In a matter of 2 days, my friend's Facebook video went viral, gaining over 9 million views and even gracing different news articles(see above). It was amazing, strange, and in the end, kind of sad. I'll explain.
It's not the only time I saw a post go viral. I don't know if you remember this, but there was a girl who live tweeted a couple's full breakup from an airplane around 3 years ago, and it went viral. That was my co-worker. Everyone came to work the next day and made a scene around her. It was crazy and unexpected. But this one was even bigger.
It was just 3 Days ago. I was just scrolling through my FB wall, when I saw a funny video my friend posted of her asking the TV "Whyyyyy?!?!?" while pointing her camera at a woman standing behind Trump at a press conference, with the thinnest, most strangest, drawn-in, eyebrows I've ever seen. I commented "This message was brought to you by Staples" then hit the "lol" reaction button and just kept scrolling. She posts funny stuff all the time.
But for some reason, on this post, something was dramatically different. Every half an hour, she would post another update about the weirdness of her video. When I read her status updates, I was confused because I don't remember anything being weird. It was a funny vid! Then I saw the view count.
Here's the original post. 9 mil + in 2 days
That night, she just got out of a movie, but I think she was interested in something else.
The next morning.
That afternoon.
By Evening. 3 Mil +
The Hashtag
The Youtube Link
YouTube Reactions time!
Youtube was definitely in an effort to monetize at the end. Once it passed a million, her and almost everyone in the comments were asking the same thing.
"I WISH THERE WAS A WAY YOU COULD MONETIZE OFF THIS!"
I wished for her too. I mean, we all would. In 2017, a huge majority of the internet wants exactly what happened to my friend to happen to them. But what if that day finally comes? And a beautifully trendy, random, funny moment comes out of nowhere, you happen to catch it, and goes magically goes viral. Wouldn't it suck to know that Facebook got all that share activity, all the views, to pump their analytics and value, to get more from advertisers, and you got nothing but "likes and shares?" What about the value you gave them? Is that value really worth nothing?
If only there was a social platform that let you control all your own posts and you'd actually get paid for activity on your posts, not in just "likes and shares".......HMMMM lol Just kidding, I just joined the Steemit community and am in love with it.
I tried to tell her about Steemit but it's kind of like trying to get a carnivore to go vegetarian. If it's one step away from their comfort zone, it's most likely people won't try it.
She was even interested at first, but I haven't heard from her in 2 days. I waited for her to message me back. I would have walked her through all the steps to create an account here. I definitely see the potential for ownership and growth here on the blockchain and I'm proud to join in the beta stage.
In the end, I decided that if this post gets any gains, then I'll give her a % of my steem value, because she is a friend and I think this would brighten her spirits. I also want her to join Steemit (like all my friends)...and to put it bluntly. Money talks. :)
*If you like this story and have a similar one of your own, or have something to add, please upvote and leave a comment below. I'd love to hear about it!
** if you want to see the original video, just Google "Trump, Eyebrow Lady" or Youtube "July 25, 2017". Its' the one that says whybrows, of course
-Matt Ro
Matt Ro, is a portrait artist & painter living/working in Brooklyn, NYC
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