John McCain Picks Running Mate, Makes Crazy Video

Alaska: Coldest state, hottest governor.

You've no doubt heard that John McCain has picked Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. I'm really conflicted about this. I like Sarah Palin because, well, she's sorta hot. So there is that. However, if I had to make a list of people more out of touch than John McCain, my list would consist of the homeless, the mentally ill, and those who live in Alaska.

Anyway, here's a video from McCain called "Convention Night" in which he perfectly channels Dr. Evil by oh so insidiously trumping Obama. Mwahahaha.

Attack Ads: Confusing John McCain Ad Boggles Minds

The latest attack ad coming from the McCain camp is called "Remote Control." I'd like to think I'm a fairly bright guy, but I found this video confusing as shit. Within the video is TV. And on that TV is random clips of global violence. And this is a fancy TV, because it has Picture-In-Picture. And the Picture-In-Picture displays more random clips, but of various politicians talking about Obama's lack of experience. And then Chris Dodd comes on, which is just weird cuz I haven't thought about him in like years. It's all very strange and I think It's supposed to mean that Obama's lack of experience caused the conflict in Georgia but I'm not really sure.

Dennis Kucinich's DNC Speech

Okay, I'm stoned, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. I just watched Dennis Kucinich's Democratic National Convention speech. Wow. That little man is a great speaker. He was clearly an evangelical preacher in a past life. And the way he gyrates at the end, wow, just like a penguin. And look at the dems eat it up. Aren't they cute? By the way, Elizabeth Kucinich was just named fourth most beautiful person on Capitol Hill by thehill.com. I'm hungry. Oh so Kucinich's speech was called "Wake Up, America", which vaguely has a neo-nazi ring to it, but what do i know. So here's a picture of Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich. And the speech below.

Barack Obama Look-Alike

With all the craziness of the DNC, it's important not to lose sight of what's really important. Such as the Barack Obama look-alike. According to this video, he's a Cuban-American reporter. And he looks exactly like Obama. But then, he speaks. And he starts looking exactly like Tony Montana, political prisoner.

Statistics Going Into DNC

Going into the Democratic National Convention, Gallup has McCain and Obama tied up at 45% a piece. Rasmussen Reports puts Obama in the lead with 46% to McCain's 42%. Despite the candidates being neck-and-neck, various web metrics still diverge greatly, consistently favoring Obama. While JohnMcCain.com has seen a major traffic increase since earning the nomination, BarackObama.com is still averaging over a million more hits per month [Compete]. That's over double the traffic.

If you look at search engine traffic, over 3000 keywords are driving visitors to barackobama.com while just under 1000 keywords drive visits to johnmccain.com


On Youtube, Obama is remains light years ahead of McCain for subscribers and views. It's just impossible for McCain to make any headway so the raw Youtube numbers are pretty worthless. There's one interesting consistency. Obama's Youtube videos are generally rated 5 stars. McCain's are generally rated 3 stars. See the graphic above.

Joe Biden To Add Comedy To Obama Campaign

Senator Joe Biden, (frequently referred to as the "Norm Macdonald of D.C." (and when I say frequently, I mean I just made that up)) has been chosen to lighten up the Barack Obama campaign with his particular brand of humor as the Democratic vice presidential nominee. The comic styling of Joe Biden will no doubt reel in the stoner vote. See below.

Viral Video Of The Week

This weeks Viral Video Of The Week has all the hallmarks of a great Viral Video but doesn't appear to be spreading. It's short, funny and vaguely offensive. The only thing it's missing is sex or violence, or both. Venezuelan sportscaster, Willie Oviedo is doing some heartfelt commentary during Michael Phelps' eighth medal victory and sentimentally explains that this was the first time anyone won eight gold medals since the last time Michael Phelps did during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. During which, Hitler refused to hand the medals to an American. I wonder whose text books are more accurate, Venezuela's or China's.

HOUSE WARS: McCain Fires Back At Obama Attack Ad

Oh, it's on! There's blood in the streets as John McCain and Barack Obama battle to reign supreme in owning the least amount of real estate. Rumor has it that John McCain just moved into a burnt out meth trailer, only to be outdone when Obama took up residency in an Andy Gump behind Wrigley Field with Tony Rezko. They are both expected to pick out cardboard boxes in Los Angeles' exclusive Skid Row this weekend. News as it breaks.

