Once upon a time, there was sliced bread. Then the internet came. And it became the best thing since, well, you know. Out of the binary woodwork, more newfangled–and billion dollar grossing–bits of ingenuity have made their way into our lives via the magical interweb. Remember ICQ? Friendster? Then MySpace took center stage. Facebook brought global communication to a whole new level. I have mad love for Twitter (in 140 characters or less), but something has to be said for the global reach and appeal of this lil’ guy named YouTube.

You can watch your favorite shows, vlogs, and other visually appealing, if not sometimes scandalous material, on YouTube. A creative renaissance has emerged through this medium and we find web series, instructional videos, book trailers, and musical acts that make a big impact on an international level. How many now celebs were first discovered from a video uploaded to YouTube?

In honor of this amazing hub that unites us all in some way (through laughter, tears, and Harlem Shaking), I would like to provide a selection of many great videos for your perusal curated from their archives. I could devote an entire year of blogging to YouTube and I’d still have too many to choose from.

Sit back and enjoy. (Well, after you hit ‘play’, and all that. You know the drill.)

Let’s not forget amazing additions to our lexicon: You know something good–or really bad–has happened when you hear the words ‘YouTube Sensation’ and/or ‘gone viral’. And let’s not forget the love/hate relationship we have with the glam of autotune. Mature themes and language ahead. Viewer/listener discretion is advised.

The original vid can be found here, but you quickly learn that the autotune version is far more entertaining.

Last, but certainly not the least:

Here’s the original. I must admit, it was also, erm, enlightening.

I have at least a dozen–or three–more I can think of right now, but the bandwidth police might wig out. Do you have any youtube favorites? Or do you have any that you believe have used up their fifteen minutes (or however long their vid is) of fame?

Yes, I left out a video by a certain Korean popstar that has the record for most views.

And yes… I know the dance moves to Gangnam Style. I am not ashamed.

YouTube, hit the music!

[Tonette exits stage left.]

=8=

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