Super Bowl of YouTube

As anyone and everyone knows, the Super Bowl each year isn’t about the football game, it is about the commercials! Well lucky enough for all those Super Bowl fans who want to watch their favorite commercial again and again you can via social media sites such as YouTube. As many people know YouTube is a video sharing social media source, where companies such as Chrysler can upload videos and commercials such as the one titled “Imported From Detroit” that aired during 2011 Super Bowl XLV.

Super Bowl ads such as the Chrysler ad use YouTube to their advantage. They want viewers that were intrigued by these commercials to watch them and also engage the potential customers. Much like companies use Facebook or Twitter to engage customer feedback and interaction, YouTube helps companies get that interaction by providing them with an endless amount of video storage that allows a company to upload videos such as a familiar Super Bowl ads.

Keeping these commercials uploaded on YouTube continues to make them memorable. As you can see if you go some of these commercials on YouTube, they have millions and millions of views as well as customer comments.

Published By: Mark Shaffer

Social Media: Not Only for Creeping

We have all heard the term “citizen journalism" where just about anyone can appoint themselves journalists. Using the tools readily available online and the technology that we desperately cling to everyday, news from al over the world is, well, everywhere. It is also safe to say that many people use social media to connect with friends, share photos, and feed off the latest bit of gossip to hit their news feeds.

However, now more commonly, social media has helped spread the word about the record-breaking earthquake in Japan and people are already using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to help Japan rebuild their country. People are contacting friends and family while posting videos, photos and news updates online from their phones and cameras. Information, as we all know, is never far away.

According to this article in the Technology section of ABC News, when Japan’s cell phones became too overcrowded to use, people used social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook to reach their concerned family members. The article discusses how an American law student who was in Japan for his spring break has used the Internet exclusively to connect with friends and family. This is not a tragedy that only affects the Japanese, and social media is helping remind us of that.

Google, which is becoming more social than just a reliable search engine, set up a “Person Finder” application that has helped linked victims to their family members already. And these immediate actions do not stop there. YouTube, as of March 11, holds over 9,000 earthquake-related videos and over 7,000 relating to tsunamis. The Google page looks like this. Simple and to the point and extremely effective:

Not only does this have newsworthy value, but it also opens a window for viewers all over the world to see how devastating a natural disaster like this can be. However, basic information is not enough to motivate people to help. When people can make an emotional connection, they are most likely to take action. It was groundbreaking to see live video during Vietnam War, as it can be accredited to causing such a negative view during that time. The same drastic affects are happening now, but thanks to social media, it is not uncommon or hard to find. People are inspired to help based on what they have seen through these images and videos of the earthquake. Twitter has becoming a main source of information, as people are posting devastating TwitPics and spreading the word about Red Cross’ efforts to assist victims in Japan just as it did for Haiti.

In the matter literally one second, my Twitter search for Japan was out of date:

The original purpose of the Internet was to create a network safe from military, technological and natural disasters and that remains true to this day. Now, however, it is a key player in spreading news, connecting with people and instantaneously raising efforts for those in need when other sources fail.

-Alaina Cordes

Treading through viral campaigns: The OK GO story

It all started with a set treadmills, killer dance moves, serious coordination and a video camera in 2006.

For the pop-rock band OK GO, creating instantly viral videos apparently comes natural to them. Ever since “Here It Goes Again” (which has over 52 million views on YouTube, to date), every music video OK GO released – whether it be with wallpaper, marching bands, stop-motion, real life dominos – has become an internet sensation.

Recently, the band uploaded a new video for their single “White Knuckles," off their album Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. With a little help from several four-legged friends, the band not only created a creative and perfectly choreographed video, but gained awareness for the ASPCA, all while remaining true to their single shot music video style. Released September 19th, the video already acquired over 6 million views. The video also gained the attention of Ellen Degeneres, who featured it on her show.

In a recent interview with CNN, lead singer Damian Kulash was asked to describe how their videos have become so successful, in which he responded:

“Well… mostly because we're awesome.” Kidding, of course.

With all joking aside, he explains:

“There's no amount of savvy or like gaming the system that is going to make people like things that are not likable. We just think they're fun. We didn't really think of our online videos as videos at first. They were just sort of these weird gifts to our fans that we knew we were connected to online.”

And a word of advice from Kulash for all those YouTubers that wish their videos can go viral:

“Make them embeddable – duh.”

OK GO goes to show that you don't need huge budgets in order to be successful. It only takes a little ingenuity and some fun.

The band plans to have a new video uploaded to their YouTube channel November 9th – which begs the question what will this innovative band come up with next?

- Kimmie Nahm

OK GO - “White Knuckles”