A lot of us watch a great deal of online video each month, some good, some bad, but which are the videos that go beyond merely being popular and attract worldwide attention?
The 100 Million Views Club tells us exactly that, and it consequently makes for very interesting reading, with movers and shakers shaping the new chart.
Visible Measure Viral Video Chart
While Magma tracks the most popular videos of the day, Visible Measures is constantly tracking the biggest and most popular viral videos around. And there are 35 which, according to the company, have exceeded 100 million views.
We first covered the list in May but things have changed somewhat since then. The newly updated list has seen some new entries which have quickly raced up the charts due to either current events or the zeitgeist of the day.
Changing Trends
When the viral video chart was first published in May it was pretty clear that music videos and movie trailers were ruling the roost. And that really hasn’t changed much.
However, it’s interesting to see how some video phenomenons have fallen by the wayside really quickly while others continue to roll on months after they first broke.
Michael Jackson
The death of Michael Jackson at the end of June massively affected online video, and not only by virtue of the millions who watched his memorial. The Thriller music video has risen massively up the ranks and is now sitting at the number 3 spot with 299 million views.
The top 3 spots are all music videos, and 50 percent of the chart overall is music videos. Which proves how important they are and explains why YouTube and the record labels felt a separate entity for music videos was worth setting up. Enter VEVO.
Twilight Saga: New Moon
Meanwhile, the trailer for the original Twilight movie is at number 4 with 298 million even though the film has had its time at the cinema and is also now out on DVD and Blu-ray.
However, its success looks set to be dwarfed by the movie trailer for Twilight Saga: New Moon, the second film in the series which is due out later this year. It jumped 8 places in the charts in the last month and Visible Measures believes it could take the number 1 spot by the time the movie is actually released.
Conclusions
Music videos and movie trailers clearly have the power to dominate viral video rankings due to the number of fans eager to view the content. However, 12 of the 35 videos with more than 100 million views is user-generated content, proving there is still an appetite for the likes of Tay Zonday and Achmed The Dead Terrorist.
YouTube will no doubt be pleased with this, especially in light of its decision to monetize more of these one-off viral video hits.
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