10 Cringe-Worthy Belly Flops 1. The Ultimate Belly Flop Fails Compilation This compilation of belly flop fails, created by WorldWideInterweb, gathers an incredible amount of painful moments in less than two minutes. 2. Belly Flop Splashdown 2012 How far would you go to win a little extra cash or a new laptop, especially as a college student? These young people slathered on war paint and belly-flopped for the prize at Water World in Colorado. 3. The “World’s Biggest” Belly Flop Watch an unsuspecting pool attendee get pranked out of thin air. It might not be the world’s biggest belly flop on record, but his height is credible. 4. America’s Got Talent? During auditions for season six of America’s Got Talent, a man named “Professor Splash” performed an odd, but nerve-wracking, feat: landing belly-down into a kiddie pool from a cherry picker. It looks like Professor Splash may have some competition though, according to this video. 5. UC Greek Week Belly Flop Contest Here’s another charitable (and creative) college challenge: Fraternities and sororities belly-flopped to raise money for the Make-A-Wish foundation. 6. Red Belly Day Each year, people come from miles to Fanning Springs State Park in Florida to participate in Red Belly Day. As the video states, belly flop contestants come to “draw blood and gain a moment of fame.” 7. What’s Cooler Than One Belly Flop? While Mark gets Olympic-style coverage from his friends, he commits to not just one, but two admirable belly flops. 8. The Dugongs Australian Belly Flop Aquatic Team In Australia, the Dugongs shows the rest of the world how it’s done down under at the Belly Flop Aquatic Team Championships. 9. The Power of Video Editing For those of us who only experience belly flop pain vicariously through YouTube, a little video editing shows that sometimes this side of the pool is more painful to endure. 10. Baby Belly Flop Brent may be small in size, but he leaves quite the wake with this belly flop. We give him all 10s. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/17/belly-flops-youtube/
If you’ve been following Mashable over the past 24 hours, chances are you know pretty much everything you possibly could about the iPhone 5. But you really don’t know anything until you’ve heard this song. Set to a funky track that sounds like an Eminem beat, jazzman Paul the Trombonist raps and recites all the iPhone 5’s key traits and specs. Paul, you’ll remember, is also the man who brought the world the techie hit “Playing With Your Phone While Sitting on the Toilet” last February. Check out his latest offering above, and let us know what you think in the comments. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/13/iphone-5-song/
Mother Jones, the left-leaning magazine that has been publishing hidden camera footage from a private meeting between Mitt Romney and some of his wealthiest backers, has published the full 49-minute recording in two clips on YouTube. The previously released footage, in which Mitt Romney speaks candidly about Barack Obama supporters, Iran, Palestine and other issues, has sparked a great deal of controversy in the political world. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Romney team, which was attempting to use this week to “reboot” the campaign’s message. In a hastily-called press conference Monday night, Romney said he hoped the full versions of the videos would be released so that viewers could get the full context, and hear the question he was responding to. Now Mother Jones has obliged. (Watch part one of the video above, and part two below.) On YouTube, the most popular of the short videos posted by Mother Jones has already amassed more than 1.4 million views. Images courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/18/full-romney-hidden-camera/
Ever wonder how the President of the United States uses Twitter? You can find out in the video above, shot during a Twitter Q&A that President Obama held after a campaign rally in Newton, Iowa earlier this year. “I’m the master tweeter,” exclaimed the President after typing the following tweet composed of exactly 140 characters — even though a shorter tweet is easier for others to retweet and is therefore considered preferable. His team celebrated the 140-character tweet as a “twoosh.” .@jwarner180 bio fuels, wind , solarall getting cheaper each year & oil getting more expensive. Why we need all-of-the-above strategy. -bo — The White House (@whitehouse) May 24, 2012 The tweets were sent from the official White House account — which just hit 3 million followers — and not any of the Obama campaign’s accounts. Obama used the Twitter town hall to answer questions on energy and other topics from a MacBook Pro. How should politicians use Twitter to engage with citizens? Who’s your favorite politician on Twitter? Share your ideas in the comments. window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement(‘script’);js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}; _msla(“//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”twitter_jssdk”); Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/08/06/obama-twitter-video/
