The "Shoes" Virus

Go to Google and type in, simply, “shoes”. I guarantee that the second website listed as a search result will give you this:



“Shoes” is yet another “viral” video that was passed on by people who linked and posted it on their websites, message boards, and blogs. Yes, it might be absurd, but I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve been told about this video or seen it mentioned somewhere on the Internet. The statistics on YouTube say that this particular video has been viewed 10,280,342 times.

The creator, Liam Sullivan (his website can be found here), who has been had a few small roles on T.V. shows and creates other comedic skits, did what any smart Internet savvy individual would do: promote his video through social networking sites. “Kelly’s” music myspace page (myspace.com/kellylikesshoes) is nothing short of successful, with 90,900+ friends and over 4 million plays on the music player. Sullivan can post and inform people about new videos and songs, as well as tour dates (yes, “Kelly” even has shows). You can even buy the music on iTunes.

These impressive numbers that are reflected with just one video like this goes to show the magnitude and influence that social networks have. Without a site like YouTube, this video would never have been able to be viewed. Without sites like MySpace, the video would not have spread so quickly. “Shoes” is a true definition of a “Viral Video”.