My Shitty Attempt at a Viral Video
written by John Chow on March 28th, 2008
After Ryan’s post about how to create, market and make money off a viral video, I decided that I should attempt to make one. I actually made this video on the day I read Ryan’s post but decided not to post it until today. I wanted to see how viral it’ll get without me doing anything.
Turns out, it did not bad. Without any help, the video received over 1,000 views and garnered five Youtube honors, including being ranked #8 most viewed video in the Canada comedy channel yesterday (it’s #12 today). Whether or not people pick up the video and make it viral remains to be seen. If you like the video, then please pass it around. If you don’t like it, then tough shit. 
*Warning – the video contains not safe for work language.
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- Posted in The Net, Videos
- 114 comments what's your take?
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Trackbacks
- A really good viral video | Technology Blog, SEO, Marketing, Google, Hardware, Ramblings - March 28, 2008 at 5:42 pm
- Interesting blog posts. | Search Engine Marketing : Darin Carter - March 28, 2008 at 11:53 pm
- John Chow Does Not Care For You, Though You Keep Caring For Him! | Wakish Wonderz - March 29, 2008 at 12:07 am
- Video Proof that John Chow is on Crack! | Life Sprocket - March 29, 2008 at 2:48 am
- Interview With John Chow - Choice For His Shitty Attempt At Viral Video Revealed! | Wakish Wonderz - March 30, 2008 at 10:43 am
- Sunday Round-Up - Week 13 | Thatblogsite dot Com - March 30, 2008 at 12:19 pm
- JohnChow Makes Money Online Talking Shit! - March 30, 2008 at 5:03 pm
- VLOG Blogging For Success - April 3, 2008 at 5:14 pm
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Excellent video. I knew it would go viral when you showed me it the other night. Now you need to sell advertising on it, roll overs and contextual links!
It had it’s moments, but I woundt say it’s going to hit 1 MM views. If it does then congrats.
If that video gets 1 million hits, I’m going viral baby.
Perhaps this video would be appropriate for PooBlogger.net. Yes someone actually owns it!
incredible domain. I guess there is a niche for everything!
Just goes to show that if you have a famous (imfamous?) name and attach it to a video, it will get traffic.
This was defnitely a Shitty video!!!
I smell a hit. Or do I smell… bwaha
HAHAHA I was laughing my ass off. That was hilarious and quite unexpected!
Good job John! You have great comedic timing, you should consider a career in stand-up comedy!
Or sit down comedy as it were…
Then what will he do with blogging? Can I take over John Chow Dot Com.
Very nice indeed! 1000 views over a couple of days is pretty good! And Zac is definitely right! The person who manages to add that kind of advertising to a video one day is going to be rich pretty quickly…
Having more videos in your blog is a good idea, but its slightly elitist, I mean their are plenty of readers (that includes me too)out there who have a download limit in their net connection. So anything that is streaming would eat into the readers pockets. So you will easily alienate, new, inexperienced readers
Go ahead and get yourself a new isp. Bandwidth limits are long gone even here in Romania.
LOL, but he’s in India, not Romania.
Johnchow is getting crazy! Hey Mr Johnny, are you kidding? Where is this blog going? From a mogul to a bogul? John, you need to be fixed. Go to the repairing bay now. Your circuits are short-circuitsted
Bah! You do whatever you want on your blog, you’re free and you’re right doing so. New experiences never hurt and always bring new ideas. I don’t know, what’s next?
This blog is becoming a Youtubeblog.
I’ve been wondering why you chose to do a comedy video. This site isn’t a comedy site. Wouldn’t anybody who sees your video, having never heard of you, come to this site and be confused?
We have derailed.
John… you have the soul of a stand up comedian
Shitty thing to say perhaps, but I’m pretty sure you’ve been watching a lot of early Richard Prior and / or Eddy Murphy
Funny though…
Actually, I got it from Maclean and Maclean. I remembered it from way back in high school. The things you remember, huh?
John, I can easily see you as a sailor in the Navy. You remind me of a couple of “twigits” from the nuclear fleet. FYI, that is a compliment by the way.
I remember the Eddie Murphy bits from his “Raw” and “Delirious” videos. In your face raw adult humor. John my not be ready to take his routine on the road, but it did have me laughing.
~Terry
Raw is, by far, the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.
Thanks for doing this research for us! It really cuts our learning curve down.
Interesting John, how the heck did you make that video with out laughing and how many takes did it take you to complete it.
On a different note John, it is funny that with you tube how many shity video’s get so much traffic when there is no thought put into picking the keywords when the clips are listed. I just got into video’s on my blog at Feed Flare and will be doing video’s on my new B5 Media blog called Tool Belt Tips (dot com) when it goes live in a few weeks. When I was researching video’s and what kind of money can be made from them and what kind of traffic you get I was floored. So back to what I was saying about you tubes keywords, if you spend a bit of time looking at the top video’s on you tube and what words it has taged to it, and applied this to your video’s you will get more traffic and exposure from you tube then you can ever get from Google search, if done right!
