The Viral of it All

In relating to our discussion of how to make a meme go viral and in the difference between compelling content vs clickbait content the video “MY BALDNESS” by Casey Neistat came to mind, in which he speaks to the reason that his video, “THE $21,000 FIRST CLASS AIRPLANE SEAT”, went viral. Take the time to watch the videos (I highly recommend) and see that our viral memes discussion is very similar in the way that Casey Neistat understands the power and creation of viral videos. The following are six components that he believes contributed to his video’s ability to gain its viral status:

1. Zeitgeist. Sound familiar? For his video the indulgent lifestyle topic was trendy and intriguing;
2. Timing. The video was neutral and playful at a time when the world was swallowed in political news;
3. General. Enough so that the topic could appeal to most of the world;
4. Innocuous. Included nothing offensive or harmful. It was safe to share;
5. Funny, interesting, well-told story. Well, he is a professional film-maker;
6. Luck.

The video received 20 million views in 7 days and caused his channel to increase by 500 thousand subscribers, which proves the power of a viral video and why content creators are always pursuing them. Many people try to replicate the combination of all of these components in videos just like they do with memes in order to boost their brand and reach more people with their content. As we spoke about in class with memes, some fall short and look ridiculous because the creator tries too hard to help its momentum while others take off and attract millions of views and shares. This video was part of his regular daily vlog and he, most likely, didn’t approach the making of this video with the purpose of going viral. Many of his other videos share similar components and broach the same topic, like “Incredible FIRST CLASS Seats!!” or “$18,000 a night HOTEL ROOM”, but neither of them have half as many views as the one above. It’s unpredictable and just as Casey Neistat mentions, viral video with this much power are “almost impossible to manufacture, to create”.

Both of the videos above also speak to the difference between compelling content vs clickbait content and provide an example of how content creators use clickbait to draw people in when it doesn’t properly represent their content. The content of first video, “MY BALDNESS”, isn’t properly represented by it’s title as baldness is mentioned in a short, unrelated clip at the end of the video. Therefore, clickbait (although I still can’t understand what prompted him to choose this title). On the other hand, the title of the second video, “THE $21,000 FIRST CLASS AIRPLANE SEAT”, wholly represents the video’s content. Although it would usually raise a red flag and would though to be clickbait, the video does nothing else but show the experience that Casey Neistat had in his $21,000 first class airplane seat (I’m still wondering who paid for it).