The Internet has been the capitalist’s best friend, where virtual unknowns can quickly rise to the top of the pack if they have the right idea and a good plan. You mainly hear from the big winners such as the founders of Google and the like. However, there are many people who may not have become billionaires, but nevertheless they benefit in their own right by leveraging the ingenuity of the web.
In just under a month, over six million viewers have seen the YouTube video, Dancing, a low-tech, yet colorful video of Matt Harding traveling around the world doing a jig in dozens of locations with hundreds of people, many of them children. The producers took a simple, campy premise, filmed it in front of vivid backgrounds and synched it to music. Any one of us could have been Matt, that is, if you’re able to grin and flap your elbows and knees in front of a camera, but the difference is that Matt took the initiative to make it happen and created it in such a way so that people would enjoy it and tell their friends. After the success of his first self-financed video in 2005, the popularity compelled Matt to envision and plan loftier videos, and after finding a sponsor he has been able to create two more, each one bigger and better than the one before it.
For me, the most relevant aspect of the video is the sheer number of people whose lives were improved in the process. Naturally there was Matt, a man who loved to travel, and thus became a wealthier person by being able to fulfill that dream. If he’s lucky, he’ll leverage his success into a travel show or book. Another beneficiary of the trade was Stride gum. Unlike other corporations that subsidize these types of ventures, Stride did not ask that Matt wear a logo t-shirt or pass out Stride gum to people he met. Instead, there was a moment at the end of the video where the producers thanked Stride for making it possible. Will that improve sales? Yes. While at Sam’s Club today, I purchased a box of Stride gum since in a world of parity products, what have the other chewing gums done for me lately?
There were many other parties that benefited from this trade other than of course YouTube. Amazon MP3, an online music store and a much-needed competitor of iTunes, got a boost in sales and clout by becoming the exclusive distributor of the song used in the video, Praan, which is now one of their bestsellers. Thanks to the publicity that six-million viewers can give you, the singer, Palbasha Siddique, will surely get several more contractual offers to sing.
Then there are the six million viewers who didn’t benefit financially from the venture, but nonetheless became a little bit richer after watching the video. It might have been a lesson in geography and anthropology for some. For others it might have been a heartwarming experience to realize that children from far-flung places like Bhutan and Zambia act just as silly as American children when allowed to let loose. For me it meant that all around the world there are people who are willing to express themselves in motion with an American they just met. To me that says a lot about the human race: that despite our differences in language, appearance and customs, when given an opportunity we will dance together.
July 16, 2008
