When an online video goes viral, it is not sick, ill or under the weather. In fact, it is just the opposite.
“Viral” means that the video has been viewed a million-plus times by the public.
With modern day mass media, YouTube.com and the Vine cell phone application seem to have become the top outlets for entertainment.
Browsing through YouTube and Vine is quick and easy without being so time consuming, as opposed to hanging around to watch a two-hour movie.
This may not be true for everyone, though.
Caitelynd Macgregor / Equinox Staff
KSC freshman Nick St. Jean said, “If I’m bored or procrastinating homework, I can look through [videos] for hours.”
What is the rumpus over surfing the web for video clips? Apparently it’s humor—a good laugh. Jenna Mourey, known on the Internet as Jenna Marbles, became a YouTube sensation by creating five-minute videos on a relatable topic.
Her vlog (video blog) includes snippets like how to avoid talking to people you don’t want to talk to, what girls do in the car, what guys do in the car and how to talk to animals.
Sophomore Kyla Jones said that even though some of Marbles’ videos may seem stupid, “they’re still pretty funny and entertaining.”
One of Marbles’ first vlog episodes is titled, “How to trick people into thinking you’re good looking.”
Uploaded three years ago, the video recently was up to 54,173,587 views.
It is evident that Marbles took some time to plan it out, but she appears to be satirical and witty in her videos—apparently YouTube browsers like satire and wit.
Senior Kristen Shea said that even though Marbles’ videos are staged, they still make her laugh.
Remember “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On?” A small-voiced, tiny seashell with baby-sized sneakers and googly eyes.
He wears a lentil as a hat, hang-glides on a Dorito, and passed out because he took a wiff of a tennis shoe.
The video is two yearsold and has just over 21.5 million views on YouTube.
Another voice-over video, which inevitably blows the popular “Marcel the Shell” out of the water, is “Ultimate Dog Tease.”
The video was uploaded two years ago and has hit over 144,830,000 views.
It is clear to see in the video that the canine is begging.
However, what made the video go viral was the simple act of giving the dog a voice with human thoughts.
To whomever the dog is begging slowly builds up a story, telling the pet that he found bacon and beef in the fridge.
The dog’s open mouth said, “yeah, yeah? Then what?!”
With intense interest, the dog soon found out that his human pal ate the beef and bacon! The dog is then adorably disappointed, wining and howling.
There are an infinite amount of viral videos on the World Wide Web.
While the previous videos mentioned are staged and thought-out, there are also an immense amount of clips that aren’t planned.
At least, they don’t seem to be.
“Charlie Bit My Finger,” and “David After the Dentist” went viral in just about no time at all—the difference with these is that they appear to be unplanned.
“Charlie Bit My Finger” was posted six years ago and to this day is close to 560,000,000 views.
Perhaps it is the British accent of the young boy, or maybe it’s just the cute, guilty cackle the baby lets out at the end of the video.
“David After the Dentist” seemed to be a clever tactic by a young boy’s father, who broke out the video camera just after David had a little bit of pain relief after his visit to the dentist’s office. A loopy David, who asked in the video, “Is this gonna last forever?” turned into a YouTube star.
The video was uploaded four years ago and has close to 120,986,000 views.
Shea said that while she thinks Jenna Marbles’ sense of humor is funny, the “accidental” viral videos give an even better laugh.
A new form of video sharing, Vine, has taken over the cell phone world.
A common theme in both YouTube and Vine: humor that people can relate to.
One specific Vine sensation seems to be “Lizzza” (her Vine username).
With more than 674,000 followers, the 17-year-old girl most often Vines about relatable topics.
A difference between her and Jenna Marbles—Vine videos can only be up to six seconds.
For example, a video posted about the phrase, “know what I’m saying?” She suggests that it’s one word, “knowhaisayin?”
Posted just last Monday, Sept. 16 the video post has over 47,000 likes and 34,000 revines.
Following the instant popularity of Vine, the “Best Vines” account was created. The account revines—which is similar to a retweet—what many people would classify as hilarious.
A video about “Kid President” was posted nearly a month ago.
A little boy, maybe about six-years-old, dressed in a suit and tie is hugging a globe.
As he continuously alters his positioning and he wraps his arms around the globe, the child asks, “Am I getting everybody? Am I getting everybody?”
His voice squeals, with a little bit of struggle as he tried to hold the globe in its entirety, “Am I getting everybody?!”
Yet again, something the public just might be able to relate to.
Rebecca Farr can be reached at rfarr@keene-equinox.com