Viral Videos

Viral Videos

Social impact

Internet celebrities

Video websites such as YouTube often create Internet celebrities, popular individuals who have attracted significant publicity in their home countries from their videos. These memes have come from many different backgrounds.
Geriatric1927, one of the most subscribed YouTube members, is an 80-year-old pensioner from England who gained widespread recognition within a week of making his debut on the site. For these users, Internet fame has had various unexpected effects. YouTube user and former receptionist Brooke Brodack has been signed by NBC's Carson Daly for an 18-month development contract. Another example is the uncovered fictional blog of lonelygirl15[citation needed], which was discovered to be the work of some film directors, starring New Zealand actress Jessica Rose.

Band and music promotion

YouTube has also become a means of promoting bands and their music.
In the same light, a video broadcasting the Free Hugs Campaign with accompanying music by the Sick Puppies led to instant fame for both the band and the campaign, with more campaigns taking place in different parts of the world. The main character of the video, Juan Mann, has also achieved recognition, being interviewed on Australian news programs and appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Whistleblowing

Viral video has become a way for people to air their grievances in instances of alleged abuses of authority. For example, in 2006, a courtroom video of Utah Third District Court judge Leslie A. Lewis spread rapidly through Utah and was picked up by the news media. The video showed her finding a courtroom spectator in contempt of court and arresting him because he left the courtroom while the judge expressed her displeasure at his brother's hunting activities. The judge recused herself from the case due to her professed bias against deer hunters. Lewis lost her retention vote in the 2007 election.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_video

This article shows how viral videos bring fame to many everyday people. However, it is not just something for amateurs; companies such as Sony BMG have their own official channel on YouTube and do not have official videos deleted off the site which are put on by everyday people. This is because, although Sony BMG makes no money directly, the videos are seen by many thousands of people creating free advertising for the artist and so the record label behind them. Similarly, many large companies use hyperlinks directing their audience to videos on sites such as YouTube, this is a cheap way of directing people to and advertising their official and unofficial videos. By directing audiences of their websites to YouTube, large companies are also directing them to paid adverts down the side of the page and on the screen, so, with very little cost