TECH TOOLS
CREATE VIDEOS THAT GO VIRAL
a rainbow, er, double rainbow!) on the viral radar, and Daniel Tosh was one of the first
In 2012,
a single video eclipsed 1 billion Internet views for the first time ever. This video, produced for the hit single “Gangnam Style” by Korean artist PSY, resulted in an astounding 1.6 billion views (and counting) on YouTube. 1.6 billion views – think about the kind of money it would have taken to reach such an audience in the year 2000 B.Y.T. (Before YouTube). One decade later, however, the attention of the world is truly anyone’s to capture – for free. Considering this, don’t you agree it’s time for those of us in the camp industry to think about video in a broader way? Imagine if your camp could harness this type of exposure. Imagine one million people recreating a music video made at your camp. Imagine all those people dancing to a song created in the place you love the most and that place becoming known around the world. Imagine news reports and talk show visits about the phenomenon your video created. Similar scenarios have happened to average people. Remember the Harvard baseball team that became famous last summer for their van-tastic video in which the guys sang along to “Call Me Maybe?” Turning these imagined scenarios into realities doesn’t have to happen by accident. Successful viral videos aren’t always born out of dumb luck anymore – you can actually plan your publicity. Over the last three years, the Internet has seen a shift in the type of videos that reach the goal of going viral. Previously, millions of people spent their time online watching sneezing pandas, Charlie’s little brother biting his finger, a woman crushing grapes, and of course, nearly anything with a cat. All of these videos came to fame as people shared personal moments online and incidentally captured the eyes of viewers worldwide. The year 2012, however, ushered in a shift in viral video success. Now, videos that reach the masses are far more deliberate, thought-out, and more often than not (we’d be awry without a little cat humor), approached with purpose.
Kevin Allocca, the Trends Manager for YouTube, identified a three-point formula for viral video success.
1
UN EX PECTEDN ESS A video’s ability to capture an audience through surprise is how many YouTube sensations went viral. Think
Simon “Maui” Cundall is the Social Media Director at River Way Ranch Camp in California. Seasonally, he oversees the Senior Boys and CIT programs, and is also the director of River Way’s sister program, Wonder Valley Family Camp. He holds a degree in Sociology from the University of Canterbury, and is heavily involved in all technological aspects of his camp including video editing, blogging, and web design. He desires to put the greater summer camp community back in the public’s eye and currently manages a popular camp-focused Instagram account, KeepItCampy.
the Harlem Shake, the Red Bull guy base-jumping out of a spaceship, and the rap battle between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Capturing the unexpectedness that so often occurs at camp could be a key to putting y ?\??[\? HX\
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