THE STREAMYS (part 1)

This year on the 17th of February it was the third annual Streamy awards. Sort of like the Oscars but for the internet, with various web stars getting together to recognise all their creativity, comedy and most importantly  - talent.
Host Chris Hardwick did particularly well in my opinion, he was funny, charming and actually seemed to know and respect the internet crowd (unlike some of the other Hollywoodites, who were clearly forced to be there and didn't know even who they were giving their awards too)

This first link is to the full awards show:

And the second to the Sourcefed recap:

I do think it's important to point out that these aren't the 'Youtube Awards'. The big three 'tubers, Smosh, NigaHiga and RayWJohnson only received three nominations between them and their associate channels and it was actually Yahoo's 'Burning Love' staring Ken Marino, which won awards for Best Male Performance: Comedy, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Guest Appearance, Best Comedy Series. However, it was awesome to see so many familiar faces together.

Possibly to keep the awards show short and sweet (the final cut is only about 2 hours long exluding adverts) quite a few Streamys winners were announced pre-awards show. The winners were given a round of appalause and got to stand up and show off their trophies but I believe this undervalued some of the awards. For example, MachinimaPrime's Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn did really well, receiving 4 wins over all but did not seem to be so successful on the night.

As with all awards shows, on the night there were a few surprise winners and losers. Such as Toby Turner, a.k.a Tobuscus, losing out to Kaseem G of California On and RedvsBlue missing out to Tom Hank's Electric City (unfortunately and unsurprisingly the man couldn't be there to accept his award) . Plus the legendary Larry King not winning a single Streamy despite being nominated twice. And of course there were the occasional hiccoughs you expect from it being broadcast live, such as the incredibly unenthusiastic Jackson Rathbone and Jamie Kennedy not realising they had to read out the nominees. And a slightly odd and off key rendition of Shontelle's 'Impossible'. But over all it went as smoothly as a stream (y).

In conclusion I think the Streamy's were very successful and as the internet becomes more and more relevant in the modern age I believe they will get better and better.

What is THRIFT SHOP?

Thrift Shop - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

A.K.A: That song always on the radio where Macklemore brags about smelling like 'P**ssss'.

ORIGINS: This song has been big in the US (where it was born in Seattle) for a while now but has only recently made it into the UK charts.

VIRAL FORMULA: Genuinely good song (not often found on the internet) + Randomness + Lots of radio air time!

As I'm typing this, this song currently has 108714852 views on Youtube. I mean, personally I can't even say that number in one go without messing it up. And yet, it really does deserve all this attention. Macklemore (real name - Ben Haggerty) is preaching about saving rather than spending money  "And look[ing] as fresh as possible at the same time". Not exactly what most rappers are rapping about these days. Perhaps this is thanks to him not being signed, with no big record label breathing down his neck he is able to rap about what he likes, from his 'skeet blanket' to his 'flannel zebra onesie'.

It's not all about the message of saving money though, the music is undoubtedly catchy and although the lyrics may seem a tad crude, "I have a big c**k, nah I'm just pumped, bought some s**t from the thrift shop"  it just adds to the overall jokey atmosphere. Plus the music video looks like it was a blast to film, again completely different to the usual angry looking rappers surrounded by pouty models and fancy cars. Macklemore and crew actually look to be having fun.

Of course being Youtube, already there are plenty of videos copying this latest trend. My favourite being this high quality parody, which seems to follow the original video almost perfectly:

Altogether Thrift Shop is not only likable and popular, but genuinely spreads a good message. And if it persuades a generation to chose to go to the thrift or charity shop rather than the shopping mall, then that's kind of brilliant.

Response: Expectations vs Reality: Romance by nigahiga

Romance: Expectations vs Reality is sort of Nigahiga's response to Valentine's Day, a date you that divides our opinions (love, hate, love to hate etc.) usually based solely on your Facebook relationship status.

*It's complicated = absolutely detests Valentines Day

However, despite him starting the video with the revelation that Thursday was his third Valentines Day spent single (and from the third most subscribed to YouTube channel, surely his internet fame must count for something?) he provides yet another funny and upbeat video about the way romance movies really don't prepare you for the real world of dating. Teaching us everything from how to keep your eyes peeled for the first meeting: 

To what to expect from a break up:

To the inevitable turning point in the relationship when you have to decide whether to open the jar of pickles by hand or to use your magic car keys to explode the jar.

 *This is the one exception where reality is SO much better.

Overall I think this video is hilarious, plus a refreshing change of mocking romance novels and films rather than just getting upset and bitter about being single on Valentine's Day. Of course we wouldn't expect anything less from Ryan Higa, his comedic timing coupled with his 'TEEHEE' jokes are second to none.

Except Ray William Johnson and Smosh, both of whom have higher ratings.
TEEHEE.

I apologise for that awful joke. Here, watch the bloopers video, it'll make you feel better.

What is HARLEM SHAKE?

Harlem Shake videos. 

A.K.A: The dancing craze sweeping the interwebz.

ORIGINS: 1981, Harlem. New and different version resurfaced in 2013.

VIRAL FORMULA: Crazy dancing + crazy costumes = crazy popular

Our attention spans are shorter than ever, and whilst I have no scientific research or experiments to prove my point (hell - I only just passed High School science) my evidence is The Harlem Shake, and the fact that people have already taken to the comment section to complain how bored they are or (in Shane Dawson's version) 'stupid viral ever'.

Yes, we can't even type in full (...) ever.

So with people already getting bored of these viral videos, it looks like the trend might just last longer than the actual clips themselves, which just about average at half a minute. For example this SourceFed version is just 0.36 seconds long:

(*half a minute + the times you clicked replay to watch Lee Newton and that couch)

This original video was uploaded only on the 2nd of Feburary,  and yet a whole host of the most popular channels on the site have already made their own versions giving you a good idea about how fast the trend has spread.

It's no surprise really though. When everyone was doing Gangnam Style parodies they had to come up with a new twist, learn a dance routine, find a man able to pelvic thrust with such conviction and rhythm.

Whereas the Harlem Shake is a two-take, instant hit! Most Youtubers seem to have closets of dressing up equipment already. And man, that beat is so catchy, I'll bet a couple of them don't even realise they're shooting a video and are just happy to have a dance around!

I'll leave you with this, my favourite Shake so far with the secondary game of "Damn, what's that kid from Kid's React doing?!?"

What's your favourite Harlem Shake? Comment below!