller-skates!).

The million dollar questions is: what is Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog dreaming about? The postman? Dinner time? Playing fetch? Let me know what you think!

Until next time,

Sir Tube

Star Wars Kid - May the Tube be with You . . . . . !

Hi fellow tubers!

There are an infinitive amount of viral videos floating around the Internet, and it took a while to decide which would be the best to launch this blog with.

Music talent? No. Political stance? I doubt it. Nor is this a sporting phenomenon, global event or incredible achievement.

Ghyslain Raza, the 14 year old from Quebec in Canada may not be a name that you are familiar with. In fact, it took a few Google searches to find this information. The name that you probably will recognise is 'Star Wars Kid'.

If that is still not ringing any bells, this may refresh your memory :

It is estimated that over 1 billion people have viewed The Star Wars kid online, making it the most popular viral video on the Internet! The fact that this has become a worldwide hit is hard to believe, but the story behind it is just as astonishing!

On November 2nd 2002, The Star Wars Kid video taped himself swinging a golf ball retriever at his high school studio. The tape was found 5 months later in a storage unit by another student at the school, who thought it would be funny to send to his friends via the sharing network Kazaa. The file that was named "ghyslain_razaa.wmv" was downloaded by a member of a Wisconsin work office, who posted it on his personal website. From there, the clip was placed within a private file sharing network and then it spread like a wild fire.

It was the 'must see' video of the year, which gained attention from leading global newspapers and websites, fueling the reach of viewers. Keen fans started developing Star Wars Kid 'remixes', adding music and special effects. Today, there are thousands of these remixes circulating.

Months after the video spread, the parents of The Star Wars Kid announced that they would sue the classmates who posted the video online. As the world laughed, The Star Wars Kid dropped out of school and was admitted to a children's psychiatric ward. It was reported that the case was settled with Raza's family being paid a quarter of a million dollars!

The moral of the story is of course: don't film yourself doing anything embarrassing.

The second moral of the story being: if you do, don't let anyone else get their hands on the footage!

Plenty more viral videos to come.

Stay tuned . . .

Sir Tube

Viral Video Medley - Star Wars Kid, Chris Crocker, Miss Teen USA, Thriller!

Hi fellow tubers!

As the globe moves forward technologically, cameras are everywhere and uploading videos on the Internet can be done within a few clicks of the mouse. For every minute that ticks over, more than 13 hours worth of videos are uploaded onto YouTube alone! This makes room for an array of appallingly aimless, time wasting and boring clips.

But if you look hard enough, there are needles in this jumbo sized haystack! The blog you are reading is a showcase of the best of the best viral videos that can be found around the world. Viral videos have turned no-names into celebrities, fueled political campaigns and launched music careers. Chris Crocker Miss South Carolina, The Star Wars Kid, that guy from The Evolution of Dance . . . all of which are now household names thanks to their videos spreading like wild fire!

The beauty behind the viral video is that there are no rules. Popularity of a clip cannot be linked to any genre, event or theme. It often just takes a person to be in the right place at the right time with a video camera. Sometimes it could be a situation where the stars aren't aware they are on camera!

Here is a medley of videos circulating the internet which have made it big, some of which you will find a more in depth review in future posts:

Check out this blog for a daily update on the story behind viral videos that have been seen by millions! Feel free to let me know if there are any videos you have seen and would like to know how they became a worldwide phenomenon!

Stay tuned . . . .

Sir Tube