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Funny babies are all the rage on the internet. They're right up there with cats. In my opinion, they're actually much cuter and more entertaining to watch. They rip paper, they babble, and they giggle. God damn, do those babies giggle. But what about these ridiculous tiny diaper people attracts viewers and how can that be applied to a successful web series? The most obvious answer is that babies are cute, so people watch them. But there has to be something more to it... Right? Thus, in pursuit of the almighty funny baby truth, we watched the top 10 funny baby videos on youtube. We then gathered the information on the following four aspects of the videos/their channels: views, length, subscriber base and theme. Yes, theme. This post is going to be just like that paper on 18th Century Women's Literature you wrote in college. Except it's going to be less sexist, and we're not going to buy it online. So, without any further preamble whatsoever, here are the illustrious and the magnificent, the babytastic and the diaper clad, the terrific goo goo ga ga celebrities of the online internet online tv wacky video viral cuteness world, the... Oh... There are actual people reading this? Here are the ten videos we gathered, along with their stats: 1) Funny Babies 2 - 15.9 Million Views - 1min17sec - 813 Subs - Theme: Humiliating Babies 2) Top 10 Funny Baby Videos! - 2.9 Million Views - 3:14 - 272 Subs - Theme: Babies Laughing 3) 2 Funny Babies Laughing - 18.6 Million Views - 1min29sec - 992 subs - Theme: Babies Laughing 4) Funny Babies - 1 Million Views - 3min22sec - 664 subs - Theme: Exploiting Innocent Babies 5) Funny Baby Accidents - 3.5 Million Views - 1min25sec - 261 subs - Theme: Humiliating Babies 6) Funny Baby Clip - 8.9 Million Views - 2min6sec - 405 subs - Theme: Exploiting Tired Baby 7) Funny Baby - 4.6 Million Views - 1min41sec - 1,180 subs - Theme: Laughing Babies 8) Funny Baby Makes a Speech - 7.1 Million Views - 1min29sec - 924 subs - Theme: Babies Are People Too 9) Laughing Baby Ripping Paper - 42 Million views - 1min41sec - 4,597 subs - Theme: Babies Are Uplifting 10) The Funniest Baby Sloth Video Ever!!! - 3.5 Million Views - 3min01sec - 222 Subs - Theme: Odd Fascination Okay. That was a huge pain in the ass, and I never want to see another baby video again. Here's what we noticed in all of these videos... Youtube View Counts: Obviously they are huge. That's why we included them here. Yeah. It's crazy. Let's move on, and see how we can apply the wisdom of the baby video to web series... Youtube Video Length: They're all very, very short. Like lawn gnome short. In fact, the longest video is 3:22 seconds. Now, I don't think that means web series creators need to be exclusively releasing uber short material, but I do think it's an indication that audiences like videos on the shorter side. Under 6 minutes is probably good at first. But that's common knowledge. The real underlying message here, is that although the common wisdom of 'keep your videos shortish' prevails, the real wisdom is this: Also include super short videos on your channel! Try to produce short teasers, trailers and promo videos as supplemental content. If you want to succeed on youtube, it seems shorter videos are good at drawing people in. Hook them with the short extras. Then if just a few people stay for the main attraction, you've earned some real fans. Subscriber Base: I wasn't too surprised to see that most of these videos did not translate into subscribers for their channels, but I was kind of taken aback by how universally true that seems. Even "Laughing Baby Ripping Paper," which has 42 million views, didn't attract even 5,000 subscribers.
