This week I was asked to speak at the Social Media University conference in Milwaukee about “viral video” on the web. I don’t believe there’s a special formula to follow that magically equals viral distribution, but I think there are many things you can do to set yourself up for success.

In the slide deck below (the one I presented at the conference), I discuss the following topics:
* Where we are today with web video (scale, how we consume it, how we share it, etc.)
* Examples of certifiably viral videos (some are good for companies, some are bad)
* 3 components of a video strategy to extend your reach
* Creating video: Some things to consider
* Sharing video: Hosting, embedding, share buttons, and distribution
* Tracking video: Analytics packages to track your video success (helps you prepare for the next one)
* The future of video on the web: Mass distribution and real-time streaming

The presentation was video taped, so I’ll place that here as soon as it’s ready. I would love to hear what you think in the comments, or on Twitter. Be sure to view the presentation in full screen mode.

I saw an interesting graphic this morning, depicting the popularity of various social networks all over the world.  Some items of interest:

* Myspace still looks to be the world leader with Facebook close behind.  I’d expect this gap to grow with the announcement of the Myspace Music platform.

* Google owned “Orkut” is the leader in two major developing countries: Brazil and India.

My camera mysteriously stopped working a few weeks ago.  After sending it back to Casio and having them not honor my warranty (I won’t get into it here, but if you want the details, I’ll tell you), I have decided that I’ll probably have to buy a new camera.  My hand feels lost without one.

With all this social media at my finger tips, I decided to get some feedback from friends (Facebook) and followers (Twitter).  I put the message below out to both the networks and as you can see in the Facebook example, I had some quality feedback almost immediately!

This is very interesting because instead of going to some camera site and reading reviews from random editors/consumers, I am getting great recommendations from people I know and respect. It’s safe to say I’m leaning towards a Canon. They must be doing something right. Word of mouth is still the strongest advertising…

Thanks for all the advice!

I laughed out loud.