“The Viral Revolution” or “My Top 5 Classic Internet Videos”

Top 5 List is at the end of the article

Though, historically speaking, it has been around for a supremely short amount of time, it is still difficult to remember what life was like before the internet. Today, it is our most important knowledge source, networking tool, and it has revolutionized the modern definition of fun.

Entertainment used to have a very different face before the online world took over. Books (what’s a book?) used to tell stories, transporting readers to imaginary worlds – the original escapism. Then eventually, people got impatient and wanted their stories told in a simpler, faster way – enter Movies and TV. But in our modern times, it is the personal and interactive process of discovery – of being in on the joke – that allows the internet to transcend other entertainment media.

I remember the first time I experienced the internet as a source of fun. I was in middle school, and some friends and I were “hanging out” in one of our parents’ basements. There, my friend Kris, who had heard about it from his older sister (this is what “viral” was back then), played a flash video that would forever change my life.

It was called “The End of the World.” If you haven’t heard of it, I apologize, but don’t worry because I included it in my Top 5, below. If you have heard of it, then you know EXACTLY how ridiculous it was the first time you watched it: how it was more like a film-short than anything else but somehow nothing like you’d ever seen before, and how it seemed to get funnier every time you watched it. This video was my first experience with what would come to be known as the internet “meme” – a fancy term for a virally spread internet phenomenon (for more on memes, click here).

I thank, not only Kris and his sister for showing me “the way,” but also two websites that became very important to my viral video education. albinoblacksheep.com and ebaumsworld.com are two of the first popular humor sites, both of which still exist today. They came about in 1999 and 2001, respectively, if that is any indication of their truly-formative roots.

On these sites and others like them, I discovered several videos that stick in my mind above all others. They predate Potter Puppet Pals, Powerthirst, and even Charlie the Unicorn. I call them “Classic” because they are exactly that.

Definition of “Classic,” according to thefreedictionary.com (translations to internet jargon are included in parenthesis):

Classic, adj.
1) Serving as the established model or standard (FIRST!)
2) Belonging to the highest rank or class (WIN!)
3) Having lasting significance or worth; enduring (EPIC!)

…basically what I’m saying is, these videos rock.

Take a look at My Top 5 Classic Internet Videos. These are my favorites, though there are countless more that belong in this family of classics. In fact, if you’ve got some more classics to share please comment with a link!

My Top 5 Classic Internet Videos
1) The End Of The World
2) Peanut Butter Jelly Time
3) Rejected
4) Schfifty-Five
5) Teen Girl Squad (there are several videos in this series from homestarrunner.com – another classic site. Episode #4 is a personal favorite)

What do YOU think of these classics? Any to add to the list?