YouTube videos go viral

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By Emley Kerry

When Canadian folk musician Dave Carroll arrived at the Omaha airport only to discover that his expensive Taylor guitar had not survived the flight from Halifax, Canada, he sought compensation. However, when United Airlines refused to pay the musician for the damages, Carroll sought revenge. 

He and his band, Sons of Maxwell, wrote the humorous "United Breaks Guitars," created a music video and posted the clip on YouTube.  By day three, the video had 50,000 views and United was forced to "make it right," as tweeted by the company, by apologizing to Carroll and offering him monetary compensation for his troubles.    By day three, the video had passed three million hits and was making headlines across the country and around the world.  To date, the video has been seen by over six million people.

With the incredible "mouth-to-mouth" power of YouTube, one man's complaint with a huge corporation can become dinner table, bar and office conversation for people all around the world.

In short, Carroll's video "went viral."  A viral video is a generally funny clip that has made its way into the public conscience, so much so that almost anyone can recognize it by the title alone.  "Leave Britney Alone" ring a bell?  And how about "Charlie Bit My Finger"?  The clips were home videos that, when posted on the Internet, received exponential hits as people mentioned and e-mailed the links to friends and family; who in turn informed their friends and family about it. 

YouTube has become an incredible forum for sharing experiences, be they humorous, boring, irrelevant or bizarre.  The video sharing Web site was created in February 2005.  Can you even remember life before YouTube?  Just a few years back, when you wanted someone to see a video you had made, you recorded it onto a CD.  A few years before that, you invited people over to your house to watch your slide shows. 

When Carroll's guitar was broken, he didn't just complain to his friends or write angry letters to the company.  He took to the Internet, YouTube in particular, a forum where he knew his ideas could be shared instantaneously all over the world.  Whether we are watching videos of a sneezing baby panda scaring his mother to death, a street team giving out free hugs to anyone interested or a cat up for adoption going berserk on his handlers on live television, viral YouTube videos bring us all closer together.    

Originally Published: Issue 822 - November 4, 2009

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