What Makes a Viral Video?

Since February 2005 when Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim co-founded YouTube, this social media platform grew into the largest video database and website where anyone can upload their videos and share with the entire world.

The world of YouTube consists of a massive range of topics: Comedy, Education, Entertainment, How-To videos and many more.

With the massive amount of videos in the YouTube database, there are those that dominate the view count.  These are known as "viral videos."

What is a viral video?

A viral video is a video that was created and becomes popular through internet sharing. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter help promote and share videos. As the video passes from user to user, the view count grows and the video begins to accrue a large audience in a surprisingly short amount of time. The truth is there is no real secret to making a viral video, it can be a 20 second video of a duck falling asleep, or a 20 minute long short film, edited and shot over a year.

The key to creating a good video is creating something different, something that engages the audience and something new. More then often, the greatest videos on the internet are shot spur of the moment from a mobile phone.

So what are your thoughts?

What is the best viral video you've ever seen?