Attack Ads: McCain On Obama's Messiah Complex

The McCain camp has a sense of sarcasm and irony that can only be truly appreciated by the stoned. We've seen McCain go after Obama's celebrity status. Which clearly backfired, resulting in Paris Hilton running for President. Now, McCain attacks Obama by exposing the dangers of his messianic-like following to the world. (It's called "The One.") Job well done. I have absolutely no fucking clue who this attack ad is supposed to appeal to. It again feels like McCain is Obama's campaign manager. And sorta good at it. Who doesn't want to vote for a black rockstar jesus?

The Viralroots Store

From time to time we talk about great books and dvds that deal with the social and viral nature of the web. Links to them are sorta scattered all over the blog, but fear not. In an entirely self-serving move, I've thrown together an Amazon aStore where I can add all the wares I talk about, when I talk about them. I reads alot, you see. Especially about ways to support myself from sitting in front of a computer. The store is neat because it lets you make different categories. That's helpful because when I go on weird tangents in blog posts from out of nowhere, I can throw up books so you'll have some background. So, check it out: The Viralroots Store

Barack Obama Attack Ads: McCain Owns Too Many Homes

Barack Obama has come out swinging with the attack ads. There are five new mudslinging commercials just in the last day. Any my very favorite is a tv ad entitled "Seven." It has nothing to do with Brad Pitt and everything to do with the seven houses John McCain owns. As in, the other day when John McCain was asked how many houses he owns, he lost track. Well guess what, Mr. McCain. You own seven! So there! And that's like I dunno six too many! Stuff it!



Firstly, I'd like to say that ragging on John McCain for "losing track" of anything is totally cruel. It's like making fun of a retarded kid for playing baseball like, well, a retarded kid. Secondly, nothing epitomizes the current state of the Democratic Party like an attack ad going after the success (rather, successfully marrying) of an opponent. Cartman makes fun of Kenny for being poor. And Obama makes fun of McCain for being (marrying) rich. And I know with the federal government bailing out sub-prime borrowers that don't read fine-print, bank-rolling private banks and sending out "stimulus" checks, we are plummeting into a dark age of socialism in America. But despite all this, it's only a shift in ideology, Obama's anti-capitalist thinking, that can spell doom for a Liberal society.

Now, you all know how I feel about John McCain, but it's the American dream to have your own little real estate empire. For better or for worse, we're one of the only societies on the planet that incentivizes home ownership. And it should preclude me or anyone else from holding public office? Success is the American dream. And I refuse to support any candidate that tries to spin that into a negative.

Mr. Obama: Go after McCain's politics. Attack his energy policy. Hell, go after his tie. But leave my dream out of it.

Viral Marketing Campaign: Samsung Omnia

Samsung put together a fantastic viral ad for their new Omnia touch phone. It's meant to look like you're typical "unboxing" video commonly seen on gadget blogs. Us geeks love seeing video of someone getting their mitts on a new gadget we haven't seen in stores yet. But this time, it's got a bit of a twist.

[via Geekologie]

Blogosphere Brings The News Fast. Like, Before It Even Happens Fast

Peter Bart has an interesting Variety article about how the viral nature of the tubes makes it impossible for publicity, marketing and press people to do their jobs. Traditionally, press breaks only break after they've been "nitpicked" by lawyers, publicists, corporate bureaucrats, etc. But now, this news is just out there, sometimes before it even happens:

...when Paramount Vantage set about to make staff reductions two weeks ago, the people who were being fired heard the news before they were informed about it by their superiors. Similarly, Brad Pitt was able to read that he'd been cast in Quentin Tarantino's new movie, "Inglorious Bastards," before he could read a contract or deal memo. [Variety]

When you're dealing with a generation of underlings who were socialized on the Internet, there's simply no longer such thing as secrecy.

John McCain and YouTube

Today's Washington Times article on John McCain and the Viral phenomenon surrounding his recent 'Celebrity' attacks is quite interesting. According to the article, the recent series of 'brutal yet entertaining' attack ads and the 'combination of wit and insult, has pushed his YouTube channel to the sixth most watched on the site this week.' And John McCain has beaten Barack Obama's channel for 'seven straight days and 11 of the past 14 days.'

This article theorizes that McCain is trying to court the YouTube vote. And goes on to characterize this as a 'giant reversal' since 'Obama had been quadrupling McCain's YouTube views and (was beating) him every day since February.'

The Drudge Report is also onto this theory and has titled the link to the article, 'McCain takes lead on YouTube hits.' Both parties see this as a good sign for McCain. BUT, all this harkens back our Viralroots argument/theory that knowing the true temperament of viewers is impossible. Right? Let's discuss, cause I'm not convinced this is a win for McCain.

