Let's See that Again! 10 Landmark Viral Videos of 2007

Top 10 lists have been bubbling up out of blogosphere with torrential tenacity this year. The Internet is brimming hysterically with them. And who doesn’t love lists, rankings and countdowns? I know I do! And so does everyone else who watches Vh1 or E! or even Animal Planet.

Anyway, this latest top 10 compilation comes straight from Gawker, and it’s one of the craziest and most hysterical I’ve seen so far — it's pure, unadulterated digital shock and awe. So what is it? It's a ranking of the most most popular and pop culturally (ir)relevant viral videos of 2007, of course!

Bet you can't watch any of these just once, no matter how much you try and pry your eyes away. Trust me: You'll be doing double-takes and re-clicking that Play button to get a good glimpse of the nutty goings-on in these videos, many of which I'm positive you've already seen.

Also, I think this list captures online zeitgeist the best, spouting absurd precision and one-up sarcasm with understated charm. The list makes a task of documenting the digital events that made the noisiest splash online this year, stopping Internets in their tracks and making them take notice.

Watch this “marvelous cut-the-chase montage” put together by the Gawker gang over and over again, then snap out of your dumbfounded daze and love on this post with some comments!

“I Personally Believe” These are the Most Illustrious Quotes of 2007

Like such as. Nothing like the Internet to mushroom kooky one-off events into pop cultural phenomena. Below a ranking of the five most memorable quotes of 2007, as reported by Reuters.com (I have no clue as to what metrics they might have used to come up with this list, btw):

1. “Don’t tase me, bro!”

2. “I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq and everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for ourgghh.”

3. “In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country.”

4. “That's some nappy-headed hos there.”

5. “I don't recall.”

Can you match the quote to the person who uttered the infamous words?

Don Imus — college student and rabble-rouser Andrew Meyer — Alberto Gonzales — Lauren Upton, Miss Teen South Carolina — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Check out the entire Top 10 list here for some more of those reckless and hare-brained verbal spews that rang and rattled with venomous viral force around the Net this year. Curiously tho, “Leave Britney alone!” was overlooked. What’s that about? Whatevz… Anyway, I’m sure these would all make some funky-ass t-shirts, don't you think?

Honest to Blog? Best and Worst of 2007

Tune in to iMediaConnection and find out which online marketing campaigns the experts are touting as cutting-edge for 2007. Widgets, UGC, touch points, mobile, video, clickthrough, viral, rollout, social media, BT, analytics… all the trendy marketing buzzwords and phrases are tossed around freely and without restraint here.

The article is chock-full of interesting opinion and fanciful forecasts for 2008, and will have you making conjectures and coming up with ideas of your very own.

So check it out to see which campaigns have been labeled phenomenal flops and which are considered the best and the brightest of 2007 (high-five for automotive and film!); also, find out what’s in store for next year and what's shaping up to be the next big marketing platform. Will it be mobile? Facebook’s Beacon? What do you think will be the biggest online marketing trend of 2008? And which up-and-coming marketing blogs deserve our praise?

Interactive Motion Logic: Groovy Lines for Groovy Minds

Yugop.com is a site unlike any you've ever made your way to before. This experimental online art house, brought to you by avante garde Japanese digital artist and branding expert Yugo Nakamuro, is making pixelated waves online — both literally and figuratively — thanks to its synchronized, mouse-sensitive motion animation experiences.

This Mr. Roboto-infused digital destination includes an RSS feed ready to stuff your reader with tons of eye-catching, precision-crafted digital goodies, as well as a comprehensive archive of interactive artworks created for edgy, high-profile clients like UNIQLO and XBOX 360; it also boasts fluid and futuristic functionality that serves up a myriad of techno-inspired surprises, all with a distinct and modern Japanese edge. Check it out. Domo arigato!

Music as Brushstroke — When Sounds Splash on a Digital Canvas

Here’s a standout site that a friend of mine sent my way last week. It’s really somethin’ else — and in an effort to keep you dialed in on the latest innovations popping up around the Web, I’ve decided to blog this one out.

Check it: The Life House Method is an imaginative proposition that uses specialized software to create musical portraits. Here's how it works: The software, created by a team manned by a composer/mathematician and comprised of Web developers and musicians, reads jpegs of your likeness as if following a grand staff, and then patches together musical notes and auditory references with sonorous, skillful sensuality to paint a unique musical masterpiece that captures your precise mood and personality.

It’s an all-out celebration of synesthesia — by merging the senses into one hallucinatory adventure, The Life House Method manages to blur the line between vision and sound by weaving pitch-perfect online sensory experiences that are bound to surprise. And with the latest news of Leonardo da Vinci encoding music into The Last Supper, the idea of creating harmony from images rings right on target.