Video’s are where it is going to be at if it is not there all ready and really our compition on you tube for exposure are people who lucked out with the right words when uploading it. Should make for a very easy market to over come when you dump a bunch of pro bloggers into it.
Believe it or not, I managed to do the video in one take.
I couldn’t have managed to make the video from 1 try … probably would have laughed a lot and start over again.
A comment below states you shit your pants when you we’re little
I don’t remember something like this happening to me … at least what I remember … I’m sure I used to shit myself a lot until I was 1-2 years old
lmao, me too!
Oh ya John, as a plumber I would not recommend the toilet tank as a stashing point for the shit. You would be better off grabing the plunger and try plunging it down. Leaving it in the tank could have serious ramafications on the workings of said toilet thus resrticting the chances for that second date once a plumber (more then like me me) gets mad at his new customer and asks her to remove the shit from her tank herself. She will then realise who it was.
i couldn’t bare to watch . . . . like watching nascar for the crashes
What, you mean there’s more to NASCAR than metal grinding crashes?
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought so.
Wow good job John. Did you come up with that monologue?
This is some really TUFF Shit on Tough Shit!
Yes it is shitty. Couldn’t complete the video. Sorry John.
I have a feeling John shitted in his pants when he was a kid.
a bit too much details can bring back some painful memories huh? lol, j/k good job John
John, do you have pics of how to successfully pick up pieces of sh*t and place them in the back of the toilet?
interesting question … would like to see John reply to this
The Internet being what it is, I’m sure you’ll be able to find it without much effort.
STFU u shit face are u fukin crazy retarded ???? i am never ever goin to read ur shitty blog again . all u can write about is shiting and eating , and screw us up by makin money out of us watchin you write crap . Go fuk ur ad infested fukin website u fukin blowjob asia asshle canadian shit face
Lol wow what a comment dude…
You surely are not an asian!
lol…
a lot of people on the internet combined with 100% anonymity yields hilarious comments.
lollercopter!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/eminem_01_15/roflcopter.gif
This really is something new
)
… shit’s the new niche 
)
Great work John. Enjoyed your video
Well that was a load of crap.
So well done John. You’ve been in my bookmarks for over a year now, and this has made me realise – actually, really – I don’t need you to be there.
Goodbye!
Haha i wonder what gets you people to post these beautiful comments!
What was the need for you to keep it for an year in bookmarks then?
I always say, if you’re not pissing somebody off, you’re doing something wrong.
Totally John,
That philosophy worked great for Howard Stern did it not?
I say keep up the awesome work and remember to always wipe from front to back and not back to front. I makes problems.
I think this will go viral John but why Ryan post this first instead of you.
I agree with this. You know you’re really going somewhere when negative reviews start to pile up. Money in the bank, hey!
Such bad language John, I’m appalled
Funny, the people that bitch and complain and say they are never visiting again…. are the ones that don’t put their name / link to their blog (if they have one) with their comment.
Hey John,
That was not a shitty video.
On little tip. If you want to get more hits off your profile in YouTube
put your full URL http://www.johnchow.com in the first line of the About This Video description.
For an example see one of my top videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaF5UA0daZ4
John, that $#!t was so funny!….How about the wipe check? Do you check the paper to see when your done? I mean how white does the paper have to be? Is a little poop on the paper ok?(You can use that in your next gig)
Dude, you are selling your soul for a few page views. The loss of credibility can’t be worth it. Also, I think pointing back to the previous post about viral video, is that what makes some viral videos viral is that they are put out by people with no expectation that anyone other than a handful of people will watch them. Of course, professional efforts like the lonelygirl episode run counter to that, but frankly I think viral like that is borderline fraud. The problem with your video is that you are trying to make it a viral video and being provocative for the sake of it. Frankly, I think the effectiveness of your viral video test might be undermined by the fact that people searching for info about you are going to come across that video. So, that is a compliment to you as to the popularity of your sites, but not sure that proves the viral nature of your video.
Well written. The video was pathetic and it just goes to show by the comments here that some people are easily led.
Paying for a post on johncow to try and get the video to have wider distribution is hardly the point of a viral video.
On that not, i have to cut this blog loose too, the only worthwhile content is written by guest posters these days, Alan specifically, so i’ll follow those guys directly.
I definitely never saw this vid coming.
That was somewhat funny John, it was a good first attempt at a viral video. I think it went on way too long though, funny about hiding the piece of #2 tho
“make money online by telling people how much shit there was in my toilet” ??? Trying to outrank tubgirl ? Content is King^H^H^H^HShit?
I don’t get it. Funny though. Definately bold too.
ow .. want to add … I hope this won’t evolve into a new way of showing what you had for dinner … I know it gives you a few extra hours to post .. but please
Some parts had me LMAO – Laughing my a$$ off. It may have had some people LMAOPIMP – Laughing my a$$ off peeing in my pants. Or quite possibly a few LMAOSIMP – Laughing my a$$ off $hitting in my pants.
It may not go viral, but it was a good first attempt.
~Terry
LOL,
Really fantastic video hahaha
Really great way to promote!
IT wont go viral, its somewhat funny that is all.
