Happy 10th anniversary, You Tube. Here are my Top Ten You Tube moments. My moments are based on entertainment value, number of hits, and/or impact on the nation and world.
10. 2015 State of the Union: It’s true You Tube delivered this annual address since 2011. But 2015 was the first year interactive features were used to break down President Obama‘s speech. These features are a great step in getting the next generation interested in the political system.
9. Little Girl Is Tired: During the 2012 Presidential Election, a 4-year-old girl cries because she was tired of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney’s campaigning. She said what many adults felt. May God help us all come 2016.
8. Ted Williams Golden Voice: In 2011, this homeless man was discovered on You Tube. He shot up national super-stardom almost instantly, and was given a new life. There’s been some trials along the way. We wish him the very best.
7. 2015 Super Bowl Ads: Now you can see Super Bowl ads on You Tube…before the Super Bowl! This was the first Super Bowl I could fast forward through the commercials and hardly miss a thing!
6. Susan Boyle Discovered: On a 2009 episode of Britain’s Got Talent, 47-year-old Susan Boyle blew Britain away with her singing. This went viral on You Tube, and she blew the world away! This moment turned her into an international icon. Boyle challenged our perceptions, stereotypes, and how we evaluate beauty.
5. Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That: In 2012, Sweet Brown was interviewed after surviving a fire. Who knew this interview would turn into a pop culture phrase and a popular song?
4. Gangnam Style : Since summer 2012, this video has been viewed over 2.3 billion times! Need I say more?
3. Micheal Richards Rant: In November 2006, Micheal ‘Kramer’ Richards went on a racist tirade while performing at a Los Angeles comedy club. The tirade was caught on You Tube and went worldwide, shaming Richards so bad he went on a TV/radio tour to apologize. Richards was the first celebrity disgraced by something caught on You Tube.
2. Justin Beiber discovered: Let me explain this one: In the late 2000s, his mother put up videos of him singing, playing guitar, even playing drums. By late 2009, Hollywood noticed, signed him, and the rest is history. Love him or hate him, the mere fact he was an unknown teenager discovered on You Tube proves this is a new source of discovering talent.
1. Iranian Green Movement: In 2009, then Iranian president?Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won his reelection. Many suspected corruption and took to the streets in protest. Police used batons, sticks, pepper spray, and guns on them. A bystander named Neda Agha-Soltan was shot to death, and it was caught on You Tube and other social media. So were other protests that ended in violence. Thanks to You Tube, the whole world knew the real story of such oppression and injustice in Iran, as renegade journalists and citizens used social media to expose the Iranian government. The Iranian Green Movement proved You Tube can be a voice for the voiceless and a catalyst for change.
Those are my You Tube memories. What are yours?