Do you remember CNN’s live stream of the inauguration, or when TNT did a live stream webcast of the NBA All-Star Game? If you did happen to catch both of those online events at the respective websites, you would have noticed that Facebook played a large part in those particular events.
Each of these events integrated the Facebook Connect-enabled live stream widget. And now Facebook is making this available to all websites and developers who can now incorporate this technology on their sites.
This event now allows brands to consider using this Live Stream ‘Chat’ Box on their websites or applications. However, it is not only built to function around live events, but could be used simply for any reason on a website – but that is the point of it. And another great aspect of this client comes right from Facebook who said “the Live Stream Box can handle a very substantial load, supporting millions of simultaneous users.”
The one downside of the Live Stream Box is that the content posted to it will not be archived or accessible for any APIs. This client is to be utilized as a one-use chat room that can be thrown away at a later point.
However, the true benefit of this is the ability to increase the engagement level, and keep a user’s interest on your website, and increase the amount of time a user might engage on it.
The process is quite simple in how this client functions – a user comes to your site, and if they are already signed in through Facebook, they will be able to start chatting right away (if they are not, they will be asked to sign-in before taking part in the chat client), and each ‘chat message’ a user submits is posted back to their Facebook profile with a link to the website they just came from (Your Website!!). This in turn shows up on their news’ feeds, and so on – the viral propagation has begun.
It’s difficult to understand sometimes why certain events take place. Why individuals might act in a certain manner and take action in ways another might think differently about. It’s relative in thought, but when that action is applied in a real-life situation, you awake for a moment, see something so unbelievable, it’s simply beyond comprehension.
In Iran, we are witnessing that very moment – a revolution unplugged. In streets swept by defiant protestors for the past seven days – post-election of the incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; scenes of chaos have been described to us through singing gunshots, angry helicopters, and graphic images of wounded men, women and children being severely beaten, injured, and then carried off into another hospital bed.
The origin of this revolution comes at the barking of Mir Hossein Moussavi, who believes last week’s Iranian election was fixed – where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received more than 24 million votes – nearly double the number Moussavi received. On Moussavi’s Facebook page, he asserts that through a massive manipulation of the vote, with Ahmadinejad receiving more than 11 million votes over Moussavi 13 million, the election must have been fixed. His supporters now dress in his signature “Green Revolution” colors that accompanied his campaign.
And as reality strikes us with each update, this particular revolution has strung a different chord in 2009, allowing social media to be the key component in allowing the world to see the unfettered truth, happening nearly every hour in Iran. The hash tag (#iranelection) has been in Twitter’s top 10 trending topic since the election ended last week. And every 15 seconds, there are more than 100 updates on the hash tag, many live from ground zero – showing violence from the streets through uncensored images and videos. Iranians have taken up cameras, mobile phones and computers to send Twitter updates, YouTube videos, and Flickr photos of the country’s riots.
The number of Twitter posts with the hash tag #iranelection has risen in monumental fashion on Twitter since the riots have become more intense. On Saturday, June 20, 2009, there were close to 82,000 tweets in just one hour.
The number of blog posts discussing Iran has been on the rise as well, there are nearly 86 million blog posts that discuss Iran in some manner, and on in the last 24 hours there has been over a million of newly published posts.
According to reports Saturday night on CNN, one woman said that riot police pushed her and about 300 people back with batons and water hoses as they were trying to reach Tehran’s Revolution Square late Saturday afternoon. Another eyewitness said that he saw an old man who had been shot in the head. Another protestor said she saw two helicopters hover above a group, and then police broke up the group with tear gas, and those who ran away were hit badly with batons. All of this being caught through images or video of some type.
The power of video has also been used to push an imaginable force of emotion on the public. A video was released of a woman named Neda (#Neda) who was injured during the riots and died in a matter of seconds, all caught on YouTube. I give you fair warning before clicking the following link to go watch that video – for that reason, I am not embedding it. The following video is extremely graphic and you should be prepared before watching it here. I am including this because we need to understand that social media is raw, and allows the public to see an uncensored version of the world or an event. And in the need of just simple understanding, the world must realize what is actually taking place in Iran.
Many other videos have also been released on YouTube that show protestors and police, militia and individuals who have had no part in these riots - being punished.
In one video, recorded June 19, 2009, a woman is filming from her rooftop and reciting a poem about the violence happening below her. And in those streets, you hear the shouting of hundreds of people, evoking such powerful emotion and thought about what is taking place in her country.
In another video recorded by the BBC, the Basij Militia open up fire into the protesting crowds:
Protests are also not only taking place in Iran, but all over the world, This video, very well-produced, comes from an election protest in Paris:
And in Tehran, recorded Saturday, June 20, 2009, just the amount of people you see in the streets is something to stop and think about.
