Web Secret#204: How to Make a Viral Video

I had a dream: to one day sit in the audience at a TED conference, a very expensive proposition costing thousands of dollars.

On November 19, 2011, I was able to attend the first EVER TedYouth conference courtesy of my teenage son Eric, whose successful application earned him one of the 300 seats in the auditorium. I got a seat because he put me down as a chaperone...

True to TED form - the presenters were amazing. I will feature some of my favorite talks in upcoming blog posts. Here is the first:

Kevin Allocca has my dream job - he watches YouTube videos for a living. Actually he is YouTube's trend manager, analyzing what makes a successful viral video.

In this video, he shared the 3 reasons a video goes viral:

1. unexpectedness - this is the lightning in a bottle, something happens in a video that no one would expect. Remember when Susan Boyle walked onto the stage of the X-Factor looking like a bag lady? Then she opened her mouth to sing - over 6 million hits.
2. tastemakers - a person who is famous or influential talks, tweets or otherwise communicates about your video.
3. communities of participation - a large group of the tastemaker's followers tweets or e-mails the video to their friends and followers.

But this is not just about entertainment. Companies and individuals can also harness the power of the viral video to promote products, services and themselves.

Watch Kevin as he further dissects viral videos:
Thank you Eric!