Can you go Viral by pretending to go Viral?

Have you ever wondered how to make a video go viral?

It's something I think about maybe a little bit more than I should. What is it about a boy being bitten by his baby brother that makes the internet go crazy? Or how a looped video of a poptart cat flying through space and pooping rainbows can be so mesmerising?

Obviously there are a number of factors, Kevin Alloca (Youtube's trend manager) identified many of them in his most recent TED talk. The three most important being:

• Trendsetters
• Communities of Participation
• Unexpectedness

With over 48 hours of video uploaded to Youtube every minute, what is it that makes one cat video stand out from another?

Well American rapper Yung Jake tries his best to both explain how videos go viral and go viral himself with his most recent rap song 'e.m-bed.de/d'. Described by the Fast Company as a 'meta-commentary on the act of going viral' it's a truly amazing watch.

He's clearly put a lot of thought and effort into it. I would embed the video on here but it's definitely better to experience the full effect on the specially made website, designed to look like a Youtube page, that hosts it. 

As the video plays, various webpages relating to the song pop up at appropriate moments in the narrative. You can watch the Youtube views go up whilst you watch the video, view Justin Bieber's twitter mention of the vid and see 'The Daily What' announce the 'Yung Jake of the day' next to the video. 

Ironically enough I was unable to find the video on Youtube. I suppose having only been uploaded a few days ago it's unlikely to have gone viral yet, but with a mention from the Fast Company hopefully it's only a matter of time for Yung Jake to experience the real viral treatment. 

If not, the maybe virals are harder to understand than is possible for a cleverly put together video and rap song to convey. 

Yung Jake - e.m-bed.de/d/ http://e.m-bed.de/d/vid.html

Keep Calm and Carry On Blogging

I'm definitely really fascinated by the way that memes and other social concepts spread across society and rise to the peak of their popularity and then suddenly drop out of public favour. For me, the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' slogan is one of the most fascinating, as it is undoubtedly an integral part of modern British Society.

Over the past decade the infamous slogan has appeared everywhere, led to massive ranges of merchandise and spawned thousands of copies and parodies. Whether you love it or hate it, it has become an iconic symbol of quintessential Britishness.

This video is just the perfect way to show the history of the slogan; with picturesque images of English railway stations, Penguin books, model trains and a lovely English accent voiceover.      It really helps us to understand the patriotic but also silently frightening origins of the poster and the real resonance that phrase original held.

I believe it still holds that resonance today, because if you ignore all the parodies it's a piece of advice relevant to any time period and any situation. Which may help to explain its staying power.

Baked Expectations: Banoffee Cupcakes

Amidst my recent delusions of owning some sort of bakery-cum-bookshop, I've been on a bit of a mad baking spree the past couple of weeks. Which is really helpful for my half marathon training...

But that's really not the point.

I got challenged to make some Banoffee flavoured cupcakes and, dear reader, I accepted that challenge. The outcome was wonderful, as you can see from the beautiful (and artistically taken) picture above. So I thought I'd share with you my recipe for banoffee cupcakes.

• 250g Caster Sugar
• 250g Chopped Banana
• 1 tbsp Unsalted butter
• Couple of drops of Vanilla Extract
• 150ml Sunflower Oil
• 2 Large eggs
• 225g Plain Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1 tsp Mixed Spice
• 100ml Plain Yogurt

For the topping;

• Double Cream
• Icing Sugar
• Crushed Biscuits (preferably Hobnobs)
• Fresh Banana (only if you're going to eat it immediately, otherwise they go brown)

1. Start by making the caramel, which is what gives the cupcake it's slight toffee flavour, by putting 150g of the caster sugar into a pan on a medium heat. The important thing is to leave it alone, just let it turn a lovely dark brown around the edge and then, and only then, can you give it a little stir. Once it's all a lovely golden brown add a tiny drop of water. BUT don't do what I did and go in unprotected because it WILL spit at you. And it WILL hurt. Now that it's all bubbly, add the chopped banana and stir gently until the banana's gone a bit mushy.
2. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Whilst that is happening pop the oil, eggs and remaining sugar into a bowl and give it a bit of a stir, until you have a well mixed, unappetising gloopy substance. It'll look a bit like wallpaper paste.
3. Add the cooled caramel/banana substance with the yogurt to the eggy/wallpapery gloop and mix well.
4. Sift all the dry ingredients into the caramel-y/banana-y/eggy/oily gloop and fold. Don't stir frantically, fold gently instead.
5. Now it'll still bit quite thick and gloopy but it'll come good in the end. Spoon the mix into little cupcakes cases. I made about 16 from this recipe and they were huge! 
6. Pop in a preheated oven (180c) for about 20-25 mins.
7. To make the topping, literally just whip up however much double cream you think is appropriate to top 16 cupcakes. You're an adult, you can judge this for yourself or do I have to tell you everything? Pop a bit of icing sugar in their for added calories/taste and pipe nicely on top of your cupcakes. Sprinkle with crushed biscuits and love for added texture. 
8. Enjoy and share with your loved ones, who shall now love you all the more. 

P.S I'm completely willing to accept cake requests for birthdays, christenings, weddings, tuesdays etc.