That reinforces what we've said on here before: Don't worry about 'going viral.' One viral video, in and of itself, will not lead you to the pot of gold at the end of the youtube rainbow (the gold is actually piles and piles of iPads. The rainbow is a real live rainbow). That said, we all kind of secretly hope our video will catch virtual fire. If there's anything these toddler videos teach is that you need to be prepared for virality to happen to you. That means always have a 'subscribe now' button on your videos. And always be building your channel! Have more videos for people to watch, loop your videos together, and you'll have way better luck converting casual viewers to subs. Theme: For the most part, these videos, deep down, are about grown ups mocking babies. I understand that may be a pessimistic point of view, but I stand by it. A common thread in all of these videos is that the grown ups are the ones holding the camera. And we, the audience, see the baby from their perspective. Face it. We're laughing at these kids, not with them. They are chubby, stinky little monsters that are only there for us to mock with our laughter. And this thread holds true across lots of different youtube 'genres'. People like to watch other people get humiliated. There are ball kicking videos. Face smacking videos. Auto accident videos. Clumsy fat people videos. The list goes on... These videos are king on youtube. So jump on board the embarassing train! This means BLOOPERS. Film everything that happens on set. Stage accidents. Make your lead actors look stupid. Or better yet, throw them under the bus. Literally. Or set them up to fall in love and wait for the babies to pop out. Then you're set.
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 Burbank, CA - With hundreds of view count checks in the first 48 hours after uploading their most recent video, web series creators Matt Giegerich and Chelsea Mize have proven to critics that they can not only create a web series, but they can obsess over every detail. "A big question as Home at Last premiered its second trailer was whether the creators had the pathetic devotion and pointer finger strength necessary to visit their various pages over and over again," said pop culture guru Ryan Sniffen, a former critic of the pair, who now hold the record for most Facebook refreshes in an hour. "They're showing a lot of poise out there - after checking YouTube view counts 200 times the first day after uploading, Giegerich and Mize went on to refresh 224 times the following day. People are already saying these two might be the most copious clickers the online entertainment industry has ever seen." Experts agree that what makes Mize and Giegerich a true threat is their ability to click a lot plus their ability to expect illogical jumps in view count, despite steady and predictable growth." "I can't help it," said Mize of her pointless clicking, "It gives me something to do in between furious bouts of Farmville."
The pair, who are by most accounts biologically human and not mindless robots , unflinchingly committed to meaningless, ill-defined metrics on third party web sites, publicly admitted that the thrill of hitting a new fan or subscriber plateau excites them so much that they check their 'numbers' every night right before bed, and again first thing in the morning. In addition, without smirking, grinning, or emitting even the smallest ironic chuckle, the 24 year old Duke University graduates said that as little as a 10% dip in view counts is enough to prompt them to re-think their entire career path. "After view counts go down, you think that maybe the show isn't good at all," Giegerich said, blind to the dark realities of his unhealthy habit. "Every 'dislike' and negative comment replays over in your mind. They are brutally honest indicators of your show's inane, worthless content and the fact that you're going to die alone" Giegerich also confessed to staying extremely close to his lap top at all times. He has not defecated without his lap top in six days. His over-worked computer now gets so hot that it has caused three 1/2 degree burns and one 3/4 degree burn on his left thigh. According to sources, Giegerich and Mize are not the only web series creators with an unholy anxiety circling their Facebook, YouTube and Twitter popularity. Across LA county and the world, there are hundreds of others just like them, checking their insights, re-tweets and comments with manic glints in their eyes. "I haven't checked my view counts in two days," one web series creator said. "I put a YouTube block on my computer and cell phone. My mom emails me updates three times daily." "I'm really worried about my son," said this pathetic creator's harried mother, who could very well be describing a junkie's dependency on crack cocaine. "We were excited he finally produced something he wrote, but ever since the first video came out he never leaves the house. His girlfriend left him and we're frankly very worried about the dog." These creators, like Giegerich and Mize, have extremely unrealistic expectations for their shows as well as for their careers as a whole. When shown other series and internet TV shows, Giegerich and Mize insist their show is "...much better than that crap." Caught in their numbers obsessed stupor, they do not realize they are viewing clips from their own show. "Home at Last" is a comedy web series directed by Steve Sprinkles. The show stars William Russ (Boy Meets World) and features Jeff Lewis (The Guild). The first episode airs Oct. 25, 2011. Like us on Facebook! Subscribe on YouTube! You know we'll be checking! |
Matt Giegerich & Chelsea MizeWe're Matt & Chelsea. We created "Home at Last." We love Internet TV. Archives
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