The Los Angeles Times has boiled down the secret to becoming an online video star to five tips:
1) Immediacy: Be funny but not long.
2) Eye-catching thumbnail
3) Versatility: Learn who to shoot, edit and score your own movies (or hire pros like andnow.com to help you!)
4) Original persona: Be unique
5) Likability: Be able to laugh at yourself.
What this list doesn’t take into account … your content. The most popular online videos shock or surprise, offer a completely original entertaining idea or image, or ride on the wave of popularity (allude to, parody, mashup or otherwise steal ideas from popular news stories, trends, celebrities or other online videos).