We’ve had a lot of interesting moments at Mashable in the past year — and luckily, we also happened to be filming many of them. In 2012, we followed an Internet celebrity singing with a turkey leg, talked to folks who lined up for the iPhone 5 for a week, and a tracked down a filmmaker who did documentaries for the Arab Spring. We also peered into Martha Stewart’s bag and survived a takeover attempt from Conan O’Brien. 1. Conan O’Brien Buys Mashable, Ousts Pete Cashmore as CEO In an April Fools’ Day prank, TeamCoco and Mashable got together to create a zany story line that includes Conan buying the site and ousting founder and CEO Pete Cashmore. The Conan O’Brien takeover launched at midnight on April 1 in a 24-hour story arc that shows O’Brien’s attempts to make paper-based tweeting happen. 2. Mashable Goes ‘Behind the Launch’ With New Documentary Series We follow the journey of Vungle, an in-app advertising startup, as they court investors, hire new employees, and finally launch their company. Catch up on all fourteen episodes here. 3. How to Learn a Language on YouTube Reporter Neha Prakash embarks on an attempt to learn Russian from YouTube tutorials, which culminates in a trip to a Russian restaurant as she tries to order from the fluent waitress. Her favorite word? Cпасибо, which means “thank you.” 4. What’s in Martha Stewart’s Tech Bag? America’s pioneering DIY expert has three iPads. What else does she carry in her seemingly endless bag of gadgets? 5. Watch Calexico Play Two Songs Live At Mashable Joey Burns and John Convertino of Calexico fill Mashable HQ with the distinctive sound of the American southwest. They talk about their new album, Algiers, being a musician in the digital era, and sticking to an analog recording experience. 6. What Does Siri Know About the iPhone 5? Tech editor Pete Pachal grills Siri for inside information about the phone, only to get coy replies. 7. Who Lined Up For the iPhone 5? Meet the colorful characters who camped out at the Apple flagship store for a week. 8. iPhone 5 Line: Unnecessary But Fun We do an early morning stakeout at the Apple Store right before it opens its doors. 9. This Is What Happens When Comic Con Attendees Try to Impersonate Bane At the New York Comic Con, we asked everyone from Wolverine to Batman himself to demonstrate their finest Bane super-villain vocal talents, with mixed results. 10. This Man Fights in and Films the Last Gasps of the Arab Spring Activist and filmmaker Matthew VanDyke spent years traversing North Africa and the Middle East by motorcycle, befriending Libyans and other travelers along the way. We talk to him about his work in this two-part series. 11. Nicole Westbrook Talks Turkey With New Yorkers Watch 12-year-old YouTube viral video star Nicole Westbrook as she interviews people on the street with a turkey leg. You can’t make this stuff up. 12. Internet Feline Luminary Talks Big […]
The season two premiere of Dance Showdown, a web series that pits popular YouTube acts against each other in a rhythmic showdown for $100,000, boogied its way online Friday. Judges on board this season are former NSYNC member Joey Fatone and Emmy-nominated choreographer Laurieann Gibson. YouTube famous Ryan Higa, Dave Days and Shane Dawson are guest judges. “It gives people an opportunity to be seen by the world,” Fatone, who is also on this fall’s Dancing With the Stars all-star cast, tells Mashable. “I think it’s great and there is a lot of talent out there still to be seen.” Episode one (watch above) introduces viewers to the 12 eclectic contestants, who among other things are YouTube singers, beauty vloggers, comedians and gamers: Alphacat Andrew Garcia BrittaniLouiseTaylor Chester See: Chimneyswift11 ExoticJess meghanrosette Miss Hannah Minx ONLYUSEmeBLADE PrankvsPrank StilaBabe09 Screen Team Viewers also meet the talent’s dance instructors Tessandra Chavez (choreography alum of So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol and X Factor USA), Lauren Froderman (SYTYCD season 7 winner), Mike Song (MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew finalist), Anze Skrube (nine-time gold medalist at the Slovenian National Championship) and Brinn Nicole (dancer on Snoop Dogg’s world tour). The show, from dance entertainment network DanceOn, attracted 10 million views in season one. Viewers can vote for their favorite dancer starting in round two, which will decide who makes it to the finals. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/06/dance-showdown/
When it comes to engaging consumers online, the bar has never been higher. A recent study revealed that 82% of Americans completely ignore most online advertising. And it makes sense — faced with endless amounts of media online, we’ve all developed an eye-glaze setting reserved for pre-roll, banner and social media ads. Simply put, they don’t work anymore. Luckily, there’s an antidote to this interruptive, beat-you-over-the-head type of advertising — it just requires a very different approach. In order to cut through the noise, brands must create content — stuff that consumers actually care about and want to engage with — instead of inert, product-centric advertisements. It may seem like an easy shift, until you realize that it’s not the way the advertising industry has been oriented for the past 100 years. So where do brands go to release content that is richer, deeper and more tailored to the customer? I’d like to introduce you to a small video site called YouTube. With a billion unique users flocking to the site every month, YouTube has become the place where great content, regardless of its origin, can find a huge audience. It’s also the place where brands can make their mark as creators. When 8 million people tuned in to watch Felix Baumgartner’s insanely epic space jump, they did so because it was can’t-miss entertainment — the fact that it was a Red Bull ad was secondary. The same goes for First Kiss, a spot for clothing line Wren, which has now been viewed over 77 million times. (For a little perspective, the Game of Thrones premiere received 8.2 million viewers on its opening night.) But not all brands are created equal on YouTube. Depressingly enough, the average brand channels are still a cluttered mess of re-purposed TV spots, corporate “infotainment” and half-baked viral video concepts. Shudder. The following five companies are proof that the “content, not ads” mantra works. If a brand invests the time and energy in creating entertainment that’s focused around the customer, it has the opportunity to gain a massive fan base who will happily do the work of bringing its message out into the world. It may feel like a leap today, but it’s a leap every brand will have to make if they want anyone to pay attention. 