Merton Articles

Merton was an ancient parish in the Brixton hundred of Surrey, England. It was bounded by Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Morden to the south and Kingston upon Thames to the west. The 1871 Ordnance Survey map records its area as 1,764.704 acres (7.142 km). The parish was centred around the 12th century parish church, St. Mary’s in Merton Park. The parish had only nominal existence after 1907 when the Merton Parish Council was abolished and the parish formed the Merton Urba...

T-Mobile Teams Up With YouTube Celebrity Merton for Awesome Branded Viral Video Ad

When we interviewed Merton in song a few months back, one of the things I asked him about was his plans for the future.  With Chatroulette on the decline in terms of traffic and popularity, how would the improv piano singer evolve?  His plan was ...

Merton Demonstrates Qualities That Breed Long-Term Viral Success

Change or die. It's a mantra I'm sure many of us have heard before.  If you refuse to adapt to changes in your surroundings, your community, or your industry… you'll fall behind the competition.  Nowhere is this more true than in the world of viral ...

Viral Video vs. Episodic Video - Are They Mutually Exclusive?

What do you do when someone you like and respect writes something that you think is way off base?  Jim Louderback wrote a pretty interesting article over at AdAge yesterday, and it's the kind of thing I have to weigh in on.  In a piece ...

Viral Video Lessons Round Up - Shocking Footage, Video Game Predictions, and Phone Calls

Welcome back to another Viral Video Lessons Round Up, where we attempt to pick a few of the week's hottest viral hits and figure out why people enjoyed them so much.  The hope is that by pulling this success stories apart to see what makes ...

Viral Video Lessons Round Up - Scares, Cartoon Cats, and Jet Blue Jokes

Each week I keep a running list of great viral videos I stumble upon, which I then use as the basis for this weekly column.  This week's list is the longest yet—in almost a year of doing this—with nearly 20 videos that are deserving of ...

University Study Indicates Desirable Video Content Trumps Video Production Quality

When you produce a piece of online video content, you probably pay a lot of attention to the quality of the sound and picture.  You want the best possible presentation of your work.  But sometimes, if you're like me, you can get ahead of yourself, ...

Reel Songs With Merton, PianoImprov Chatroulette Viral Video Star – Interview Conducted In Song

I've wanted to interview Merton ever since his first Piano Improv Chatroulette video went supernova.  Of course, everyone else wants to interview the viral star as well.  The guy's probably had a hundred media requests a month since then.

Viral Video Lessons Round Up - Yoda, Street Art and Wheat Thins

This weekly Viral Video Round Up series is intended to accomplish a few different tasks:  point out viral successes, reverse engineer them to ascertain what elements helped push them over the top, and have a little fun.  I feel very confident that this week's edition ...

Oneupmanship, Dopplegangers, and Citizen Newsmen - Viral Video Round Up

Another week, another round of awesome viral video success stories—that's kind of the beauty of a series like this Viral Video Round Up… there's always something fresh to talk about coming around the corner. Let's begin:

Sequels, Spats, and Going Back To The Well - Viral Video Round Up

In this week's edition of the Viral Round Up, we have some stellar examples of creativity and humor as catalysts for viral success.  I've frequently spoken in this column about how difficult it can be to go viral with a boring video.  That's not to ...