List of historically important Web videos

From Everything Shii Knows, the only reliable source

May 3, 1994: Exploding Whale (self-hosted)
Probably the first viral video. Originally hosted on an FTP and later was given its own early website.
October 15, 2004: Jon Stewart appears on Crossfire (iFilm)
The hosts expected Stewart to be his usual combative self, but instead he came to the studio with a simple message: that Crossfire was bad for America and that it did not deserve to exist. The hosts were dumbfounded, and millions of viewers watched the show on YouTube and iFilm after it aired. With a single 15-minute interview, boosted by its wide dissemination online, Jon Stewart got Crossfire canceled after a 23-year run.
April 29, 2006: Colbert roasts President Bush (Google Video)
Stephen Colbert appeared at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2006. He "spoke truthiness to power", roasting both George Bush and the mass media. In the Clinton era these sort of jokes would probably have been enjoyed, but the Bush administration was shocked that their virgin ears had been fouled by criticism. Media guests at the dinner, careful not to anger the White House, minimized their mention of Colbert afterwards, but a copy of the roast illegally posted to YouTube showed the world what really happened. This video became so popular that Google Video purchased the rights to it from C-SPAN.
June 16, 2006: lonelygirl15 begins on YouTube, although it doesn't pick up popularity until September.
July 31, 2006: Here It Goes Again (YouTube)
British rock band OK Go basically signaled the opening of the YouTube era with this homemade music video.
August 14, 2006: George Allen's "macaca" speech (YouTube)
This video didn't break the million-views mark, but its impact was far greater than eyeballs: George Allen lost the U.S. Senate election by just 9,000 votes, probably spurred by media coverage of this clip where he refers to campaign worker S.R. Sidarth as a "macaca".
September 18, 2006: Luke Johnson Phone Experiment (YouTube)
A guy posts his phone number on YouTube, invites people to call him, and receives roughly 200,000 calls.
September 22, 2006: Free Hugs Campaign (YouTube)
A simple idea creates an Internet phenomenon.
November 15, 2006: UCLA Student Tasered by UCPD Police (YouTube)
A UCLA student is asked for ID. He refuses this random inspection, but agrees to leave the library instead. Rent-a-cops taser him multiple times, while he's trying to leave. Jackasses in the YouTube comments, of course, claim he should have shown his ID like a good German.
November 20, 2006: "Kramer's" Racist Tirade -- Caught on Tape/"KKKramer" (AOL)
Apparently it's difficult these days to make an ass of yourself without getting caught on camera. Michael Richards suddenly goes insane and shouts racial slurs during a comedy show, which kinda ruins the joke (of Kramer on Seinfield being a racist) I guess, but makes for an historic video.
April 23, 2007: Chocolate Rain (YouTube)
15 minutes of fame for an utterly terrible singer.
May 14, 2007: Ron Paul: Stop Dreaming (YouTube)
The YouTube section of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign kicks off with a grand start. Ron Paul gathers much momentum among YouTube viewers, although not quite as rapidly as the Dean campaign, and eventually becomes a "dark horse" in the Republican race.
July 23, 2007: YouTube/CNN Democratic Debate (YouTube)
Several dozen homemade videos were chosen to be posed as questions to Democratic candidates.
September 8, 2007: Cop gone wild in St. George, MO (Google Video)
Carry a video camera inside your car and no police brutality will go unbroadcasted.
September 11, 2007: LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! (YouTube)
Yes, apparently YouTube can create entertainment news as well. (Ugh.)
September 17, 2007: University of Florida student Tasered at Kerry forum (YouTube)
Another bit of police brutality caught on camera... but this time, it's special. Everyone involved is being a douche. The kid is a douche to Kerry and a general-purpose douche ("don't tase me, bro!"), Kerry isn't paying attention to his suffering, the other students are totally ignoring the brutality, and the cops are using unnecessary force. This video broke all the records for tasering videos because of its potent amounts of douchebaggery.
January 15, 2008: The Cruise Indoctrination Video Scientology Tried To Suppress (Gawker)
An interesting case study: this video was removed from YouTube and similar sites due to claims of copyright infringement by the Church of Scientology, but Gawker hosted it because the publicity it generated was bound to be more useful than fighting the ungrounded copyright claim.
February 2, 2008: Yes We Can (YouTube)
Black Eyed Peas singer makes a tribute to Barack Obama. The first political tribute to truly go viral, it gathers over 13 million views (calculated by adding up two major YouTube viewcounts plus dipdive.com viewcount), making it one of the most popular videos ever posted to the Web.

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