1. GoPro Any brand who wants a quick primer on how to act like a creator need look no further than GoPro’s pulsing YouTube channel, a true action sports network told through the lens of their device. Granted, it’s easier to market a DIY camera through video content than just about anything else, but GoPro leverages YouTube best practices to cement their place as a product by and for the people. The channel page draws you in with an unmissable welcome video and then leads towards a wide variety of content – from the painfully adorable to the painfully painful, perfectly categorized and organized for your browsing pleasure. 2. Fiat Fiat’s YouTube channel is a lot like […]
Improv Everywhere’s MP3 experiment is a public participatory event that’s a mix of scavenger hunt and flash mob. Everyone downloads an original MP3, then meets at a specific location and acts casual until it’s time to push play — followed by 45 minutes of syncronized, hilarious antics that leave unsuspecting visitors simultaneously confused and entertained. This year, there were 4,000 participants, 300 of whom didn’t even make it to the meeting place — Governor’s Island in New York City — because too many people were trying to get there. Instead, they followed instructions in Battery Park. Watch what happens when two armies of thousands go head-to-head in the most epic water gun fight. Instagram Coverage of the MP3 Experiment 1. Diehard Participants People stuck in long lines didn’t let location keep them from participating — many followed instructions from the ferry. Image courtesy of VivereNewYork 2. Victory Capes Participants flocked to the parade grounds with white sheets draped over their shoulders. Image courtesy of itschiefy 3. Tower Challenge Small groups were challenged to create the tallest tower using hard, flat objects. Image courtesy of justsamuelk 4. Improv Everywhere App Improv Everywhere used its free iOS app to help sync mobile devices to the exact second. Image courtesy of qympanzer 5. Marching to Battle Donning shower caps, both teams took 50 paces toward each other, with water guns held high in the air. Image courtesy of leigh1029 6. Drone Camera It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s a hexacopter drone used to capture footage from the air. 7. Founder Charlie Todd Improv Everywhere founder Charlie Todd with wife and senior IE member Cody Lindquist. Image courtesy of Cody Lindquist 8. Ferry The ferry leaving Governors Island swarmed with people. Image courtesy of jqj3 Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/30/water-guns/
Commenters say this is “the super moonwalk” and “moon running.” The fast moving, backwards moonwalker in this clip is Eric Nash, according to his Twitter account. He goes by the handle @Onelovecandyman on Twitter and YouTube. He posted the video on July 5 after doing this move somewhere outside after what appears to be a rain shower. So far the video has more than 630,000 views. Nash’s Twitter account says he’s based in Santa Monica, Calif. and is a performer in the Los Angeles-based group Street Performers United. The Internet seems to love Michael Jackson’s legendary dance move. In 2010, this video of the “Walmart moonwalker” went viral. Shortly after Jackson’s death in 2009, this site called “Eternal Moonwalk” asked viewers to share videos of themselves moonwalking. Is that the longest Moonwalk you’ve seen? Tell us in the comments. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/07/moonwalking-man-thrills-crowd-with-moves/
In a series of YouTube videos, 20-year-old Anthony Harrison shares his battle with cancer and his wish to meet Katy Perry before he dies. Harrison explains in his videos that after an ineffective bone-marrow transplant, the doctors told him “there’s not much they can do,” and gave him months to live. Harrison created a YouTube bucket list that includes activities such as skydiving, taking a helicopter ride and riding in a hot air balloon. His list also included one very special item: to meet his “celebrity idol,” Katy Perry. Harrison, a musician himself, is a fan of Katy and says that she seems like “a great person overall.” The singer’s fanbase, the “Katy Kats” have latched on to the video and used Twitter and Tumblr to send the message to Katy herself. trend #KatyMeetAnthony he has cancer & his dream is to meet @katyperry & he only has a few months left to live, please! — Brooke Bennett (@brookeloveskaty) July 8, 2012 Katy Perry dedicated tumblr, iheartkatyperry, posted the video (which currently has 12,758 views) and is quickly attracting reblogs. Reddit user OliverBoj also posted the video to Reddit with the comment “If he’s real, he’ll appreciate the support. If he’s fake, we’ll leave that to 4Chan” — in reference to questions over the video’s authenticity. OliverBoj also posted these photos from Harrison’s Facebook in an effort to substantiate Harrison’s story. Katy Cats and supporters of Harrison are currently tweeting #KatyMeetAnthony in an attempt to catch the singer’s attention. Image courtesy of flickr, Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement(‘script’);js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}; _msla(“//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”twitter_jssdk”); Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/08/katy-perry-cancer/
