Between them, the thirty leading video and TV streaming websites attracted almost 13 million Britons in December 2007 – almost 40% of the UK Internet population. This is a 70% growth in audience numbers since December 2006 and highlights how well the online video sector is doing; the Internet audience itself grew by ‘just’ 14% across the same period.
So what types of video are proving popular; what are people watching and what are they linking to? The latter part points to the issue of ‘virality’ and measures the most popular videos in terms of links – as opposed to straightforward views. This is a key point for advertisers and publishers when it comes to understanding the holy grail of marketing – what makes people actually generate word-of-mouth.
By Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst, Nielsen Online
BlogPulse publishes the most linked-to videos on a daily basis and this highlights the ever-changing nature of consumer-generated media. The list is never the same two days running. The most linked-to video on Monday 21st January was ‘People in Order’ - part of a series of short films that assembles the people of Britain in a given order. This part contains 100 people arranged according to their age, starting from one.
The day before, the honour went to Ooedo no Hikeshi’s Japanese version of Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’. On that day ‘People in Order’ was down in 22nd spot whilst Hikeshi dropped to fourth spot the day after. What is consistent, however, is the sheer variety of the leading sites. Aside from ‘People’ and Hikeshi, last Monday’s top videos involved leaders such as Martin Luther King, George Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, tutorials on the Wii Remote and Photoshop plus offerings on human rights and re-creating war.
Most linked-to videos: January 21st 2008
| Rank | Video | Website |
| 1 | People in Order | YouTube |
| 2 | Martin Luther King’s "I have a dream" | YouTube |
| 3 | President Bush pardons himself against potential war crimes | YouTube |
| 4 | Ooedo no Hikeshi - Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’ | YouTube |
| 5 | Comedian Anne Roumanoff on Sarkozy and Carla | Dailymotion |
| 6 | Dying 47-Year-Old Professor Gives Exuberant ‘Last Lecture’ | Google Video |
| 7 | Richard Hammond presents Bloody Omaha | YouTube |
| 8 | Ezra Levant's opening statement at the human rights commission | YouTube |
| 9 | Head Tracking for Desktop VR Displays using the Wii Remote | YouTube |
| 10 | You Suck at Photoshop #1 | YouTube |
By Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst, Nielsen Online
