Say Hello To My Little Friends

As someone who is a huge fan of the Al Pacino version of Scarface, I'm not sure whether or not this YouTube video of elementary students reenacting Scarface for a school play is horribly disturbing or the best thing ever. In any case, it's probably going to make its rounds as the viral video du jour. Click through to see the video and some of my impressions.

This video hit the Internet today care of YouTube user cindymomof6. At face value, the responsible side of me feels really uncomfortable watching this. I have no idea what benefit the kids would get from re-enacting a movie involving gang members, drugs and tons of violence. Even the kids self-censorship makes me feel weird, even though I love fudge. How did any school approve of this? The other side of me thinks that this is freaking hilarious. I've watched it three times over, posted it on my Twitter and Facebook, sent it via IM to a bunch of other people, and am now writing a blog post about it.

Is there more going on here? Or is this just the Internet being the Internet? The idea of a kids version of Scarface that was sanctioned by any school just does not compute in my head. Also, this user's favourite videos are all very religious, which kind of contradicts the life and times of Tony Montana. I guess until we learn more about why this video exists, I'll go back to watching Tony Montana go out with a bang.

UPDATE: This was not a school play. This was done by director Marc Klasfeld and Rockhard Films, whose credits include Lady Gaga's "Pokerface" and Adam Lambert's "For Your Entertainment. Thanks to TMZ for cracking that case pretty quick!

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Why Playing The Piano On YouTube Isn't Awesome

I was checking out Mashable today and saw this post on playing the piano on YouTube. A Swedish production company called KOKOKAKA had put it together and I thought I would try it out. I'm always interested in seeing new or unique applications of technology, so I thought I'd try it out. If you haven't already tried it out in the video above, it takes advantage of the YouTube feature that allows users to click back to a certain portion of the video. The team then recorded themselves playing all of the notes and linked them for a user to play in any sequence they like. Plan on tearing through Beethoven's 9th symphony on it? Good luck. As an interactive piece, I appreciate all the work that went into it. However, it's not that fun to play with.

Playing the piano on things other than a piano is kind of played out, and the fun theory piano stairs have this beat in terms of uniqueness. On a computer, there are a number of free online pianos that work a lot better. Also, the nature of YouTube technology doesn't really lend itself to actually making music in this particular execution. Having to wait for the video to finish loading while the video itself is playing is a major turn-off for most people who expect instant satisfaction when watching anything on YouTube. On top of that, the slight delay between your mouse click and the sound playing is just a bit too much to make anything sound good, and the sound of the video cutting in every time you hit a note is annoying.

As a lesson learned on the process of creating content for interactive, I think its great. It demonstrates two factors everyone should consider when they create interactive content.


1) What are the possibilities and limitations of the technology?

The designers behind this video totally saw an opportunity to use YouTube to trigger notes on a piano. To me, I feel like they completely disregarded the limitations YouTube brings to the equation. The way they put that video together and the way the cue feature works doesn't make it work the way a user would want a piano to work. Which leads directly to my next point.


2) Is it any good to interact with?

It's possible for anyone to put ice cream on a steak, but would you want to eat it? My guess is no. Like anything in the world that we interact with, it has to be something we want to do in order for us to get any value from it. In concept, it sounds kind of cool to create something with a technology that it wasn't originally intended to do. However, that's a moot point if the final product isn't any good to use. The piano stairs are extremely difficult to make music with, but that's not really the point because they're still fun to use. Maybe you had the time of your life using the YouTube piano, but I did not like the experience it provided.

As a proof of concept, maybe it will lead into something greater. On its own, it's a unique idea that doesn't respect the limits of the technology enough to be something people would want to use. For anyone making anything that others have to interact with, I hope you you keep these two points in mind.

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Christmas Light Hero

The Internet never fails to impress me. This time, former Disney special effects engineer Ric Turner created this interactive Christmas lights masterpiece that lets you play Guitar Hero...ON YOUR HOUSE. The entire house acts as the gameplay interface as well as providing the user a lights show of awesome while you rock out to "Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson.

I admit, I don't even have a Christmas tree up in my house yet, and they can play Guitar Hero on their house. If there was ever a time I felt like the Grinch, that time is now.

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Muppets Perform Bohemian Rhapsody

I'm just as confused as you. Yesterday, the Muppets went viral and take part in at least the coolest video of the day. Click on the READ MORE link to catch the Muppets rock out in 1080p goodness.



I have no idea what the objective of this video is or why it even exists, but who cares? Watching Muppets rock out is always fun. Do you think this was a..."reaction"...to any other homemade Muppet videos out there on YouTube? If you don't know what I'm alluding to, it's probably for the best.

Anyway, this official Muppet Studios video is pretty awesome and SFW. While I'm still talking about Muppets, if you haven't already seen this one, I recommend you check out the drum battle between Animal and Buddy Rich too.

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Catching Laptops With Your Butt

MSI is doing a YouTube contest that asks users to create an "extreme crazy video" with an MSI notebook.

