Neo-Communication: The Amazing World of Viral Videos

The nature, mediums, and reach of communications are ever-evolving. Once upon a time, candidates running for public office could only speak to small mobs of people at makeshift stages making their way from town to village. News traveled as slow as their entourage and only as fast as the printing and distribution of fliers and newspapers.

Several technologies later - Radio, Television, the internet, and now Youtube - the communications revolution is in full effect.

Only hours after a TV campaign commercial is broadcast for Christine O'Donnell, a group of young talented artists are able to create a hypnotic musical version and upload it to even larger audiences. Before anyone knows it, the spoof itself becomes the story. Thanks in part to the artists' raw talent, their video quickly becomes an instant hit and goes viral. Before you know it, another group of equally talented young people takes the first group's now famous tune and creates a cover for it that quickly attains its own fan club. Now you are two levels deep in commentary, each level reaching millions.

Call it the phenomenon of meta-commentary in an age a democratized media in which anyone has access to everyone and information travels at lightening speed.

But what are the pros and cons of this phenomenon?

Sure, information exchange is now subject to free market rules of supply and demand more than ever before. Is that a good thing or bad? As this phenomenon grows and edges corporate media out of the lion's share of the media market, will we better off  for it or worse off?

How about in this case, should Christine O'Donnell worry about the ridicule, or does she benefit from the massive free exposure and the notion that no publicity is bad publicity?

The talented work of the Gregory Brothers and their famous Autotune the News project:


A catchy cover of the first one by another talented group (from Sweden) by the name of Roomie:


The original campaign ad by underdog Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell:


The Gregory brother's most famous autotune is the bed intruder song that targets an otherwise low profile local news story, earning them 34 million hits! Their song was also covered by roomie among hundreds of other covers (This one played on only two strings is fascinating).