World Wide Wit: The new dot.comedy sensations
Posted by Dave Heckler on 27 Oct 09
'Comedy' is one of the all-time most searched for terms on the internet. It regularly sits amongst the top three, after news and that other genre of entertainment that I won't go into here but suffice to say it usually invoices some girl called Shannon wearing glass stilettos while being vigorously interfered with by one or more men on an Ikea sofa.
Point is, the Web has the power to create comedy stars like no medium before it. Millions of people can have instant access to one person's comedy ideas or characters in the blink of an eye, thanks to the creation of sites like YouTube, and it seems that comedy and the internet is a perfect partnership that will continue to grow.
The reason for this can be explained with three simple statements: firstly, people want to be made to laugh as often as possible; secondly, people like to share that laughter with each other; and thirdly people are very busy and don't have a lot of free time on their hands. Enter the Internet and the viral comedy video.
During the day, when most of us are at work sitting in front of computers wishing for death, salvation comes in the form of a funny video that is emailed to us by a friend, or recommended by a trusted website. And with the development of social networking sites like MySpace, Twitter and Facebook these videos are whizzing around the world like never before.
As a result, comedians are achieving huge levels of international success by using the internet as a valuable and free tool for getting their names out there and, if they're any good, they become even more than famous; they become an "internet sensation".
For example, at the frankly annoyingly young age of 19, American comedian Bo Burnham became a huge star over the Atlantic thanks to videos of his work posted online. As of this month, his YouTube videos have received more than 52.2 million views. For a performer, you can't buy that kind of publicity.
And if you think that's impressive, check out US ventriloquist comedian Jeff Dunham. He may be unknown to you but thanks to a routine with his dead suicide bomber puppet Achmed, he has to date received more than 350 million hits on YouTube, making him one of the most-viewed entertainers of all time. Needless to say, before the invention of the internet, it was impossible to reach that many people with touring, TV and radio.
The downside is, of course, that there is no quality control. You could argue that real talent gets lost in the sea of "hilarious" videos of spotty little gits miming to Michael Jackson from their bedroom in Neasden. But then you could equally argue that precisely because there's so much comedy competition out there clamouring for attention online, the sheer fact that these acts emerge a success is testament to their raw talent shining through the din and chaos of the information superhighway.
The fact that more and more emerging sites are dedicated to comedy also helps comedians showcase their wares. You'll find a load of great comedy stuff right here but there are also sites like Will Ferrell's Funny Or Die, which has proved a huge hit in the States and has now launched over here, featuring established names filming original sketches exclusively for their ever-growing online audience.
Why you may ask, am I mentioning another comedy site? Surely all you need for a comedy fix is right here on Dave? Well why limit yourself to one site – it's all free. It would be daft to ignore other great comedy resources and why should we? Like music, comedy is a collective form of entertainment that should be shared and enjoyed by as many people as possible. Also, work would be a damn site more bleak if we weren't able to punctuate our day with silly bits of distraction so long may it continue. And if we ever get tired of Internet comedy entertaining us, there's always Shannon and her glass stilettos, but you may well get fired for watching her during your lunch break.
