Category: web 2.0

The accidental video sensation: Or, how I learned to quit worrying and love YouTube

Now that Karine Joly has told all her readers about my secret YouTube guerrilla marketing tactic, it’s time I shared the real story of this amazingly popular video. (Popular in terms of hits, that is. The ratings? Not so much.)

That’s not some surrealist short-short art film you’re viewing. It’s actual science. And it’s gotten 82,000 hits over the past year.

Karine included this video in her recent list of five things to do before you post your video on YouTube. It was No. 5 on the list — a surprise that Karine posted as a joke. But hey, I’m from the any-publicity-is-good-publicity school of PR, so I’m okay with it. Linkage is linkage.

“If you’re looking to generate some big numbers in terms of page views,” Karine wrote, “make your video very short and difficult (impossible) to understand at first sight.”

If I had only known back then that this video of a piece of aerogel being struck by a bullet would get so many visits, I would have included some dramatic background music (a la dramatic chipmunk) and promoted it more heavily. But the real reason I posted that video (and the less popular but slightly more comprehensible sequel, Shattered! conventional armor-grade PMMA hit by projectile) was to add some multimedia to a post on our research blog, Visions, about the researcher who won a nanotechnology award for his work with aerogels. The video was provided by the professor. There’s nothing professional about it. It’s just a record of an experiment.

Who knew it would become an accidental YouTube sensation, discovered by none other than Karine Joly? The vid has been played more than 82,000 times this past year. Granted, it isn’t exactly this:

“Dramatic chipmunk” has gotten 8.8 million views and countless 5-star ratings during its time. It’s the pinnacle of short viral videos to which all web 2.0 filmmakers aspire.

But, my aerogel video is not just entertainment. It’s serious science. It’s been discussed and shared on serious science blogs. Still, if it makes people scratch their heads and leave lots of wtf comments, that’s okay by me. As long as they’re watching.

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Now playing: Elvis Costello & the Attractions – Accidents Will Happen
via FoxyTunes

Sunday Seven (or Friday Five, two days late): by the numbers

Life beyond the blog went crazy last week, so I didn’t make a Friday Five. Today, I make up for it with a Sunday Seven. Think of it as a Friday Five with two bonus tracks.

Today’s list is all about numbers.

  1. This first one’s for the guys: Esquire lists the 75 skills every man should master (hat tip: Jordon Cooper).

    13. Throw a punch. Close enough, but not too close. Swing with your shoulders, not your arm. Long punches rarely land squarely. So forget the roundhouse. You don’t have a haymaker. Follow through; don’t pop and pull back. The length you give the punch should come in the form of extension after the point of contact. Just remember, the bones in your hand are small and easy to break. You’re better off striking hard with the heel of your palm. Or you could buy the guy a beer and talk it out.

  2. The 25 most rockin’ guitar riffs. All the greats are there, plus some not-so-greats. (Yeah, “Born to Run” is a great song, but the guitar riff is only so-so. And it shouldn’t rank higher [No. 8] than “Johnny B. Goode” [No. 19]).
  3. 5 grassroots organizations worth a look.
  4. For Gmail users: 13 experimental new features — a review from Lifehacker, originally posted June 5 as a sneak preview. Google unveiled the features on the 6th. I still haven’t tinkered with them.
  5. 15 great gadgets you can’t get in the United States.
  6. One egg, 100 baskets: social media leverage. Andy Beal turns the “all your eggs in one basket” axiom on its ear.
  7. The 5 essential elements of social media marketing.

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Now playing: Pete And The Pirates – Ill love
via FoxyTunes