Ep. #19 Viral Series: comedian and viral video star Steve-O Glover

WARNING: This episode contains adult language and humor.

This is the third episode in the VIRAL series. 

Stephen Glover is known around the globe as SteveO, a stunt performer and comedian famous for his provocative and death-defying work on MTV’s Jackass franchise and the Wildboyz television series. He is also recognized for his numerous appearances on the Howard Stern show and his competitive moves on Dancing with the Stars. In recent years, he’s risen to success as a stand up comic, and he is outspoken about his animal activism and his sobriety.

Professional Idiot: A Memoir by Steve-O Glover

I’ve known SteveO personally for over 15 years, and don’t let his antics fool you, he has always been one of the smartest people in the room. I originally thought that SteveO would be a good candidate for the VIRAL conversation because his videos and stunts perfectly lend themselves towards going viral and as an individual he has built an online platform with over 11.5 million fans on Facebook, and nearly 4 million subscribers to his YouTube channels. But instead of talking about the logistics of viral content creation like I’d planned, our conversation almost immediately took a deeper turn, about the quest for validation, being a different persona online than you are off, and the mental struggle to always have to top yourself. This is a personal side to the all-encompassing world of viral.

A few things we talked about:

Steve-O on Facebook

Steve-O on YouTube

Steve-O on Instagram

Big Brother Skateboard magazine

Roman Atwood

VitalyzdTv

Barely Lethal

The book that has made the greatest impact on Steve-O is Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

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Ep. #18 Viral series: Ridiculousness executive producer Shane Nickerson

This is the second episode in the VIRAL series. See the first VIRAL episode here.

My conversation is with actor and producer Shane Nickerson, who knows more than a little something about VIRAL content, as he’s spent years creating it through tv shows for MTV, CMT, and Nickelodeon.

Shane is co-president of the production company Super Jacket with Rob Dyrdek, and together they're responsible for shows like Rob & Big, Fantasy Factory, The Dude Perfect Show, Jagger Eaton's Mega Life, and Crashletes.  

Today we delve into the show Shane helped create with Rob Dyrdek: Ridiculousness, which features remarkable short clips culled from the vast sea of the internet. Ridiculousness is so popular that it was responsible for roughly 23% of MTV’s total programming last year. 

MTV's Ridiculousness host Rob Dyrdek, the show is also created and produced by Shane Nickerson

Ridiculousness is a clip show a little bit like America's Funniest Home videos, where they feature hilarious amateur clips culled from the internet. I chat with Shane about how they find these videos, what they're looking for in a clip that will evoke a reaction from their studio audience, an what works and what doesn't in the current culture of sharing EVERYTHING.

I wanted to talk to Shane in particular for the VIRAL series because he is such an expert in knowing what kinds of content will make people laugh, cry, or cringe. But what happened towards the end of our conversation was a total surprise and I couldn't have asked for a better or more shocking story to go at the end of an episode. 

The book that has made such a huge impression on Shane:

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

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Ep. #17 VIRAL series: Buzzfeed editor and award-winning blogger Morgan Shanahan

This is the VIRAL series, and we’re looking closely at something that permeates most of our internet culture: viral content. Videos, memes, tweets, graphics, these can take over our online experience and change our minds, culture, elections, or just make us collectively laugh. Things that go viral on the internet can have real power. 

Morgan Shanahan was born and raised in Southern California, so it's no surprise that she took up filmmaking. It was a childhood game show that awarded her with her first video camera, and an obsession with the 1994 movie Reality Bites that made NYU film school a natural path.

Landing back in L.A. after college, she was writing scripts and commercials and longing for a more personal outlet. She started the blog The 818 (a nod to the San Fernando Valley's area code) and her vulnerable posts about marriage and new motherhood made it a hit among the more "Pinterest-perfect" blogs that were popping up.

Her success as a blogger and her innate talent at social media and internet culture opened an opportunity at one of the biggest viral media giants in the world: Buzzfeed. As the parenting editor and now parenting video producer, Morgan reaches millions of people every single day with her creative content. 

In our conversation, we talk about what makes something go viral on the internet, what you should really be analyzing in terms of numbers, and what it's like to work somewhere that counts clicks by the BILLION. 

The book Morgan chose that made an impact on her life:

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kay

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