And in some of the most graphic images to come out of the battle so far, a preganant woman was shot in the back earlier this week. Tehranian doctors removed the woman’s fetus and showed the graphic result of violence involved in these riots. The following image is extremely graphic - please be prepared before viewing the image here.
And similar to emergencies in the U.S., Twitter has been used to help tell people where to go if they have been injured, and phone numbers to dial in order to help find anyone who might be missing. Twitter also has been a component to help protestors gather and recruit others to help promote tactics to keep the Iranian government off-guard. Twitter-ers from all around the world are also taking part, and are requesting others to change their local Twitter time in their settings to the Iranian time zone to keep the government from trying to shutdown any local tweeters.
As of 10:16 pm EST on June 20, 2009, Tweeters were reporting that Iran’s oldest militia, the Basij, “were raiding people’s homes overnight and killing people in their homes.”
At 10:19 pm EST, Tweeters were offering guerrilla tactics if facing the Iranian government, “realitybias RT guerrilla tactic: If facing a tank, molotov cocktails drive people out of them. Aim for ventilation and entry port.#iranelection”
These are just two of the thousands of tweets I reviewed during just an hours time. See what others are saying as well:
Conclusion.
This display of escalating violence and mayhem unfortunately has only increased since this post was written. Iran is a nation caught in a web of chaos, and even though social media has allowed a colossal audience to see the destruction happening inside a country, it’s important to recognize what is taking place. And as we monitor this on a daily basis, and use social media as the favorable tool to do so, we must accept the reality described above, even as uncensored as it might be sometimes. But in return, the world is able to see what is happening inside Iran, and can react accordingly – keeping us informed and knowledgeable of the situation at hand.
Becoming a star on the Internet these days does not seem as far fetched as it once might have been. Social networks have become a ubiquitous tactic in helping connect individuals with family, friends, and strangers alike. And over the past several years, a number of those random individuals have become overnight sensations – all thanks to the Internet.
Do we all remember Tay Zonday? After his composition “Chocolate Rain” became an overnight Internet sensation in July 2007, garnering more than 40 million views to date, this Minneapolis grad student went from no one to someone, in mere seconds.
He has appeared on the Opie & Anthony Show, G4TV’s Attack of the Show!, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Lily Allen and Friends, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Maury where he performed Chocolate Rain on national television just three months after posting his video to YouTube. He made the front page of Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, the Toronto Sun, Chicago Tribune, Star Tribune, People magazine, and even has appeared on CNN for a televised interview. He’s made appearances on Fox News, and even made it on to an episode of South Park.
And that’s just the beginning of it! Singer John Mayer mimics Zonday’s keyboard riff with his guitar in concert regularly. Even Green Day drummer Tre Cool recorded a cover of Chocolate Rain, which he posted to YouTube. He’s even been mentioned in episodes of The Office, 30 Rock and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
And this is from a YouTube video, a YouTube video!? Think of it, one day a college student decided to sing some strange, yet catchy song, records it, and ends up becoming an overnight star. Comedy Central, Dr. Pepper, Intel, the rock band Weezer, NASA, Warner Brothers, and BBC have paid Zonday to appear in a variety of promotions.
Zonday is just one of many YouTube celebrities who happen to have corporate sponsors, and are paid for product placement in their videos online. Some have even quit their day jobs or changed careers to accommodate their YouTube filming schedules. And a handful of individuals are also official “YouTube Partners,” meaning YouTube cuts them a share of ad revenue.
Some might think of this notion as absolutely foolish, some might think of it as a form of humble genius – nonetheless, they are stars, overnight sensations that have proven their worth in numerous inescapable maneuvers.
Those mentioned above hold our deserved scrutiny, but they are from years past. Ergo, who shall we take notice of now in 2009? Who will be the next Tay Zonday to speak highly of? - Leaping on to the national stage and then slipping back into anonymity, this seamless performance seems to act as a contagious flu anyone might catch.
And in 2009, only can a deceased cat, a 48-year-old Scottish woman and Dominos pizza employees have so much in common. For just a brief second, we read, watched and spoke about these individuals at some point - all thanks to the Internet, and the instant-celebrity, be it a person, video or website might deliver us.
Drum Roll Please.
Here are just a few of those viral sensations that have struck 2009 in more than just simple terms: (some personal grading was also applied here based on impact)
Keyboard Cat
This sensation began with a video clip of a decade old cat appearing to play the keyboard. Add in a video-savvy 22-year-old to the mix, and marry that clip with another of a person falling down an escalator – you have stardom my friends.
