Will the Harlem Shake be the Gangnam Style of 2013?
The original, 30-second video (Video #1) was launched on YouTube on February 2. Now, 16 days later it’s approaching 10 million views and has spawned so many other versions, I’ve lost count.
A series ‘best of’ compilations has been created (See Video #2)
How did it go viral? It began with one vlogger (video blogger), Filthy Frank. His own profile states that ‘his life is pretty much going nowhere, so he does this”; make YouTube videos. Normally, he gets a few hundred thousand views for his comedic videos. One of his characters if a bad rapper in a pink body suit.
From there, it’s just spread like, well, a self-replicating virus.
As of February 14, there were around 40,000 versions of the Harlem Shake on YouTube. And, those videos combined had been viewed more than 175 million times.
My favourite office version is from Maker Studios, see Video #3. But, overall, I think the Matt & Kim version (Video #4) is my all time favourite.
That’s right. I have nothing better to do than sit and watch viral remixes of the latest viral video.
But, one thing that can be learned from this. To go viral, it takes a bit of effort to do something novel. But, you can capitalise on something where the hard work has been done. If your homage to the original is as interesting and fun, you too can enjoy the successes of viral distribution.
The original video also has one of the best ever disclaimers I’ve seen for the use of a song that was not created by the video maker.