One entry in particular is catching like wildfire, and for good (?) reason. It features a guy catching laptops with his butt. What?

Click READ MORE to watch the video!



As I'm writing this, it's been watched over 125,000 times on YouTube. While I'm not sure that being able to catch a laptop with your butt is a great way to demonstrate the portability of the unit, I don't think it's hurting the brand, either. At the very least, it's garnering a lot of views, buzz and people talking about it, like me!

I would love to have been a part of the creative process that lead to this video. An idea like this I would never pull out of my...yeah.

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PS22 Chorus = Coolest Choir Ever?

Last night, I saw the PS22 Chorus rendition of "Eye of the Tiger" on CNN and thought, "Wow! This is cool! I wish I had a music class as cool as this!" Today, I check into YouTube and their rendition of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" is currently the second-most popular video on YouTube. They've made fans out of Perez Hilton, Tori Amos, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and more. And the PS22 isn't some special music school...just an ever-changing group of grade 5 NYC public school kids.

I love this whole initiative primarily for two reasons:

1) The implementation of more "popular" and "contemporary" music into its curriculum and

2) The leveraging of social media such as the PS22 Chorus blog and YouTube videos to not only keep the kids interested, but spread the word about what it is they're doing.

Personally, I've had a very weird and informal path discovering, learning and creating music. Little to none of which occured in school. A lot of that unsatisfactory feeling towards my school music experience came from not being able to sing and learn the songs we wanted to learn. It was always the by-the-book kiddie stuff or music we students couldn't connect with.

Why not work some work some "cooler" music into the curriculum?

I know school will never be the place for choirs to sing Crank That by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, but is there any less musical merit in a Miley Cyrus song? A Fleetwood Mac song? Heck, "Eye of the Tiger" is almost 30 years old, but the choir sang that song because the lead singer loved that song in Guitar Hero. If part of your job as a music teacher is to get the kids to enjoy music, why not work with more songs that the kids like?

Also, can't let these boys and girls go without talking about their social media implementation. Their teacher has created a blog and a YouTube channel to document their performances and major accomplishments to add an extra level of legitimacy to what these kids are doing. Even if they weren't discovered by Perez Hilton or Ashton Kutcher, just being able to show my parents and my friends what I'm doing at school is super cool. Not only that, knowing that the whole world could be watching, I'd try a little bit harder to make a lasting impression too.

Great job everyone at PS22 Chorus. Can't wait to here more music from you!

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Post-It Note Madness

I never cease to get tired with the crazy acts of creativity that happen on the Internet.

This video was made by YouTube user bunliu as his senior project at Savannah College of Art and Design. While post-it art isn't necessarily new, the concept behind the piece and the execution is spectacular.

Right now it's #1 on the Viral Video Chart. I wonder if the Post-It company is looking at this and going, "Damn...why didn't we think of that?"

If you'd like to see how this video was made, hit the READ MORE button and watch the making of "Deadline". Amazing stuff!

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Hate Me Now

When you look at that face and watch this video, do you instantly think "#2 most viewed director on YouTube Canada this week"? Do you think "#11 most subscribed to of all-time on YouTube Canada"?

I doubt it.

Regardless of what you or I think (and regardless of how most of his videos are rated lower than 3 stars), Pruane2Forever is one of the hottest people on YouTube right now. 148 videos deep, he's ranted about everything from fights at his school to 50 Cent's..."product-line expansion".

Why?

I've seen this guy's videos pop up on a variety of message boards, usually under the context of, "LOL look at this loser!" I saw one or two, didn't get it, and moved on. I thought that was it. Before this, I had no idea this guy (who lists himself as having the name "sexman") had 148 videos, over 30,000 subscribers and had a YouTube channel that had been viewed almost 2 million times. So what makes this kid so popular? Is he just popular because people like to laugh at him?

It's too easy to say he's popular because he captures the essence of what society deems as "nerdy". The "Revenge of the Nerds" caliber nerdy. The pale skin. The braces. The whiny voice. The barely intelligent ranting about whatever he feels like talking about. But is that really it? I dug a bit deeper. I watched a variety of videos of him sitting in his bedroom, talking up a storm about a variety of topics as well as watching a few of his skits. I don't get the appeal at all. I don't even find them funny in an ironic way.

Do people really see value in this guy's opinion? Or has the Internet made this guy an Internet celebrity for all the wrong reasons? I don't think this kid is going out of his way to be humourous. The look isn't intentionally there to make us laugh at him. The voice I don't think he's putting on for show. I get the feeling that he's just a kid that takes his opinion very seriously, and while he has the eyes and ears of the world on him, they don't really care about anything he has to say.

Maybe he has us all fooled (or at least me). Maybe it is all an act. Maybe he's another Lonelygirl15 and has actually been collecting cheques from Eminem's record label to hype up his latest single. In any case, Pruane2Forever's standing at the top of YouTube is further proof of the expression below holds true today. Or something like that.

image from uniquities.co.uk

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Would You Like Boogers With Your Dominos Sub?

