And now for something completely different...

The majority of recent posts have been around technology and media. Rightly so! But it's been a while since I've blogged about general internet awesomeness.

And on that note, the Harlem Shake.

The first Shake video was uploaded on Feb 2nd and has already spawned tens of thousands of homages and parodies. Not to mention the inevitable backlash and Gangnam Style comparisons. All over the space of a few weeks, scary even by lightening quick meme standards.

Admittedly, the homage vids and parodies are probably an acquired taste for some but drawing music video parallels for a 30 sec clip misses the point.

Whilst probably the finest four minutes-something to have graced Youtube since that kid on his way home from the dentists, Gangnam was a fullon music video complete with set pieces and choreography. The Harlem Shake vids are pure DIY Gonzo collaboration celebrating random anarchy with production values sometimes just stretching as far as a camera phone.

And that's what makes it so easy to share and contribute. With a camera, a group of friends and some speakers really anyone can create something memorable by following a few rules (or more often, not);

1) Respect the space; if you're only 3 dancers deep use a small room for best effect
2) Someone should be doing a hand stand
3) Someone should be twitching in a sleeping bag
4) The weirder and whackier the costumes the better
5) Masks, ideally with a sci-fi twist, are a must
6) Someone has to be standing still staring at the camera - ideally in shades

 But of course, there are the haters... 



And all thanks to Youtube, presenting the best in UGC since 2005.