Move over cute cats, Double Rainbow Dude, and kid-taping parents, the pros are taking over. This year, we saw a shift away from what made Youtube popular to begin with. YouTube trends manager Kevin Allocca told AFP:
“Almost everything on the list this year was created by professional or creative talent for an online audience.”
“It’s different from years ago, when homemade videos or random, funny stuff from smartphone cameras were the hits.”
In previous year-end lists, amateur viral videos at least shared the spotlight with videos that were professionally produced. This year, however, only one video, a father calling out his daughter for a Facebook post, went ultra-viral (at least enough to make the top 10). In addition to the Facebook father video, the top 10 saw four music videos (including “Gangnam Style” and “Call Me Maybe”), two comedy sketches, one commercial, one amazing feat, and one caused-based. video. (The complete list is here.)
Another trend, Youtube’s global reach, Allocca told the Los Angeles Times:
“A lot of people are used to us having an insular pop culture, where everything is originating out of the U.S. and spreads to other parts of he world. YouTube is a global thing — 70% of YouTube’s views happen outside of the U.S. You have these things that are phenomena at a global scale.”
This year Youtube attracted 800 million unique visitors a month who watched 4 billion hours of video.
Photo: Flickr/Rego - d4u.hu
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