viral

As it did with millions of other fans around the world, "The Hunger Games" trilogy completely captured my imagination. I picked up the books about a year ago and read all three in less than two weeks. And I don't even read very fast!

Of course, as soon as I caught word that Hollywood was turning the franchise into feature films, I had to hop online to do my research. I lapped up every bit of casting news and waited with bated breath to catch my first glimpse of the trailer. And when the trailer arrived, I … Read more

There are few more painful jobs than being a restaurant server.

Why, only yesterday, a number of them were awarded more than $5 million, after they claimed that Mario Batali's company had unfairly re-allocated some of their tips.

So if Peyton Manning walked into your restaurant and, at the end of a meal, offered an a additional tip of $200, you might feel a little giddy. Especially as 18 percent had already been added to the $739.58 check.

You would want to tell as many people as possible--or at least your friends.

These days, though, many think the … Read more

When I first saw the video pitch for Dollar Shave Club, I thought it was a joke. The fact that the site was down for a long period didn't help.

But as we know now, this thing is for real. The YouTube video now has more than 1.6 million views. A backer I spoke with said it's all part of the strategy.

At Launch, I talked with Peter Pham, from Science Inc., the accelerator that's been working with Dollar Shave Club. Science has been working on other similar plays, like the underwear company MeUndies and the … Read more

If you're on Facebook, chances are a link titled "Kony 2012" has appeared on your news feed this week.

The video, which was uploaded to YouTube on March 5, tells the story of filmmaker Jason Russell's personal mission to take down Joseph Kony, the Ugandan leader of the guerrilla group Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

Produced by the nonprofit group Invisible Children, it has all of the elements of a powerful viral video: heroes and villains, heart, purpose and a call to action (the filmmakers also make good use of Facebook Timeline as storytelling tool). In … Read more

If you're burning to spend this Valentine's Day, Pizza Hut has a $10,000 engagement party package that includes a personal fireworks display, a one-topping pizza, and bread sticks with icing to prep your stomach for a lifetime of loneliness. … Read more

Leave it to Sony's marketing arm in Japan to rustle up yet another cryptic advertising campaign.

A video quietly emerged last week on Sony's YouTube channel labeled Dot Switch. It's a first-person view of someone holding what appears to be an Xperia Arco smartphone and wielding it as a remote control. The Arco is the Japanese version of the Xperia Arc, and perhaps it's relevant to note that the Arco also has an infrared (IR) port.

What's got everyone buzzing about the viral ad is that the person holding the device in the vid is controlling a random assortment of products, such as a gramophone, a TV, and confetti machines. What a strange combination!

The end of the video is marked by yet another tap on the smartphone's screen toward a robot arm that reveals a small shiny black box. … Read more

Unruly Media, a video-promotion start-up that just botched a Google Chrome ad campaign, has raised $25 million in first-round funding.

Among investors in the London-based company are Amadeus Capital Partners, Van den Ende & Deitmers, and the British Growth Fund. The money will be used "to accelerate international growth and cement Unruly's position as the global leader in this fast-growing area," the company said today.

Unruly helps its clients promote video advertisements that, if all goes according to plan, spread virally. Among those it's been involved in are Evian's roller babies and Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" … Read more

Shortly before Christmas, teenager Ben Breedlove, creator of the YouTube channel BreedloveTV, posted a two-part video about his lifelong heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It was the high school senior's most serious video and would prove to be his last.

On Christmas morning, while playing with his younger brother in the family's backyard, Breedlove succumbed to the condition that causes a thickening of heart muscle, went into cardiac arrest, and died.

In the days following, Breedlove's final two videos--in which he does not say a word but cycles through a series of flash cards to the music "… Read more

What's cuter, a laughing baby or a talking dog?

Well, thanks to a joint effort by the folks at YouTube and Google Research, this vexing brainteaser can now be answered with absolute sort of certainty.… Read more