YouTube has an in-crowd, which actually matters a bit to those trying to "go viral." The viral strategy is best contrasted with the "make a lot of art that will stand the test of time" strategy; it's high-concept and low-quality, and one of the winners it's produced is Nalts. Brian Nalty, a grown man with a family, is best known for giving his son's friend a fart-noise machine and videotaping him in a library. (The clip is below.) Anyway, Nalts has a blog where he tries to teach how others can become famous too. But god, his "Marketer's cheat sheet to viral video" is boring. No worries, Nalts knew just how to punch it up!

Since no one read the boring list, Nalts made a new sarcastic one. At least I hope it's sarcastic, but I despair that it's true. His tips boil down to:

1. Spend an assload of money. Only don't make it look highly produced. 2. Screw your critics. 3. Throw boobs in. 4. Target 10 million views. 5. Find a washed-up television personality. 6. Make it a rap. The kids love raps. 7. Do something really safe. 8. Steal an idea that works. 9. If you've ever shot a video, you know viral video. 10. Fake some positive comments.

It wasn't til the last items that I had any idea he was being sarcastic. I mean, this viral ad for Ray-Bans got three million views using most of the techniques above.

Nalts's "Farting in Public" got 4.5 million views (a bit more than "There Will Be Blood"):