testing again 1,2

testing 1,2

James,

First of all, i'd like to say congratulations on getting a viral video on YouTube before i try to answer your question.

I'm working on a part 2 to this article to show people another part of the formula that i didnt get into here. however, after checking out your video i can see the obvious connection with this lesson about Surprising Contrast and another POSSIBLE factor that i will touch on next week.

Your video shows two cars....one is VERY expensive and exclusive, the other is relatively common by comparison. The Ferrari is small and cute, the Ford is big and a bit of a beast. The way they sit on top of each other leaves a LOT to the imagination but it looks like the FOrd is eating the Ferrari. We also think of the Ferrari as the superior car because it's faster and slicker...but in this case we are surprised by the TOTAL opposite. And the MOST viral element in my opinion is the guy at the end who OWNS the ferrari and seeing his calm face as a reaction to it all...totally unexpected.

Those elements come together to tell a surprising story of contrast.

the video may have gone MUCH more viral if it had a few other elements i was thinking about. for example, if we'd actually seen the crash, it probably would have made a better story. if it was shorter, it would have made a more viral story. amongst other things.

and finally, there are some elements that MAY or may not have worked in its favour to kind of give it an unfair advantage. and that is the NEWS coverage which if it happened BEFORE the video got so many impressions then it probably played a bigger role in the video's virality.

these are my theories on the matter and if i knew more of the background to the story, i may change my analysis. watch out next week for my next article which will give a whole other angle on this which has NOTHING to do with the content.

once more, congratulations. and thank you for sharing with us this example!

jim

you're welcome Shaylanna, i'm sure you don't need my help though you probably make viral videos for breakfast as a side to go with your eggs, right? :P

thank you! awesome of you to say that.

haha go for it, i'd love to see what you come up with! use the exercise it will help you brainstorm some ideas and remember to keep trying.

no worries Karen, glad you enjoyed it!!

LOL i did that last week inadvertantly. i was just mad at my iPhone because it was behaving badly so i bitched about it and explicitly warned everyone at the threat of severe beatings that they would be punished for defending it on my wall (like it needs warriors to protect it from mean ole bullies like me) and all the loyalists got started. i blocked them all and felt good about it.

lol Camilla, i tell my nephew i want him to be a Martian some day!

i figured YOU would like it Krisna hehe. you been all on your man-hate lately :P