YouTube reveals first ever most watched list

It’s pretty hard at this time of the year to avoid end of year round-ups wherever you look.

Twitter loves a list and the end of the decade has fanned the flames of this trend, giving rise to even more lists than usual. The only list I’ve yet to see is the ‘100 best lists ever’.

But, YouTube’s publication of its first ever most-watched list of videos is a welcome addition amid the glut. In addition to the most viewed videos globally, there’s a list of some of the most viewed in the UK.

The global list is fairly predictable. Number one is Susan Boyle, followed by two home-made videos, a movie trailer and in fifth place is Evian’s ‘Roller Babies’.

However, the UK’s most viewed throws up some interesting results, with quite a few home-made efforts. The third most viewed video taps into the vogue for 80s retro-themed fun, with a video game based on Street Fighter, in which you control a character by pressing one of four buttons.

Hovering close to the top with 2m views is an amateur film, almost 8-minutes in length, in which two characters act out the sort of social media interaction which takes place in the online world in a real world situation on a park bench in Manchester. The underlying message is a comment on how much trust we sometimes invest in people we don’t know very well via our online identities. It’s quite absorbing, a bit quirky, well acted and beautifully executed.

I love the fact that one of the most viewed clips is quite long and slow paced, yet attracted almost 2m views.

It just goes to show that a killer viral doesn’t always have to be funny, shocking or rude. Sometimes, creating something that is engaging is enough on its own.