This one video attracted the attention and interest of millions, including comedian Stephen Colbert. The AP reports Brad O’Farrell, syndication manager for MyDamnChannel.com in February 2009, put the keyboard cat into motion. Since that point in time, hundreds have taken the keyboard cat clip and combined it with a video clip of an embarrassing accident – the result is absolutely hysterical in some cases. The keyboard cat’s (aka Fasto, who’s said to be long dead) performance is meant to play the person “off the stage.”
This is a great example of how users can take a moment someone creates, and ‘recycle’ the content on their own to produce user-generated content that allows users to decide the hilarity behind who the keyboard cat will “play off” next. Rating: A+
Susan Boyle
If you have not heard of Susan Boyle, chances are you’ve lived in a cave for the past 6 months. Her melodramatic tale began as a 48-year-old reality show contestant for the U.K. reality TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.” When this very sweet, and very unassuming individual belted one of the finest versions of “I Dreamed a Dream” for what would eventually be the world, never did she see the stardom marching her way. Camera crews and interviews on several major news broadcasts, including the NBC Today Show – caught Boyle off-guard and soon she was thrown into a newly found fame courtesy of the Internet.
And even though this unemployed Scottish church volunteer did eventually lose the contest, the online video of her debut performance was downloaded more than 200 million times, and had the paparazzi camped outside her home, and had Oprah and Larry King begging for interviews.
Rating: B+ (Sorry, she lost…can’t give you points for that.)
25 Random Things About Me
This 2009 e-mail chain-like fad fascinated Facebook users and took them to another level. Chances are if you are on Facebook, at some point you saw this pass into your inbox. And you either loved or despised the forwarded message, reluctantly giving in or galloped to quickly toss into your trash bin. The overall point of the fad was to share 25 random things about yourself, and then forward it to 25 other Facebook users.
PC World Magazine estimated that more than 5 million motions of the chain letter forwards populated Facebook pages in just one week. The fad grew to such a massive following; a Facebook user spoofed it with a “25 Things I Hate About Facebook” video. Facebook quickly followed up with the user, Julian Smith, and worked with him on other videos.
This 2009 sensation had a prolonged spike in mainstream media, and did help Facebook further its popularity. Rating: A
Dominos Pizza Videos
In May, videos of Dominos pizza employees violated public health laws when they decided to have ‘fun’ with people’s food while preparing it and recording the entire segment on video inside the Dominos pizza kitchen.
Their antics, which eventually made it to YouTube, sparked a PR nightmare for Dominos pizza, where the company made a public apology from the CEO online via YouTube.
This drew the eyes of several million people, damaging the brand greatly overnight. But, like any other Internet sensation, these moments are short-lived, and what was once a wildfire, seems almost like it never happened.
In the end, an interesting study was done by MediaCurves.com, where they obtained American’s perceptions of the event’s apology, as it revealed that 65% of respondents who would previously visit or order Domino’s Pizza were less likely to do so after viewing a “prank” video. The results can be seen here
Rating: B-
Runners Up:
The Obama Puppy: The moment President Obama promised his daughter’s a puppy, the world had no choice but to care. Bo, the Portuguese water dog eventually made his way to the White House and the ‘online’ world went into a frenzy. Online polls, kennel associations, blogs, and users across all social platforms scratched and clawed to want to help the Obamas pick the breed. Rating: B
The AIG Bonuses: When the world found out that $165 million was paid out in bonuses by insurance giant AIG, the world fought back. Both the public and government officials were outraged by the event of a crumbling company to release bonuses of this size after receiving more than $170 billion in taxpayer funds to stay afloat. As in the case of the Dominos Pizza event, this saw a large spike, then quickly bottomed out and lost interest. Rating: B+
Conclusion.
There is one interesting point about viral sensations that strikes me, the time involved. People seem to obsess for a short period of time, and then poof…it’s off to the next ‘hot’ thing. In this tiny village we all live in, there is nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, nowhere anyone won’t find you. The Internet, in an exceptional way, has transformed our lives into ‘live’ events. We can record, we can tape, we can see what others are doing and transmit that event quicker than ever before, to a stage where the entire world can view. Some might argue this and describe our ‘personal space’ as being lost and violated – It’s hard to disagree. But, in reality, it has been, and apparently we are OK with that. There is a reason we share our lives on the Internet with both friends and strangers, why each of us try and climb the plateau and look over to see who might be looking up at us on occasions. When taking this into perspective, it’s all relative, whether your Joe the Plumber or a big brand like Microsoft – there is point to all of this madness. You want to see me, and I want to see you. We might be trying to play those subtleties off on occasion, but in the end – why fight it? Enjoy the self-absorption, swagger with the best of them and remember, narcissism will always get you somewhere in this world.
