What the Top Ten is telling us…

YOUTUBE TRENDS

Global Appeal…Lengthy…Professionally Produced…Exclusive to the Web

Musicians, comedians, activists and even a San Diego based human rights organization created their videos exclusively for the Web, realizing and  taking advantage of YouTube’s global reach to attract millions of viewers.  With the number of videos being produced & uploaded, 72 hours worth every minute,  you have to wonder HOW and WHY some videos stumble into viral fame.  “There’s an interactivity with some of these things that really drives viewership over time,” says Allocca.

YouTube pieced together its first list of the year’s top ten videos, many were accidental home videos or amateurish films never designed for widespread consumption, said Kevin Allocca, a trends manager for the company.  Now, 9 0ut of 10 of this years top pics were professionally produced.  Big companies are shelling out big bucks  on professional producers to make their message look “accidental” and know how to manipulate the YouTube. “There are more and more people who know how to build an audience, how to use YouTube,” Allocca said.

HOW DID THEY DECIDE THE TOP 10?

YouTube trends manager Kevin Allocca compiles the list using number of views, shares, searches, parodies, remixes and responses to determine the most talked-about Web shows of the year.

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN…

#1 PSY — “Gangnam Style”

An infectious wild music video from South Korea took the world by storm becoming the most viewed video of 2012 &  all time in only six months & currently has over 1.10 billion views worldwide. The POWER of the INTERNET  & its influence is evident in this situation.  Gangnam style rode the wave from Asia to the States to Europe.  Does anyone know what the song is about? Well,  you know what they say, “If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.”   This one had so many parodies including one from UDance @ the University of Delaware, check it out FLASH MOB on YOUTUBE.

If you want to learn the dance, they even have a video on how to do that… I have to admit that on Christmas Day my family downloaded the tutorial video and everyone from 19 months- 68 years old got their “Gangnam ON”.

 #2 Walk Off The Earth- “Somebody that I Used to Know”

(Goyote-Cover)

The most-viewed cover song of 2012 even has Rappers realing.  It’s known also known as “5 people & 1 guitar”.  The music is fabulous and it even has some comedic moments!  The video had over 140 million views in 2012.

#3 “KONY 2012”

 31 million views on it’s first day, the most shared video in the world  for one week & the longest video on the list @ 30 minutes comes from, Invisible Children, a human rights activist organization.  They were smart to use YouTube’s global platform to bring attention to a brutal leader in central Africa, Joseph Kony of the Lord’s Resistance Army, which kidnapped children and turned them into sex slaves and boy soldiers for more than a century.  Some critized the video for oversimplifying and distorting the story, but it grabbed the attention of  stars including Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Oprah who helped promote the documentary which provoked a response from the United Nations Security Council.

“One of the most popular audiences of that video was 13- to 17-year-old girls,” Allocca said. “Think of how strange that is: a 30-minute documentary about a warlord in Africa being popular with 13- to 17-year-old girls.”  Is anyone else thinking how much more socially conscious the younger generation has become?

#4  Justin Beiber, Selena Gomez & Friends- Lip Sing 

 “Call Me Maybe” (Carly Rae Jepsen-Cover)

This video covering the “song of the summer” kicked off a trend of lip sync videos that spanned from the Harvard baseball team to celebrities to Olympians.

#5 “Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney. Epic Rap Battles Of History”

The election prompted MANY videos, rap and otherwise featuring Obama and Romney Impersonators.  The one that topped the list featured Alphacat, a well known Obama impersonatior from YouTube’s “Epic Rap Battles”.  These rappers may not look like the characters they are porttraying, but they definitely put on a good show, attracting over 250 million views. Politial Videos were definitley at a high this year…Obama & Romney videos racked up over 2 Billion views.

“I’m not gonna let this battle be dictated by facts,” a Romney impersonator rhymes to open the video. “I’m rich. I’ve got fat stacks and super PACs.”

#6 “A Dramatic Surprise On a Quiet Square”
This video which has me thinking back to the “you got punked” days of MTV or a modern version of a Benny Hill skit,  attracted over 25 million views in the first week with  more than 1 million views in each of 10 countries.  This is what happens when  you place a mysterious sign in the middle of a Flemish square.   I still can’t believe the reactions of the people who pushed the button.

#7  Comedian Brothers Emmanuel & Phillip Hudson-

 “Why You Asking All Them Questions”

Face distortions at their finest…these fellows are funny!  Extremely popular in the southern U.S these brothers attracted 39 million views with almost 1/2 coming from mobile devices.

#8 “Lindsey Stirling”

A social media sensation with 500,000 likes and 100,000 comments!  Lindsay was a finalist on America’s Got Talent, she merges unique violin stylings and electronic dub-step beats with animated contemporary dance. Her wide array of videos are all available on her Lindseystomp YouTube channel, which rings in at nearly 1,300,000 subscribers — and has tallied over 102 million hits. Lindsey’s trademark dubstep violin styles created a lot of buzz this year, especially in the U.S., Germany and Poland. This video has over 47 million views.

#9 “Facebook Parenting: For the Troubled Teen”

Wow…that’s one angry dad!  In one of YouTubes most controversial videos of the year,  a father shoots up his daughters lap-top because, she complained about her chores and parents in a Facebook Post.  That’ll teach you to complain!  11 million views in just one day.

“That created a massive amount of controversy and discussion…. It became this whole conversation, where everybody wanted to weigh in,” Allocca said. “Social media is such an essential part of our lives now. That was not a problem five years ago, where you had to deal with your daughter on Facebook.”

#10 “Felix Baumgartner’s Supersonic Freefall From 128k” — Mission Highlights

Red Bull gives you wings…taken to the next level.  This live stream of Felix Baumgartner’s free-fall from 128,000 feet shattered previous live stream records with 8 million concurrent views.

BONUS VIDEO