Salon.com > viral videos

From Reese to A.J. Clemente, stupidity keeps going viral

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:58:00 +0000

Just to clear up any confusion that you might have, not-terribly-bright person who may from time to time send emails or appear in front of a camera or interact with other humans: The cloak of invisibility is not yet a reality. We can all see and hear and read you here.

We, by the way, are your teachers and employers and future employers and law enforcement officers. But don't take my word for it. Instead, learn from the shining examples of very dumb and very public behavior in just the last few days, and then henceforth, I beg you, pause for just a moment before opening your mouth or hitting the "send" button.

The most recent unfortunate victim of a yawning gap in internal filtering devices is the newly unemployed A.J. Clemente. For about five minutes this weekend, Clemente was a news anchor at KFYR-TV in North Dakota. But in an apparent case of nerves not seen since Albert Brooks perspired his way through the headlines in "Broadcast News," Clemente obliviously kicked off his debut performance by looking downcast and muttering a short string of obscenities. He would later chalk up the mini-meltdown to fear of flubbing the name of London marathon winner Tsegaye Kebede.

Did fake “murder” to promote new action flick go too far?

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Some films can't just rely on a trailer.

Thinkmodo, the advertising company enlisted by the makers of new action film "Dead Man Down," produced a bizarre YouTube video in which non-actors prepare to board an elevator; when the door opens, it reveals two men brutally fighting inside the tiny space.

The reactions of the bystanders range from terrified to sanguine -- one fellow records the action unfolding before him with a phone. Turns out that may have been the most appropriate reaction, given that the terrified folks encountering this fight were all being taped without their knowledge.

"Dead Man Down" is a story about a woman out for revenge against a mob boss; the trailer features all sorts of mayhem. But it lacks the real-world frisson of the so-called viral video putting viewers vicariously in the position of characters. And "Dead Man Down's" advertising technique is hardly revolutionary. Cartoon Network's president was forced to resign in 2007 after his marketing teams planted LED devices throughout Boston to market the show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," leading to a city-wide bomb scare. And the marketing for "The Last Exorcism" featured videos of unwitting Chatroulette users (remember Chatroulette?) screaming in fright after being confronted by a demonic creature.

Watch John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s strange music video

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:20:00 +0000

The ~~highly anticipated~~ John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John Christmas album, "Christmas Time," is here, and the line-dancing duo has just released the music video for "I Think You Might Like It." I think you might like it:

TED Talks reach 1 billion views

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:50:00 +0000

When most people think about viral videos, they imagine the infectious pop hit "Gangnam Style" or meme-like "three-minute kitten videos," as TED talks curator Chris Anderson put it. But today, the popular collection of 18-minute TED Talk videos surpassed 1 billion views since it first released six free talks, featuring luminaries like Bill Gates, Al Gore and David Pogue.

"It’s a good counterpunch to the argument that the Internet is dumbing us down," Anderson told Salon. "Whatever else is true, there are an awful lot of curious people out there, there’s a lot of life-long learners out there."

Known now for "Ideas worth spreading," TED began in 1984 as a closed-door conference covering technology, entertainment and design. Anderson, who is not the same person as the recently departed editor of Wired, purchased the conference in 2001, spun it into a nonprofit and began experimenting with ways to tap into what he has called the "biggest learning cycle in human history."

America’s next top mortician: “It really improves your life to be around corpses”

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 22:00:00 +0000

When we think of morticians, we certainly don’t imagine a bubbly, self-effacing 28-year-old woman like Caitlin Doughty. But that’s who you’ll encounter in “Ask a Mortician,” the YouTube series she has been posting over the past year in which she discusses death, decomposition, funeral practices and grief.

The darkly funny shorts — there are 12 installments to date — have drawn in 434,000 views. Doughty gleefully describes the gory details of her job, answering questions like: “Is it true caskets sometimes explode due to the gasses released in decomposition?” (Yes); “Do crematory operators cut the leg tendons of corpses to prevent them from sitting upright as they burn?” (No); and “What do decomposing bodies smell like?” (“Citrus fruits, licorice and fish, mixed in a bucket and left in the sun for several days”).

Amy Poehler to co-produce Comedy Central pilot

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 20:00:00 +0000

If you've never heard of Ilana Glazer or Abbi Jacobson, you're about to. Glazer is the sister of Vulture writer and "It Gets Better-ish" creator, performer and writer Eliot Glazer. She performed with him in the viral "Sh-t New Yorkers Say" comedy video earlier this year. Now, Ilana and fellow Upright Citizens Brigade alum Abbi Jacobson are teaming up with comedy fairy godmother and UCB co-founder Amy Poehler to produce a pilot based off of Glazer and Jacobson's Web series, "Broad City."

Kent Alterman, Head of Original Programming and Production at Comedy Central didn't need much convincing, saying, "Amy Poehler told me this would be a great show for us, and that's good enough for me." From the press release:

“Broad City” follows two girls, played by Jacobson and Glazer, throughout their daily lives in New York City, making the smallest and mundane events hysterical and disturbing to watch all at the same time...