Firstly, I don't always think all publicity is good publicity. There's the possiblity the ads could rub people the wrong way. And, regardless of the effect of the ads, its also not automatic that the the viewers are McCain supporters, ie. what if half the viewers are Obama fans who are pissed off, but want to see the ads? Does it even matter? Will online buzz even equate to votes? Time will tell.

But in my opinion, this stuff makes McCain look bad. His handlers have put him into a situation where he's associated him with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears attack ads and now...Paris Hilton's video has gone viral - and it attacks him back! This press can't be good for McCain. The message, whatever it was, is lost and the Viral-ness has taken over. Obama is virtually unaffected. And Paris Hilton is the real winner. Ya' know, cause she's so...hot. Uggg...

For some perspective with the statistics: Obama's YouTube channel still dominates, with 51 million all-time video views. McCain trails with 8.3 million views.
McCain's silver lining: He's garnered 4.1 million views this month compared with Obama's 2 million as of Wednesday evening.

(Washington Times Link)

Video: NYPD Cop Assaults Cyclist, Disciplined

As usual, I'm totally late to this story. But it's still worth sharing. The below footage is of an NYPD Cop intentionally and violently knocking over a bicyclist at a Critical Mass cycling event in New York. According to the NY Daily News, "Officer Patrick Pogan, 22, was placed on modified duty soon after the video of the Times Square incident appeared on YouTube." First off, it still blows my mind that there are 22 year-olds policing our streets and teaching our children. When I was 22, I was living on a friend's couch and huffing nitrous for lols. At any rate, these cyclists in New York are pretty ballsy, but they ain't got shit on the Crimanimalz here in LA riding bikes and rollerblading on the 405 during rush hour.

Scary City: New Mystery Web Series, With A Budget!

SCARY CITY is poised to be the next big viral webisode phenomenon. It's created by LONELYGIRL15 producer Yumiko Aoyagi and launches September 15th. And it's packing a $5.2 million budget. So here's my question: If we know it's fiction, do we care? Lonelygirl gathered steam because no one was really sure if it was real or not. The not-knowing seems to drive intrigue and viral distribution. At least that seems to be the case when it comes to these experimental long(er) form mystery webisodes and even alternate reality games. (Obviously this is less the case with short comedy clips.) Here's a brief description of the show from Variety:

The U.S. version of the story revolves around a haunted Los Angeles apartment complex and the missing 10-year-old daughter of an architect who battles the building's unseen evil forces. Tenants from all over the world get caught up in the global intrigue.

The Japanese version begins with a murder mystery that a Tokyo high school girl tries to solve.

Future versions of the mystery are planned for Korea, Israel, the U.K., France and Thailand, with the international casts involved in the globetrotting narrative.

Series will start with five episodes of 1½ to three minutes. Viewers will be able to email episodes of the show; installments will also be syndicated to sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

Paris Hilton's Video Response to John McCain

In response to John McCain's celebrity Ad about Barack Obama, Paris Hilton has decided to fight back with her own lil' video about 'that wrinkly white haired guy.'

You know its an effed up world when John McCain and Paris Hilton have dueling Online political ads. Like...OMG, WTF. Check it:

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

John McCain's Confusion Level: High

The 24/7 press that surrounds our politics these days is fervently unrelenting. And when candidates get caught in awkward moments or candid speeches...all the world observes regardless of the size of the actual audience in the room. Check out the latest little clip to go Viral. John McCain in Panama City, Florida at a media event on Friday, appearing a little...well, uhm..uh... confused. Perhaps its a sign of his age? Its not egregious, like him singing about how he'd bomb Iran, but definitely funny enough to pass on. Check it:

Viral Video Of The Week: Ludacris Rap: Obama Is Here

Apparently, we have an angry reader. I've taken a look at our traffic logs and it seems that a commenter who was majorly pwned for using bad grammar has decided to flip it and rip on the Pulitzer-Prize-worthy work of Viralroots.com. Same IP address. Shittee becomes shitter. Interesting.
Anyway, I just wanted to remind all our readers of the insanely high standards to which Viralroots and the rest of the blogging community strive. Over the years, we've worked really hard to cite "sources", "license" content, report "facts", minimize "opinion" and conform to academic writing "standards". When we're not talking about how fucking hot Elizabeth Kucinich is, or prematurely declaring John McCain out of the race, we like to let our hair down and be a little silly. To remind you of the level of sophistication we're dealing with here, below please find Ludacris's new hit song about the awesomeness that is Barack Obama, our Viral Video Of The Week. Enjoy.