For my final project I tried to take a look at Virality of videos and what makes a video go viral. I watched numerous video and did tons of research.  While there are many factors that go into a video going viral, I shot a video that honed into the most critical factors. 



Essentially, if you have these characteristics in your video, there is a chance of it going viral.  I'll get into some attributes I found to be included in viral videos.  First off, it should be short.  Ilya Pozin says in an article published by Forbes that, "A survey published in The New York Times found more than 19 percent of people had left a video after only 10 seconds. By a minute in, the video had lost a staggering 44 percent of viewers." You'll lose most of your viewers by the end of minute one.  You have to start off with something interesting as soon as possible. 

Another factor that your video needs is something that will evict some kind of emotion out of the viewer. It could be funny, it could be sad, it could heartfelt. Whatever it is, it should evict some type of emotion from the viewer.

Engagement helps things go viral.  When it comes to music, if you create a dance off a song you made.  You can make a living.  The electric is still popular.  Soulja Boy created the Crank Dat dance that had everyone on the dancefloor.  Bobby Shmurda had his song go viral off a little dance he did in a music video and he signed a record deal not too long ago. Engagement are key factors in these instances.  You and I can both do the Crank Dat dance, we can both physically do the Bobby Shmurda dance.  If your video has some sort of engagement that empowers the viewer, that really helps.

Getting picked up by what I call 'influencers' helps.  In my video I reference a video called 'OOPS I let the cow in."  The video came out in April.  A blogger on reddit posted it and a couple days later, it was featured on The Today Show.  The video has over 4,000 comments on REDDIT and all the Today's Show viewers watched it.  Now many blogs are talking about it and picking up on it.  People this is how virality works.  In my final project I will shoot a video that focus's on these factors and more in a video.


Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvE8GFnIq50&feature=youtu.be

Alloca, Kevin. "Why Videos Go Viral." Kevin Allocca: Why Videos Go Viral. Ted Talks, Nov. 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.

Ayyar, Rohan. "A Scientific Approach To Creating Insanely Viral Videos." Fast Company. Fast Company, 27 June 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.

Barrett, Kerry. "The Science Behind Viral Videos." - FOX 29 News Philadelphia. Fox News Corp, 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.

Jones, Shane. "The Art and Science of Viral Videos." The Art and Science of Viral Videos. Hub Spot, 17 June 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.

Kitroeff, Natalie. "Why That Video Went Viral." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 May 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.

Macmillan, Gordon. "How Videos Go Viral on Twitter - Three Stories | Twitter Blogs." How Videos Go Viral on Twitter - Three Stories | Twitter Blogs. Twitter, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.

Pozin, Ilya. "6 Qualities To Make Your Videos Go Viral." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 07 Aug. 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.