Going viral with murderous rage

It travels faster than light, it's free and it has the power to create a star overnight. An old-timer explores a world that's going viral.

BC: I don't get it.

AD: Get what?

BC: Over 20 million hits and it’s still going strong. What exactly is this phenomenon?

AD: The question's not 'what', but 'why'. Why this...

BC: Stop! Please…! I have it coming out of my ears...

AD: I must say we're having an overdose of it now. Newspapers, blogs, Facebook forwards, tweets and a zillion versions, not to mention Hitler raging over the hit number…

BC: Things are so bad that a few days back, I saw an article on Karlovy Vary, a spa city in the Czech Republic, and you can imagine what I mistook it for...

AD: So you've made the song a hit even in the Czech Republic.

BC: Don’t tell me! But how do these things become such a craze?

AD: What happens when you sneeze?

BC: Why are you revisiting my Class 3 science lesson?

AD: For the simple reason that viral videos and messages are transmitted the same way. You post or upload content online. If it catches the fancy of other netizens, they share it, forward it, tweet about it and recommend it to their friends or networks. Soon, your post becomes a rage.

BC: Sounds like a great way to market your skills - free of cost.

AD: That's right, can you imagine a 14-year old becoming a singing sensation because of a single song uploaded on various social media sites?

BC: Who is this?

AD: Rebecca Black - apparently her video has been viewed around 167 million times. She is widely hailed as the female Justin Bieber.

BC: And who might he be?

AD: I should have known. Your generation would never know anyone who's just in. Justin Bieber is another teen sensation who became popular because of his viral videos that were seen by millions. He's a star today.

BC: Sounds like a great avenue for careers.

AD: In fact, a viral video on YouTube has given a voice-over artist a new lease of life.

BC: Wow!

AD: Ted Williams was out of a job, homeless and drifting, when his video went viral. In 48 hours, it had received over 13 million hits and Ted Williams, a couple of job offers.

BC: This sounds fascinating... So why can't companies use this method to promote their products?

AD: Google announced the launch of its Chrome browser through a 38-page online comic book that has now become a collector's item. The funny part was that the comics became widely circulated and forwarded before the browser was launched. Google had to rush things to ensure an early launch because the buzz had become tremendous by then.

BC: I guess information or videos leaked without one's knowledge can create havoc.

AD: Like the ‘Starwars kid’ video. A video of Ghyslain Razaa playing with a golf ball retriever was circulated online by his friends without his knowledge and viewed over a billion times. Unfortunately, it led to him dropping out of school because of all the teasing – he had to go through psychiatric treatment.

BC: I'm sure that if this current rage plays another time in my head, I will be locked up in a psychiatric ward for the rest of my life.

AD: That's funny.

BC: What is?

AD: When the world is raving about what it takes for a viral video to spread, it takes someone from your generation to go raving mad about a viral video taking you to the shrink.