Moving at the Speed of Creativity by Wesley Fryer

Over 17,000 views on YouTube in 24 hours

This does not qualify as a viral video, perhaps, but I was still blown away to see that my daughter’s 2 minute response to President Obama’s speech yesterday has had over 17,500 views on YouTube in just 24 hours.

17K+ Views in 24 hours - What happened?

Whoa! What happened? I’m not 100% certain, but apparently thanks to Twitter and Facebook links it was shared rather widely yesterday, including on the site Reddit. (H/T to PBKrissy.)

I’m sure Sarah will be as surprised as I was to see those view statistics when she comes home from school today. How amazing to think that she shared her thoughts with over 17,000 people in the last 24 hours… The day of social networking and viral video sharing in which we live is remarkable, and is fraught with opportunities as well as dangers. In any previous era of human history, would a 9 year old have had a similar chance to share her voice and thoughts with others around the world, particularly in a comparable timeframe? I don’t think so. Even though I work with social media constantly, situations like this still amaze me.

The global stage is here.* Are we having the conversations we need to have with each other to not only remain safe, but also leverage the tremendous power this learning and communications platform affords us?

Tonight at our church here in Edmond I’m starting a 15 week course entitled, “Digital Dialog: The Intersection of Technology, Learning and Faith.” My lesson plan just changed – I’ll be sharing this video and these viewer statistics tonight as a conversation starter. I’m also going to share the TEDtalk, “Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the web.”

Consider the fact that this presentation was recorded in December 2007, a year and a half ago. These statistics are amazing, but they are, in fact, outdated. Wow.

H/T to Anthony Mayfield for the reference to this video on his post, “The anonymity dilemma.”

* “The Global Stage” is a term I first heard from Marco Torres. Marco has created, btw, a new website using Squarespace. I can’t wait to hear him present in about a month at ACTEM in Augusta, Maine!

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4 responses to “Over 17,000 views on YouTube in 24 hours”

  1. Jonathan Wylie Avatar

    Comments are what kills YouTube for schools in my opinion. Some comments you see are beyond rational explanations. I can only imagine what some people were writing on your posted video. If they had a safe search mode, (login to disable) that filtered out comments and dubious video content, it would be a much nicer place to visit online.

  2. Wesley Fryer Avatar

    Yep, I think you’re right. Crazy. Of course I’ve seen some bad comments before, but moderating an absolute deluge of comments like this is really something… Again it’s good to see the good comments. Some commenters have been upset I didn’t approve their comments and have contacted me directly via YouTube. One did that just to be rude.

    On a human nature level, it’s sad to see how filled with hate and a desire to hurt others some people are. Goodness gracious.

  3. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    this is a great way to teach your daughter how to censor free speech and make her think that everyone agrees with her. way to go dad!

  4. WeLoveTheNHS Avatar
    WeLoveTheNHS

    Check out the current advertising on the right of the YouTube page. Looks like the anti-healthcare reforms lobby is taking advantage of the video’s popularity.