Tag Archives: mark

advertising, book, Viral Video, YouTube

Rick Astley Makes Come Back With “Never Gonna Give You Up”

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Rick AstleyWarning: YouTube prank spoiler here. If you haven’t spent some time on YouTube’s homepage today, stop reading immediately.

If you have been there, you might have noticed that each of the attractive thumbnails take you to the same video. Rick Astley’s supah cheesy “Never Gonna Give You Up.” You’ve been “rickrolled.”

My hats off to the person that sold this internally. I’ve watched this video recently, and I’m quite sure I didn’t find it on my own. I wish I could remember where I found it. According to Wikipedia, Around the year 2007, posting mislabeled links to the video on the Internet became popular, in a prank known as “rickrolling.”

I can just hear the discussion at a YouTube “April’s Fool Brainstorming” meeting last week in San Bruno.

  • The prankster: So here’s my big idea. All these captivating homepage thumbnails, but every click goes to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
  • Stephen Chen: Who? Who’s Ricky Ashley?
  • Prankster: A 1980s star. When were you bor… never mind.
  • Editorial: That would give Astley an unfair advantage above other 1980s musicians trying to lift themselves out of oblivian. Like Weird Al. Then again, he’s big on Revver.
  • Tall, Balding Advertising Guy: It would give him millions and millions of views. Would we charge his agent a CPM or “per click”?
  • Community Lady: Who invited the bald guy with the bad breath? Anyway, I’m not sure people will get it. And they may get annoyed.
  • Advertising Guy: Wait, Goth Lady- can we host the video and take 100% of the advertising revenue? Like we’d just post it on a “house” partner’s account?
  • Stephen Chen: I don’t know. I’d rather go back to the original idea of putting the logo upside down. That smacks of comedic brilliance.
  • Mark Day: Righto, Stephen! That’s hysterical. Upside down logo. Steven Chen pees with Mark DayLOLLOLLLOLLLL. I can hear them now: “hey, is my computer upside down?” Can I walk you to your car. Mr. Chen? It looks like it’s raining again.
  • Stephen Chen: Yes, Smithers. Then it’s settled (he says dismissively, before leaving conference room with Mark Day by side).
  • Technical Guy: I liked your idea.
  • Prankster: Sighs. Well it would have been funny.
  • Technical Guy: Correction- it will be funny.
  • Prankster: Won’t Stephen get pissed?
  • Technical Guy: Nope. He hasn’t visited YouTube in 11 weeks. He’ll never know.
  • Stephen Chen (voice audible from hallway): Mark, I’d just assume you wait out here while I pee. I’m not sure I want the world knowing I drop my pants and undies below my knees when using the urinal.
book, copyright, YouTube

What’s “Fair Use” in Online Video?

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Copyright Law is probably the most misunderstood of all law pertaining to copyrights. I wrote that myself.

So it helps to get some guidance from Mark Levy, who specializes in intellectual property law, and wrote a piece on “What’s Legal: Producer’s Rights” in a recent issue of VideoMaker.

The least you need to know:

  • Copyright law protects you as a video creator, and gives you the right to authorize (or not) your stuff for reproduction, derivative works and distribution for sale or rental.
  • Fair use allows users to copy portions off a work for purposes of illustration or commentary. Journalist can quote speeches, but courts consider four factors to determine the fine line between fair use and copyright infringement:
  1. The nature of the work: If it’s factural not creative, it’s more likely to pass.
  2. Purpose: commercial or non-profit has obvious implications.
  3. Amount and substantiality of excerpted work. The more you use, the greater the risk. TheStranger can probably use my image in this “Undies” award promotion. But the jackass that keeps ripping popular YouTube videos, posting it on their own channel, and linking to their stupid website? YouTube seems to be policing that well.
  4. Potential effect on the value or potential market of the original work.

Be careful out there, kiddo.

advertising, book, Contest, Video Sites, Viral Video, YouTube

YouTube Sketchies (and Stupid Thumbnail Ad by Dove)

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sketchies.pngYou have until March 3 to enter your comedy video into the first round of YouTube’s Sketchies II. Corolla, leveraged popular YouTuber LisaNova to promote the contest (she was second place last year with this “LisaNova does George Bush” video).

I spoke with LisaNova via phone for the first time on Saturday, when TheMightyThor1212 was good enough to put her on the line while at the YouTube San Francisco gathering.

Here’s a recap (wish I had videotaped it since it doesn’t quite translate as a manuscript):

  • dove.pngNalts: Hey, Lisa
  • Lisa: Hey
  • Nalts: Are you getting bombarded?
  • Lisa: What?
  • Nalts: I’m a big fan. I liked your recent video about the comedy contest.
  • Lisa: Which one?
  • Nalts: You know- the one on the beanbag. With your face on the homepage.
  • Lisa: Oh- the Sketchies.
  • Nalts: Yeah. Will you do the BubbleGumTreeShow? (a show featuring viral creators, like Mark Day, who will perhaps be juding the Sketchies?).
  • Lisa: Sure. Just send me the information.
  • Nalts: Kay. Have fun.
  • Lisa: Some kids is asking me to autograph their shirt.
  • Nalts: Go make their day. Nice speaking with you.
  • Lisa: Nice speaking with you too, Renetto.

Too bad I don’t have a screen grab of the YouTube homepage when it featured LisaNova’s video. It was framed so the ridiculously huge gray play button doesn’t obscure LisaNova’s face. Unlike the image here by Dove.

Honestly. Who lets an ad like this go live?

dove2.pngJust before I posted this, I hit refresh and found this version. Now instead of featuring the Dove host, they’ve got an image from the winning entry (by Celeste Wouden) of the Dove Cream Oil Body Wash advertisement contest.

Hmmm. Two-star rating with the last 4 being the lowest possible. Hmmm. Either the YouTube audience doesn’t care for this video or some of the losers are launching an attack on this video.

Too bad about the thumbnails. You know, Dove, this gal isn’t going to drive nearly as many clicks as a woman with a slender neck and face shaped like a play button.

Making Videos, Video Sites, YouTube

Should Comedian Mark Day Stop Creating Now That He’s YouTube’s Comedy Manager?

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Mark Day ComedyThis isn’t breaking news, but I feel remiss to not have covered the news that Mark Day (markdaycomedy) is now a YouTube employee as “comedy manager” (see YouTube blog. Mark (markdaycomedy) started on YouTube in March 2006, and I’ve long been starstruck by his omnipresence on YouTube and other sites. He’s best known for pimping his “Smiley Face Intervention” mug, and his frequent comedic, topical bits. He was the premier guest on our recently launched BubbleGumTreeShow (Charles Trippy is the next guest, and I think I’d better find a sponsor for the show or drop the goal of 52 creators in 2008 to about 26).

Mark’s announcement in the YouTube blog says, “Now that I’m part of the YouTube team, you won’t be seeing much of my big bald head any more.” I spoke with Mark, and challenged him on this decision. He explained how it might feel for an upcoming creator to see Mark as both a decision-maker and, effectively, competition. While there are potential conflicts of interest, I would argue that it can be reconciled. Selfishly, I’d like to see Mark continue. And the more we see of the editors and community managers, the more human the company feels. What do you think?

It’s possible this is a red herring. Many YouTubers burn out when the adrenaline of faux fame wears down, and we realize it’s consuming our time and energy. I think we’ll see more YouTube burnouts as some top creators realize that the partner program’s revenue isn’t what they expected, and that few have “crossed the chasm” to additional media forms.

P.S. Comedy Manager is a stupid title. You can’t manage comedy.