UPDATE (5:50PM): The girl in the video has apparently ordered the videos removed from YouTube. However, they are still available through the goodasyou.org.

This morning while surfing Adage.com, I found a news article surrounding this video. As if that Dominos dessert pizza wasn't gross enough, Two Dominos employees thought it would be hilarious to record themselves doing gross things to food while on duty.

There are a few things I wanted to touch down on that pertain to this video and the series of other Dominos gross-out videos these two recorded.

First off: "Ewww!"

Second of all, we would like to think that people by now understand what not to do with the Internet, especially when it comes to your job. However, these things unfortunately will happen. And it will probably happen again. Hopefully not to Dominos. In the age of social media, the expression, "With great power comes great responsibility," couldn't be more true. As a society, I think we're still wrestling with what we can and can't post on the Internet. While these acts of grossness seem to be obvious things not to do, it happened.

In a response to Dominos, Kristy (the girl in the video) had this to say:

"It was all a prank and me nor Michael expected to have this much attention from the videos that were uploaded! No food was ever sent out to any customer. We would never put something like that on you tube if it were real!! It was fake and I wish that everyone knew that!!!!"

- From Ad Age

Regardless of the thought behind these videos, they're clearly a lapse in good judgement.

On Dominos side, what do you do?

Here's another quote from the Ad Age article:

He (Dominos spokesman Tim McIntyre) said the company decided not to issue a press release or post a statement online. After all, he said, the company can deal with tens of thousands of impressions, but a strong response from Domino's would alert more consumers to the embarrassment.

The problem is, more consumers are finding it on their own. The original videos have been deleted, but others have since reposted them all. The video I posted at the top has been seen over 700,000 times in 2 days. Even if those users delete it, who knows who else has a copy of it to repost? Back to the idea of the online footprint; odds are, those videos are a part of Internet history forever. At what point do you step out and act on it? Or do you at all?

Anthony Kalamut discussed a somewhat similar situation involving kids smoking Rockets (or Smarties, as they call them in America). At the end of his piece were a few rules of thumb with dealing with those who mess with your brand.

It's a messy situation all-around and I hope Dominos can recover from this. We'll see how they handle this situation going forward.

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List of 100 Most Iconic Internet Videos Makes Me Wonder If This Is Real Life

Urlesque has compiled a fairly solid list of the top 100 most iconic Internet videos. You've seen a lot of these before, but if you're a sucker for Internet culture like me, the list is definitely worth a look. As a capsule of the Internet as a society, I think it's fascinating.

I'm such a sucker for anything Internet culture related. It's amazing to me to see the world that we've collectively made through this "series of tubes". It's a world that has its own language and dialects (ex. LOL, pwnd, anything on urbandictionary.com). It has its own rule set and etiquette (ex. no all-caps, "first" posts will not be tolerated). And as this list clearly shows, it has its own video culture.

Like the "terrestrial world", the list does feature a few celebrities that are popular everywhere. But the brunt of this list is "local talent", and that "local talent" is what makes Internet video culture so cool and diverse. With much more creative control, letting the average person go nuts with a video camera has led to some amazing moments caught on film. "Star Wars Kid" made us laugh. Miss Teen South Carolina made us cringe. And "2 Girls 1 Cup", well...I guess it depends what you're into (you can find your own link).

The Urlesque list is a great testament to the power of the people in the age of "web 2.0" or however you want to classify it. The best part? Internet culture evolves all the time and more people are adding their touch to the culture every second. Will it be you? It surely won't be me.

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Interactive Easter Egg Hunt Blows My Mind

Thank you Steff for sending this video along to me.

I'm not sure if this girl is familiar with the Samsung Instinct campaign or YouTube Street Fighter, but YouTube user Nayders07 has created a very cool interactive Easter egg hunt.

With the power of YouTube in-video annotations and painstakingly connecting all the appropriate videos together, she was able to create this experience.

Damn, I wish I thought of this. I'm sure Cadbury or any other company that has a stake in Easter has (or will) be kicking themselves for not coming up with this before she did.

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Rick Rolling and the Online Cultural Movement Behind Rick Astley

image from Nuclear Family Warhead

Odds are, at some point in your life, you've been the victim of a Rick Roll. Heck, you might have been victimized as recently as April Fool's day 2009 by jerks like me.

Apparently, due to deceiving Twitter posts like mine, over 500,000 people got Rick Rolled two days ago. That's pretty good for a prank that people have had about two years to figure out and get tired of.

I still find it hilarious how the Internet community made Rick Astley and the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" relevant again after all these years. And in such a weird context. I'm sure he doesn't dislike being big enough to Rick Roll the Macy's Parade last Christmas, but somewhere in his heart he must think, "Damn...I sold millions of records in my prime, and all people will ever remember me for is the Rick Roll."

Due to the nature of Internet humour, jokes usually burn out really quick. But if those numbers are any indication, there's a chance that maybe the Rick Roll will remain as the Internet's equivalent of a whoopee cushion.

Oh, before I go, I saw this amazing goal by Linus Omark that you have to see!

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