Did you hear about Alexandra Wallace? Hasan Baba? Rebecca Black? I’m sure you’ve heard of Justin Bieber then..no? Peter Chao? Each and every one of them is a Youtube phenomenon. While some turned out to be heroes, others flops. Irrespective of that they all share something in common, an unbelievably stratospheric rise in popularity and recognition. Whether or not their popularity is positive is another matter.
Let’s start with Justin Bieber. An obscure little kid from Ontario who hit big time through his viral videos about popular covers. While it can be argued that he had the talent, the fact that he got signed by Usher, under his music label is what counts. Rebecca Black, being touted as the next Justin Bieber, came out with a new video called Black Friday. Uploaded on February 10th, it skyrocketed to a point where she now has over 13.5 million views. Finally, let’s bring in Hasan Baba, while he has not made it big yet!, a video of his techno moves, rivaling Jersey Shore fistpumps, have already hit 6 million views in just 20 days.
Popularity is just limited to those who can perform, Alexandra Wallace who uploaded a rant about “Asians in the Library” created a sensation with almost a million views in less than a week. On the other hand, Peter Chao gets lauded for his risque racist humor and gets movie contracts.
This brings us to the potential of E-Marketing via viral videos. I truly believe that youtube videos are quickly becoming a preferable PR and attention grabbing tool by people wanting to create a sensation. The fact that videos are uploaded into the anonymous world of the internet assuring no consequences offers promoters a chance at promotion without creativity and time limit makes this one of the best forms of media.
P.S. Click on the Hyperlink to see the video.