“Ring of Fire”
“Peeing through your bum”
LMAO! Quality John, I need to do something like this!
Quality video John.
wow. you have just hit a new low.
hahahahahaha :biggreen:
Google for johnchow, shit comes john cow’s review of this post and wicked fire forum post. May be one day this post comes as first results in google for “shit”, Is that your target?
This thread smells liek shit!
You have natural talent, John, but the language is a bit rough.
Anyway, waiting eagerly for the next release of your viral video…
http://seventoten.com
What kind of a shit video was that
I just thought that your accent saying “chit chit” was funny man.
I’ve been a reader to this blog for over 3 months now and I really respect John for the great information I’ve received from him and all, but this video – I really don’t know what the purpose of it was. I’m sure that a lot of readers will be a little disappointed with a video like that.
That’s just my opinion.
The video was a viral video, which judging by the 62 comments already, has done quite well given its intention. Read the link to the excellent viral marketing tutorial to understand a little bit more about why viral marketing is becoming more and more important these days.
I would have to agree with you too, may not be the best video but I would say it is doing the job it was intended to do.
I understand the purpose of John’s video and his ‘experiment’. I know that this is HIS blog, but somehow I’m disappointed. There is always the choice between taking the high road and taking the low road… this time John, you took the low road to gain a little publicity.
Was it really worth it?
Kenneth
Like you said once in a past review, I guess you missed the mark with this video… better luck next time, I guess comedy is not your nature.
i think john you finally succeed in what you required to… you wanted to create a viral effect and bingo you created one… now the people who visit or not visit your blog have a topic to actually discuss about your blog… thus making it more popular… nice marketing
That was shit. It didn’t go viral, your blog is already popular, thus the x,xxx amount of views. If anything, bloggers will say “john chow just made a fool out of himself *insert link*” but you’re not even getting that out of me.. just all the tools out there.
This is what I don’t understand about people that think John’s video was bad. John experiments with these things to see how they will go and after all, John tell’s us how he makes money online. If this video was an extreme success and John’s income rises 100% and the world flocks to the blog then I’m guessing you won’t be saying the video was a bad thing. It’s good to see a bit of humour from John, after all everyone likes to not be “serious” once in a while! There was nothing wrong with the video at all, I wish I could talk that in depth about shit! It was very good to learn a bit more about viral marketing.
Carl – Thatblogsite.com
I meant to say wasn’t a bad thing, silly typo.
When I was watching this, my 2 years old daughter said : ” daddy, who is that?”
I said:” Jhon Chow”
She said:”Ooh”..(tried to say that she understood)
Even my daughter like you
Creating a viral video to increase your popularity.
I can’t be more honest that this:
Terrible video.
It was a shitty attempt have to say. I guess its in the society when you hear people say some sort of word in different ways they tend to laugh. So I guess you saying shit over and over was making people laugh.
I have to agree though
Its the first attempt. Dont worry. You will soon be a pro there
That’s the most pathetic attempt at a viral video I’ve ever seen. Pretty crappy. It might go viral but good viral or bad viral … laughing with you or at you. Real quality stuff.
It is because you are John chow and you have 15000 readers who are reading this post every week so 1000 hits is not something good I think
http://www.india-dictionary.com/
I saw your Breakfast Television interview, and I was like this guy seems pretty mature/smart. I then see your shit video, and was like LMFAO. It was a good surprise, keep it up!
very funny shit
You usually put out some good stuff John, but this was kinda pathetic.
I could hardly watch the whole video, John, so gross, but I wish you luck so that it becomes populer, it’s different in its kind!!!
i expect more than 2000 views but it takes a real man to do a blog on shit
Boy, I love your blog, but that video was horrible. It’s a good thing you’ve got plenty of ways to make money and don’t have to rely on your comedy. You would starve.
Hey john, not bad for your first try!
I mean you are clearly not a comedian, but It did give me a few laughs, and that’s always good in my books. I work with a “Phantom Pooper”, and he’s dropped it in the toilet tank on more than one occassion!
keep up the good work.
tom – http://www.pileofblogs.com
Awful, John. Really bad.
It’s amazing how you talk like that, but write like this…lol
-Mike
For a one take that’s pretty good. Had some funny moments. I take we’ll be seeing more of these?
Very funny. I think your Chinese accent will never be gone.
this was really bad, thanks for making me not want to return, and yes if your not pissing people of your doing something wrong which equates to you voicing your strong opinions, but this is far from that, it’s just a video from somebody with no imagination… really school boy stuff.
4k views…
FAIL
Wow, cool video…. John, you can be a blogger comedian too…. hope to see more viral video from you
Yes, I must agree that was pretty shitty John
, not viral,,,, but spiral down the tube,,,, But think about it , where would we be without shit ,,,no fertilizer,,, no food ,,, no people,,, no blog,,,Dam’t
So keep the shit flowing,,,:) love it man,,,,,
I cant believe that video is going viral. I am sure it is only because it is Johns shit we are talking about! If that was funny I really must post my pubesent teens videos!
Sorry, I love John, but not in his shit monologue!
Mildy funny but strange video. Not sure how many people are going to like that one.