Cloverfield Viral

YouTube is great, and addictive as Janet recently mused. Countless other Flash-based video sites have since arisen, but YouTube remains the most popular and well-known. You can find nearly anything you're looking for, and plenty you're not looking for. Original content can even lead to unpredictable results. I've seen people's videos incorporated into commercials and movies, and careers even blossom on the internet. Andy Samberg and his pals in The Lonely Island got their start on Channel101.com before going on to SNL and the big screen. More recently, I learned that Lisa Nova's hilarious YouTube videos landed Lisa Donovan on the cast of MadTV.

I had no such ambitions back when I started an account there, nor did I realize how popular YouTube would become. I was just thrilled to discover a way to host my video content for this blog for free, videos that would load far more quickly and universally than the Quicktime movies I was uploading to space I was paying my internet service provider for. It was a way to add motion to my Photo Blog Wednesdays. Every now and then I'll get a comment on a video, usually ”VBW: Summertime in Venice”, ”Chirping Swamp”, or ”Camel Cricket”, but for the most part my videos go unnoticed by the YouTube community.

When recounting my Fourth of July fireworks experience, I inadvertently caught a snippet of conversation between my friends about the teaser trailer for an untitled J.J. Abrams movie which premiered before Transformers:



I'll describe what we saw, as uploaded videos haven't been staying online for very long. The studio is being very secretive about the project, and generating an amazing level of buzz. A handheld camera records a going-away party for someone named “Rob”, the “main dude” of the camera operator. It's your typical gathering of twenty-somethings and their clever banter, like you might find on Felicity, civilian scenes in Alias, or flashbacks on Lost. Then the building shakes, and a Godzilla-like roar is heard in the distance. They watch a newscast speculating about earthquakes, then rush to the roof just in time to see a building erupt in flames as debris rains down. It's a jarring first person experience as the camera operator runs from the destruction, and it places you in the situation with everyone else. At the end, only the release date of 1-18-08 is given.

Hordes of geeks, present company included, flocked to the internet for answers. What was the name of that movie we know nothing about? Only working titles had been leaked from the studio, code names hiding the true nature of it. Some called it The Parasite while others referred to it as Cloverfield or simply by the date, 1-18-08.

Naturally, I named my video Cloverfield, joked about the teaser trailer, then moved on to show my audience the real videos of fireworks. Then the comments started rolling in. People searching for the elusive trailer kept stumbling upon my little nothing clip from a barbecue. “Why did you even post this?” “Who cares?????” People even rated it two stars in their disappointment, viewing it out of the context of my post. Funny thing is, I happened to notice the view count yesterday. Over 2,000 people had seen the clip. I even received my first honor for a video, ranking in as the 48th most viewed entertainment clip of the day. By last night, the count exceeded 4,000, the clip was 15th most viewed in Entertainment, and 91st overall. As of this morning as I write this, while the honors are gone, the view count is currently 12,857.

12,857! More people than I'll know in my lifetime have watched a 22 second clip of firecrackers while we talk about the trailer. Most of the actual trailer clips don't reach that many views, because they're removed so quickly. It's hilarious. I accidentally contributed to a viral campaign.

The real puzzle is on the Parasite website, and I'm currently unlocking a puzzle in the “Ethan was Right” section. I've seen one clip already, and have now cracked into a more complicated sphere while lightning crashes and spooky music plays. I'm not getting the same Godzilla vibe from the site as I did from the trailer. Could the Parasite be some kind of alien? Are people taken over? What is the movie about? My curiosity is piqued, and judging by how many people keep finding my video, I'm definitely not alone. I hope it lives up to the hype, and I'm glad it helped me set a new record without even trying.