For malicious virus writers it’s virtually anything that’s
breaking news. Most recently it’s been Google search results for the hype-rumoured
death of rapper Kanye West and the managerial status of Harry Redknapp at Spurs, but in
the past we’ve seen everyone from Michael Jackson to Barack Obama succumb to
their wicked ways. Of course, their real tour-de-force was purporting to offer
anti-virus software which was actually a virus in itself!
It’s true. According to Visible Measures, the unexpected star of Britain’s Got Talent has received 47.7 million online views and 125,000+ comments. This trounces views of the Bush vs Shoes incident (33.2m views), Tina Fey’s impression of Sarah Palin (34.2m) and Obama’s victory night speech (18.5m). What’s it all mean for the future of light entertainment? For a start, it’s further evidence of our insatiable appetite for the plucky underdog – John Sergeant, Paul Potts et al. It probably also points to our desire for a new shared visual experience. After all, very few of us watch the same TV programme at the same time these days – it’s all Sky+ and iPlayer. Nowadays isn’t it all about gathering round a colleague’s computer and reliving the same clip together? It’s the modern day equivalent of sitting in front of the wireless – collectively enjoying a piece of entertainment and then critiquing as a group. Of course, it might just mean that we’re a bunch of shameless voyeurs with too much time on our hands!
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