We’ve got the top trending news this week, keeping you in-the-know with Millennials and letting you know what you absolutely should not miss…
1. Viral Video How-To
“Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise,” the viral YouTube video we featured in “What’s Viral This Second, and Why” has almost doubled in viewers to over 30 million since our coverage two days ago, so if you haven’t watched it, you know what to do. In an interview with one of the video’s co-creators, James Percelay, he explains the “prankvertising” appeal of this supernatural scene and reasons that the behind-the-scenes set-up shown before the stunt was a key element to the prank’s believability. As an official “viral video maker,” he knows a thing or two about the success of viral videos, stating that the “idea has to really be new” to engage audiences, and it must be newsworthy content for the mass media to catch on. Bravo, James, bravo.
2. Next Generation of Winos
Millennials are starting to represent a key demographic of wine drinkers as we mentioned in this week’s Essentials, so don’t miss moves from the nation’s largest wine company, E. & J. Gallo Winery, to capture this segment as sales continue to increase. Younger drinkers enjoy challenging tradition and seek adventure, making them more willing to “try anything” from screw-top bottles to new blends like “Barefoot Refresh.” Millennials are incorporating wine into their cultural conversations, showcased in the winery’s ads centered around group activities like bowling and polar-bear plunges.
3. Subscription Service DIY
Subscription services are showcasing more innovation and experimentation with curated selections and giftbox goodies, so don’t miss your chance to contribute to this growing sector of commerce with Memberly, a DIY entrance to the subscription business. Memberly “helps you give your day job the finger” by providing back-end support and monetization tools for passion projects, letting people get their businesses off the ground in a more personalized way for the consumer while bypassing platforms like Kickstarter and Etsy for a more trusted form of income.
4. Hangout With Celebrities
The future of group chatting is in transition to the virtual world, and we let you know about three of the most interesting Google+ Hangout On Air series that you should be watching, so don’t miss the hangouts from Entertainment Weekly that are giving audiences exclusive access to their favorite Hollywood stars. Orlando Bloom, Mindy Kaling, and the actors of Brooklyn Nine-Nine have all been interviewed recently by the magazine on air, answering questions from fans and giving interesting insight to the productions of their shows.
5. Links We’re Passing
If hangouts from Entertainment Weekly aren’t enough of a celebrity fix for you, this week on Jimmy Kimmel Live the host debuted a new video for his segment “Mean Tweets” and enlisted the help of music’s biggest names to read insulting tweets written about themselves. Some of the music artists couldn’t help but laugh, except for Ke$ha who seemed less than pleased to be called a “crack whore” and 2 Chainz who doesn’t appreciate his likeness to “Whoopi Goldberg.”
