Writeup

While brainstorming what to do for my meme creation at the UTM library, I ran into my friend Tiffany, who was having phone troubles with her BlackBerry. Apparently, it wasn’t turning on, or it was freezing; I’m not entirely sure what the problem was, to be honest, and I didn’t quite care much, as the commotion Tiffany was making about the situation was much funnier and more interesting than her whatever was actually wrong with her phone. I took out my own (functioning) phone to record a bit of video, and luckily, I thought it turned out pretty well. As I’ve learned, a lot of the best YouTube videos that become memes are spontaneous, and unplanned, such as ‘David after Dentist’ or ‘Double Rainbow’. So, my video of Tiffany captured that spontaneity. I thought the title needed to be descriptive enough for people to want to watch it. If they were just browsing through YouTube and saw a recommended video or related video, ‘Girl Cries Over Phone’ would entice them to possibly watch the video. Great YouTube videos have had titles that capture what the video is about; David After Dentist is about a little boy after a visit to the dentist’s office, Double Rainbow is about, well, a double rainbow, and In order to be a great meme, YouTube videos have to have great catch phrases. Not necessarily ‘catchphrases’ per se, but lines that are easily quotable, and instantly recognizable. In keeping with ‘David After Dentist’, the line ‘Is this real life?’ became recognizable on its own, without the need of video. Similarly, the phrase ‘Woah, double rainbow’ from the Double Rainbow video can be recognized from its popularity and widespread use. These videos were talked about for a while, not only via word of mouth or social networking, but also through news outlets and traditional media. For example, Saturday Night Live often imitates viral videos, and South Park has similarly done so in the past. I found that the phrase ‘I’m a good person!’ from Girl Cries Over Phone could be pretty catchy, and re-quotable. And if one was to really ride the wave of viral video success, there would have to be merchandising available to capitalize on the success of the video – think of how many David After Dentist or Chocolate Rain T-Shirts were ordered because everyone had seen the video, and everyone would understand what the T-Shirt was referring to. So, if I were to make merchandise for Girl Cries Over Phone, it would be a T-Shirt that says ‘I’m A Good Person!’. In doing this, people who haven’t even seen the video would still appreciate the shirt. For example, if I saw someone walking down the street with that phrase on the front of their shirt I would find it pretty funny, regardless of whether or not I understood the reference. I made the dubstep remix of the video in hopes that if Girl Cries Over Phone would ever go viral, other people could make similar remixes of the video, and therefore continue to spread of the video. With more remixes being created there are greater chances of people seeing those remixes and then researching the original video, therefore creating a (somewhat) never-ending loop. For example, one of the most popular videos on YouTube is the Power Thirst video, and the success of that video spawned many spoofs, remixes and even a couple sequels. In order for a meme to go viral and stay viral in its success, it needs to be able to keep reinventing itself, so that the same meme can be portrayed in a totally different way than its original form and yet still keep the same humour and attractiveness that so many people loved in the original. And so that was my meme, Girl Cries Over Phone; my poor friend Tiffany distraught over her non-functioning BlackBerry. And I'm sure if the video ever goes viral, poor Tiffany wouldn't be able to walk down the street without someone recognizing her or quoting something she said in the video to her. If the video ever gets big enough, and I can get some kind of merchandising going, I will almost certainly give her some sort of financial compensation for her contribution, as it was less so my luck at having a camera, and more so her having terrible problems with her phone that made the video as great as it is.