With sweet pings, sultry arrangements, colorful notes, melodic clangs, pulsating beats, and at-attention rhythms, most of the portraits showcased have the power to both intrigue and provoke. So check it out. I know it has left me wondering: What would my very own musical portrait look— I mean, sound — like? What about yours?

Attention Internets: Has Web 2.0 Jumped the Shark?

Na-ah, not from where I'm standing! Alas, others would tend to disagree. Check out this video, courtesy of The Richter Scales, to see what I mean. It’s a riot, yes--and even though it brings up a significant point, I think on a deeper level tho, it totally misses the mark. Why? I believe that this time around, the digital money-making model online is already barreling full speed ahead, way past the point of no return.

As opposed to 2000 when the dot.com bubble burst leveled start-ups and interactive advertising constructs like and enraged e-tsunami, 2.0 has already gained enough critical mass and grown strong-enough roots to weather a stock windfall or an economic crisis--or even an ominous onslaught of postmodern parody.

And more than that: Interactive is no longer simply about reeling in some green: It’s about conversation, social participation, empowerment, and meaningful connections. Hell, even my mom's on Facebook now.

So if you haven't already, it's time to get in on the online game. The paranoia and trauma that resulted from the first Internet implosion is all but a bad dream now. Watch this video, laugh it up, and then blog about it! Oh, and let me know what your take on it is, obvz.

Wacky Wikis That Can Cut: Edgy Alternatives to Wikipedia

As a regular Wikipedia contributor, I've found it's not easy to be as remiss with your entries as many would tend to think. Wikipedia editors pull down anything they deem spamy, overtly commercial, or suspiciously fabricated with lightning-bolt speed. And when they think an article's content is a little off-kilter, they're not at all afraid to slap it with a loud label that questions an entry's neutrality, accuracy, or credibility.

Which is all fine and good. With Wikipedia regularly taking hits from the media both online and off, Wiki gatekeepers have become increasingly dedicated to guarding the veracity and integrity of this mega-contribution site as jealously as possible.

Which has left Wikipedia wanting on some fronts, from my POV. But there's no need to fret: As far as edgy Wikis go, there are a couple that are a cut above the rest.

As a "slang dictionary” built around user definitions, UrbanDictionary.com has been able to tap directly into the online pipeline by capturing the evolution of e-language with Polaroid-style instancy, leaving "innovative" and "serious" propositions like Wikipedia in the dust.

Thanks to the veritable flood of contributions from opinion-prone, avant garde onliners hellbent on molding, owning, and leveraging everything from techno idioms and pop-speak phenomena to niche-centered language, UrbanDictonary has become the go-to resource for e-trend setters, Internet anthropologists, and cool hunters alike.

And then there are sites like Encyclopedia Dramatica, which turn the notion of the Wiki on its head by taking on an unapologetic, eff-you attitude with a decided punk rock style. If sarcasm, irreverence and dark humor are not your cup 'o tea, better hightail it back to the land of mainstream online media (yawn), and leave this site to the big boys.

So remember: If you wish to ready yourself for a stint as a high-profile blogger/commenter or evolve into a bona fide online connoisseur, make note of keeping UrbanDictonary and Encyclopedia Dramatica at the top of your del.icio.us bookmarks list. If anything, they'll help you find your way in an ever-changing digital landscape. Thoughts?

Guerilla Marketing Thru Instant Messaging

You’ve just come up with a standout sitelet-based marketing campaign. The creative is sparkling and spot-on, the messaging is laser-focused, and the troops are ready for deployment. There’s just one problem: There’s zero budget for an effective e-mail blast or OLA campaign to reel in some targeted traffic. So what to do?

There’s one alternative that might do the trick: Instant Messaging! That’s right. I’ve found that you can jump-start a promising campaign thru some of the chat channels most commonly used on the Web: MSN Messenger, Windows Messenger, Google Talk, AIM, or any other app you use to quick-relay digital dialogue.

And I’m not talking about IM spam either. Dialog windows that pop open with unwarranted commercial messages and interrupt you while at work will do your guerrilla campaign in. However, a simple URL in your IM status might be enough to pique your contacts’ curiosity.

This, in turn, can spark an engaging conversation, which can snowball into something unexpected. And if you have enough people doing this on your end, your brand can gain some edgy, underground awareness from a few much-coveted influencers and trendsetters, eventually pushing your campaign over the tipping point with some welcome viral force.

After all, it’s no secret that today, a well-intentioned e-mail campaign can disintegrate into garbage and unwanted spam in your recipients’ inbox if not executed with delicate precision and technological know-how. And no serious company wants that—even a start-up in desperate need of getting noticed.

So take a stab at a well-crafted guerilla strategy that leverages your IM contact lists. Can it yield the results you’re after?