Online Social Experiment Proposal
So here’s a brilliant idea I half created/half ripped-off earlier today:
There’s a ton of 2 girls 1 cup reaction videos floating around online in the past month or so (or whenever 2 girls 1 cup broke onto the scene), as watching peoples’ reactions to one of the internet’s most outrageous videos is just as entertaining as when your own 2-girls-1-cup cherry was popped. While watching one of said “reaction” videos today, in which the subject couldn’t actually find the original 2G1C video, I got an idea: “What if there WAS no 2 girls 1 cup video?”
Here’s my idea, and tell me if it’s been done. You and several friends all independently create your own “reaction” videos to a made-up viral shock video. In this hypothetical example, we’ll give this video an appropriately vague name — “The Garbageman Video.” So you and as many of your friends as you can get post completely over-the-top “Garbageman Video Reactions” to Youtube or similar sites; your reaction to the video is limited only by your imagination (as long as it looks like a legitimate reaction to a shock video). Eventually these reaction videos to a non-existent viral shock video will be discovered, and the curiosity will drive people that aren’t in on the joke completely insane. The point, of course, would be to never reveal that there is in fact no “Garbageman Video”, and see where it goes from there. I have to imagine a small percentage of other internet users would “get it” and post their own fake “Garbageman Video” reactions. Over time, “The Garbageman Video” will have gone completely viral without even existing — the birth of an instant internet urban legend.
Since I feel like I’m having trouble describing this concisely, and because I seem to better express ideas in short, rapid bursts of non-punctuated text, here are excerpts from conversations in which I am pitching the concept to two very powerful Hollywood execs.
(4:38:55 PM) Bill: ok you make a “reaction” video
(4:38:58 PM) Bill: to something that doesnt exist
(4:39:07 PM) Bill: and your reaction has to be insane
(4:39:09 PM) Bill: like crying
(4:39:19 PM) Bill: “WHAT?! NO NO NO NOO NOOOOO WAHHHHH”
(4:40:26 PM) Bill: so people are looking for this video
(4:40:28 PM) Bill: that doesnt exist
(4:40:31 PM) Drew: Bahahahah
(4:40:49 PM) Bill: you and like 10 friends to all make reaction videos
(4:40:54 PM) Bill: of course, nobody knows youre all friends
(4:41:06 PM) Bill: so it looks like SOME people are in on this insane video going around the net
(4:41:08 PM) Bill: and nobody can find it
(4:41:18 PM) Drew: That would rock(4:46:11 PM) Bill: you and a bunch of friends
(4:46:16 PM) Bill: make 10 or 15 videos
(4:46:20 PM) Sandra: k
(4:46:23 PM) Bill: of a “reaction” to a video that doesnt exist
(4:46:28 PM) Bill: and the reaction has to be out of control
(4:46:31 PM) Bill: like people crying
(4:46:32 PM) Sandra: hahaha
(4:46:32 PM) Bill: or throwing up
(4:46:35 PM) Bill: or screaming
(4:46:43 PM) Bill: something crazy
(4:46:45 PM) Bill: all of the above
(4:46:53 PM) Bill: “WHAT?! NO! NO! NOOO!!! WAHHHHHH BARRFFF”
(4:46:59 PM) Bill: and start posting them around
(4:47:11 PM) Bill: “______ reaction video to [made up video]”
(4:47:18 PM) Sandra: hahahaha
(4:47:21 PM) Bill: so its like
(4:47:27 PM) Bill: everybodys going nuts trying to find this video
(4:47:29 PM) Sandra: “oh my god what is this mystery video”
(4:47:32 PM) Bill: exactly
(4:47:33 PM) Bill: like “what could this POSSIBLY be”
(4:47:41 PM) Bill: and everybody feels left out
(4:47:49 PM) Bill: see how big of a deal you can make it
Well??? Surely somebody has thought of this before me…but has it ever been successfully executed? Let’s get some discussion going here.
December 13th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
i really like this idea bill
December 14th, 2007 at 3:04 am
If you attempt this I strongly suggest making a sound file that’s played along with each reaction video so A) people will all hear the same audio for each reaction and thus “realize” that it can’t be a joke and B) so the reactions can be appropriately timed.
That is to say that if one person made some reaction five seconds in and no one else seemed to follow suit that’d really throw off the whole thing.
Just an idea.
December 14th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
i LOVE this idea. And I also thought myself that there should be an audio clip that is played so that it is heard each time. Give me the title to the mystery video and I will start making reaction videos this weekend.
December 14th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
whos justin howard
December 17th, 2007 at 7:36 am
is this going to happen? I’ve got several people who want this to happen
December 17th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Yeah, I’ve been thinking about putting together a video that just has a song playing and flashes text cues of when to perform specific reactions. Might get on that sometime this week.
December 18th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Text cues and a soundtrack, brilliant. I vote for some mario music and horses neighing.
I just learned that “barf” means “ice” in Hindi.